Indian primary aluminium continued to climb steeply in the period through December 2006 thanks to the impact of two smelter expansions.
The latest figures from the Indian Ministry of Mines show production hit a fresh record of 102,477t in December, equivalent to an annualised 1.207 million tonnes. Cumulative production over the Apr-Dec period (the first 9 months of the current fiscal year) grew by 23.4% to 853,832t.
There are two drivers of this recent fast growth rate.
Balco, which is co-owned by Vedanta Resources and the Indian government, completed in the third quarter the expansion of its Korba smelter from 100,000tpy to 345,000tpy. The ramp-up had been thrown off track by a power outage in the second quarter but over the last couple of months it is clear Korba is now performing at and above new rated capacity. In December itself Balco produced a record 30,415t, equivalent to an annualised 358,112t.
Hindalco has also just completed the expansion of its Hirakud smelter in the eastern state of Orissa from 65,000t to 100,000tpy. That means that group capacity is 445,000tpy and production in December at 38,480t was equivalent to an annualised 453,071t.
A further upgrade of the Hirakud smelter to 143,000tpy is due to be achieved in the first half of the next financial year (i.e. calendar Q2 and Q3 2007), the company said last week.
State-owned Nalco also has a further expansion in mind for its 345,000tpy Angul smelter but the full lift to 460,000tpy is only due on stream in 2008. In the interim, the smelter was running at an annualised rate of 359,078t in December, around the middle of the monthly performance range seen since April 2006. Cumulative production of 269,914t over Apr-Dec 2006 represented only marginal 0.3% year-on-year growth.
Malco, owned by Vedanta, is India's smallest operating primary smelter with nameplate capacity of around 32,000tpy. Production has been comfortably exceeding that level for some time and at 3,085t in December was equivalent to an annualised 36,323t.
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