Vedanta aluminium, zinc output rises in Q4FY09

NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta Resources Plc today said it has reported an increase in the production of aluminium and zinc in the fourth quarter of the 2008-09 financial year. The company's aluminium production increased to 1.34 lakh tonnes, up 31.4 per cent from the year-ago period, Vedanta said in a statement. In 2008-09 fiscal, the metal and mining major produced 4.62 lakh tonnes of aluminium, a 16.7 per cent increase from the year-ago period. The increase in its quarterly output was primarily due to the 49,000 tonnes produced at its new Jharsuguda aluminium smelter in Orissa. The smelter added 82,000 tonnes to the firm's annual aluminium output. The company said its mined zinc metal production was up by 26.8 per cent to 1.75 lakh tonnes in the last quarter of the last financial year. The production is also higher by 18.1 per cent to 651,000 tonnes when compared to FY08. Vedanta attributed the rise in zinc output to commissioning and ramp-up of the stream III concentrator at the Rampura Agucha mine. Vedanta Resources produces aluminium and zinc from its India-based units. It also has a facility in the country for mining and processing.