Hindustan Copper Limited is likely to award soon INR 680 crore turnkey contracts for installation of ore beneficiation unit and complete ore handling facility for its 5 million tonne per annum proposed underground mine project in Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh.

This work was left out after mine erection, development and construction job of the country’s biggest underground copper mine project was allocated a cople of months ago.

The HCL board in November had approved the award of INR 1,176.12 crore EPC contract to a consortium of IVCRL Infrastructure & Projects Limited MCC Donetskshakhtoprokhodka Limited of Ukraine, Teknomin Constructions Limited and Davy Markham Limited of UK.

Mr Shakeel Ahmed CMD of HCL said that preparation for assigning the work was on. The second contract may go a public sector engineering firm’s way. The mine development is expected to start after three months. HCL has commenced the process for obtaining fresh environmental clearance for the underground project. It is located 20 kilometers away from the Kanha National Park. Public hearing took place on January 6th 2012.

The project, to be financed by internal accruals, would be carried out in two phases the first one is to complete by the end of 2014 to 2015 and the second by the close of 2016 to 2017. The ore beneficiation and handling equipment installations are to coincide with completion of the first phase work.

According to HCL estimates, Malanjkhand has extractable copper bearing ore reserves of 141 million tonnes which is more than 70% of the known reserves in the country. The underground mine development plan envisages sinking of 4 shafts in the current extraction area without affecting the open cast operations. The targeted extraction depth is 300 meters for the project.

(Sourced from Business Line)