11th Oct 2005 07:00
Vedanta Resources PLC11 October 2005 11 October 2005 Vedanta Resources plcProduction Report for the six months ended 30 September 2005 Highlights •Copper ex pansion ramping up ahead of schedule •Zinc ramp up progressing as per plan •Progressive commissioning of Korba new smelter on track Summary Production volumes across all metals are higher than in the corresponding sixmonths of the previous year. The ramp up of our copper expansion project atTuticorin has been better than expected with output close to rated capacitybeing achieved. Ramp up of the zinc expansion project at Chanderiya isprogressing well and in line with plan. The Aluminium expansion project is oncourse for its completion as per schedule and 81 pots out of 288 areoperational. Aluminium The existing plants at BALCO and MALCO continue to operate at full capacity.Productivity enhancement measures continue to yield good results. With thecommissioning of the second power plant recently at BALCO, a total of 81 potshave been made operational at the new smelter. The remaining pots will becommissioned progressively by March 2006, as scheduled. Production in the firsthalf includes 12,000 tonnes from the trial run of new pots. The Alumina refinery in Orissa is progressing on track and is currently 60%complete. The committee appointed by the Supreme Court Of India has submittedits report. With this the process of obtaining the necessary environmentalapproval for the mine will now move forward. Copper - India & Australia With 68,000 tonnes of cathode production in the second quarter, the ramp up ofthe new copper smelter is nearly complete and the plant is expected to stabilizeat its rated capacity by the end of this quarter. Mine production in Australia now reflects the closure of operations at ThalangaCopper Mines in July 2005. Copper - Zambia Production at Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia is in line with the previousquarter except for lost time due to industrial action by workmen in the month ofJuly 2005. Management quickly resolved this and the operations were brought backto normal within a fortnight. Work on the new acid plant is progressing well andis expected to be commissioned by end of this quarter. Zinc Expansion & ramp up of the Rampura Agucha mine is reflected in the substantialincrease in the production of zinc concentrate. Refined zinc production at123,000 tonnes in the first six months reflects the progressive ramp up of thenew hydro plant at Chanderiya. During the second quarter, approximately afortnight's planned shutdown was instituted at Chanderiya pyro plant formaintenance and de-bottlenecking. However, sales quantities were matched tomarket demand by filling the gap by tolling of about 25,000 tonnes of refinedzinc. Interim results The restatement of financial statements under IFRS was completed and theannouncement of the restated results was made on 27 September 2005. Results forthe six month period ended 30 September 2005 under IFRS will be announced on 24November 2005. Unaudited Production Summary: ----------------- ----------------- Six Months 2nd Quarter ('000 t) ('000 t) ----------------- ----------------- ------ ------- ------ ------ ------- 2005-06 2004-05 Change 2005-06 2004-05 Change ---------- --------- ------ --- ------- ------ ------ --- -------Alumina 142 130 9.2% 71 64 10.9% Aluminium 82 66 24.2% 46 32 43.8% Copper - India / Australia Copper -mined metalcontent 18 20 -10.0% 8 9 -11.1% Copper -Cathode 124 77 61.0% 68 44 54.5% Copper - Rod 80 53 50.9% 41 27 51.9% Copper - Zambia(1) Copper -mined metalcontent 54 - - 29 - - Copper -Cathode 81 - - 37 - - Zinc -mined metalcontent 220 167 31.7% 106 85 24.7% Zinc - refined 123 104 18.3% 66 54 22.2% (1)There is no comparative data for KCM as these were acquired in November 2004. For further information please contact: Sumanth Cidambi, Associate Director +91 22 5646 1444Investor RelationsVedanta Resources plc Ajay Paliwal +44 20 7499 5900Deputy Chief Financial Oficer Vedanta Resources plc James Murgatroyd +44 20 7251 3801Robin WalkerFinsbury Notes to Editors Vedanta is a London listed diversified metals and mining group. Our principaloperations are located throughout India, with further operations in Zambia andAustralia. The major metals produced are aluminium, copper, zinc and lead. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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