印度国家铝业NALCO拟在几内亚开采铝土矿

2018-04-02

来源： 铝信信息中心     

　　据当地媒体报道，印度国家铝业（Nalco）目前正在评估在铝土矿储量丰富地区西非地区的几内亚成立开采点的可行性。

　　该企业董事长兼总经理Tapan Kumar Chand上周曾对印度一家报纸表示，目前拟在几内亚开展的业务不只铝土矿开采一项。

“一旦能获取当地的开采许可证，我们计划在当地建设一家氧化铝冶炼厂。公司近期将会派遣一个考察小组前往几内亚评估这些计划的可能性。”

驻几内亚使馆经商处

2018年4月2日

28 MARCH 2018

Reporting from domestic media indicates that India’s National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) is investigating the possibility of gaining a foothold in the significant bauxite ore assets in the West African country of Guinea.

Chairman and managing director Tapan Kumar Chand told an Indian newspaper earlier this week that bauxite mining may not be the only activity his firm is considering in the country.

“If we get mining rights, we can think of setting up an alumina-refining facility there. Nalco will shortly send a team to Guinea to evaluate the possibilities.”

Although heavy hitters Alcoa and Rio Tinto have operations in the country, no Indian firm has yet positioned itself to harvest a portion of the country’s estimated 40 billion metric tons of high-grade bauxite ore. The only Indian country that is involved in the Guinean bauxite trade at present is Vedanta, which imports bauxite from the country to fuel its refinery at Lanjigarh.

According to experts, should Nalco tap into the country’s bauxite trade, the firm could experience a significant upside from access to the high-quality ore. Nalco has enjoyed a great deal of success from its alumina refining business, which has become a mainstay of the firm’s profitability for some time. The firm has exported an average of 1 million metric tons per year for the last several years.

In addition, as a low-cost alumina producer, the company has enhanced its bottom line with ever-widening margins in the past few years thanks to rising alumina prices. Nalco’s alumina business turns the widest margins of all the company’s verticals.

Nalco’s alumina exports are expected to drop by half over the next several years due to a bump in internal consumption. The company is also in the midst of transitioning to a paradigm intended to insulate it from volatility in the global metals market, including entering the sustainable power market and establishing a soda plant, neither of which is affected by global metals markets.

Nalco eyes bauxite assets in Guinea, to send team to evaluate opportunity

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is looking at the possibility of gaining access to bauxite deposits in Guinea. The West African country is home to a third of the world’s reserves, with an estimated 40 billion tonnes of high-grade bauxite. “If we get mining rights, we can think of setting up an alumina-refining facility there. Nalco will shortly send a team to Guinea to evaluate the possibilities,” said T K Chand, chairman and managing director.

Leading global aluminium companies Alcoa and Rio Tinto Alcan jointly own a bauxite mine in Guinea. No Indian company has a presence there. Vedanta imports bauxite from Guinea for its Lanjigarh (Odisha) alumina refinery.

The African nation ships around 30 million tonnes (mt) of bauxite each year. Its shipments are expected to double in a year, on the back of a sharp ramp-up in production.

Guinea’s bauxite is considered to be the best in the world because it contains a very low amount of reactive silica, which obviates the need for beneficiation or washing of ore.

However, despite being endowed with ample reserves and a flourishing bauxite mining industry, Guinea lacks the facilities to process ore. Besides, sporadic political unrest has disrupted bauxite mining and its movement.

If Nalco manages to acquire bauxite mines and install a refining unit in Guinea, the company can hope for good returns and profitability from alumina sales.

The alumina business has been a key driver of Nalco’s profitability over the years. The navratna company has been exporting, on average, one mt of alumina annually.

Being one of the low-cost alumina producers in the world, Nalco enjoys good margins on exports, with prices going up. The alumina business fetches better margins for Nalco than all other verticals of its operations.

However, Nalco’s alumina exports are projected to tumble by half in the next three to four years because internal consumption will rise. It has adopted a new plan to manage vagaries in the metals business. The model envisages diversification into green energy, independent power producer, merchant mining and setting up a soda plant — areas immune to downturn in the metals market.

Apart from bauxite, Nalco is on the hunt for strategic minerals acquisition abroad. For this purpose, it has formed a joint venture with Mineral Exploration Corporation and Hindustan Copper named Khanij Bidesh India.

The JV is tasked with exploring, identifying, acquiring, developing and processing strategic minerals overseas for commercial use and for supplying to India.

National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) is a Navratna CPSE under Ministry of Mines. It was established on 7th January, 1981 in the Public Sector, with its registered office at Bhubaneswar. The Company is a group ‘A’ CPSE having integrated and diversified operations in mining, metal and power with sales turnover of Rs 7,933 crore in financial year 2016-17. Presently, Government of India holds 60.20% equity of NALCO.

NALCO is one of the largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium- Power Complex in the Country. The Company has a 68.25 lakh TPA Bauxite Mine &21.00 lakh TPA(normative capacity) Alumina Refinery located at Damanjodi in Koraput dist. of Odisha, and 4.60 lakh TPA Aluminium Smelter & 1200MW Captive Power Plant located at Angul, Odisha. NALCO has bulk shipment facilities at Vizag port for export of Alumina/Aluminium and import of caustic soda and also utilises the facilities at Kolkata and Paradeep ports. The company has registered sales offices in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore and 11(eleven) stockyards at various locations in the Country to facilitate domestic marketing.

The Company is low cost producer of metallurgical grade alumina in the World as per Wood McKenzie report. With sustained quality products, the Company’s export earnings accounted for about 46% of the sales turnover in the year 2016-17 and the Company was rated 2nd highest net export earning CPSE in 2015-16 as per Public Enterprise Survey report.

With its consistent track record in capacity utilization, technology absorption, quality assurance, export performance and posting profits, NALCO is a bright example of India’s industrial capability.

NALCO is the first Public Sector Company in the country to venture into international market in a big way with London Metal Exchange (LME) registration since May, 1989. The Company is listed at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) since 1992 and National Stock Exchange (NSE) since 1999. Besides, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18000 & SA 8000 certification; the Company has also adopted ISO 50001 standards for energy management system.

Following a New All-Weather Business Model, NALCO has extensive plans for brown field and green field expansion projects, which include the ongoing 5th Stream Refinery Project of 1 MTPA capacity in existing Alumina Refinery at Damanjodi (Brownfield), development of Pottangi bauxite mines, Utkal D&E coal mines in Odisha, establishment of 6 lakh TPA greenfield and 5 lakh TPA brownfield Smelters in Odisha. The power for the proposed smelter expansions are envisaged to be supplied from the 2400 MW coal based power project in JV with NTPC.

As a responsible corporate entity the Company has given thrust to renewable energy sector by commissioning 198 MW wind power plants andis in process of finalising 70 MW solar and 50 MW wind power projects. For backward integration, the Company is going ahead for a 2.7 lakh TPA caustic soda plant in JV with Gujarat Alkalies& Chemicals Limited (GACL) in Gujarat. As part of forward integration, NALCO has formed JV Company named ‘Angul Aluminium Park Private Ltd’ (AAPPL) with Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) to give a boost to ancillary, upstream & downstream products related to aluminium industry. Land acquisition for this is already completed and pricing mechanism of hot metal has been finalized.

Company’s long term security in terms of raw materialsi.e bauxite and coal got a boost with allocation of Utkal-D&E with a minable reserve of about 160 million ton and commitmentfor Pottangi bauxite deposit with a minable reserve of about 75 million ton.

The Company pursues its R&D activities fervently and has already filed 31 patents out of which 9 patents have been granted and 5 have been commercialized. As a part of its effort to convert waste to wealth, the Company is endeavoring to salvage iron concentrate from red mud, Gallium from spent liquor. The Company has also successfully commissioned a first of its kind de-fluoridation process based on nano-technology to de-contaminate the effluent water of Smelter solving a long standing fluoride contamination problem of the area.

The Company is actively involved in playing a significant role in the socio-economic development of the areas where it operates. Rehabilitation of displaced families, employment, income generation, health care and sanitation of local people, education skill development, providing safe drinking water, development of infrastructure, pollution control, environmental measures, rural development, promotion of arts, crafts & culture and various humanitarian goodwill missions have earned NALCO a place of pride in the corporate world. The Company earmarks 2% of its average net Profit made during the three immediately preceding financial years for CSR activities in compliance with provisions of the Company’s Act. Since inception, NALCO has spent about Rs. 297 crore towards CSR activities till FY 2016-17. NALCO has set up a standalone Foundation in 2010 for taking up its CSR activities in more empathetic manner to fulfill the basic needs of the people of the periphery villages of its plants.

NALCO has always been the flag bearer of the Govt. welfare schemes. Under Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan NALCO has constructed 473 toilets (133% of target) in Odisha & Andhra Pradesh before time. The endeavor of NALCO was duly appreciated by MHRD. Joining hands with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s call of Beti Bachao & Beti Padhao Abhiyan NALCO has adopted 181 poor & meritorious girls under Nalco Ki Ladli scheme. Under Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat Mission and Iconic Shrine Development Programme 13 projects have been taken up for Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri & its surrounding to upgrade the infrastructure & maintain cleanliness.

In terms of nation building by empowering the youths, NALCO has committed to contribute 10% of CSR fund for Skill Development. A Centre of Excellence for Skill Development in Mining sector has been inaugurated at Bhubaneswar to facilitate training of unemployed youth.

To provide better health-care services to inhabitants of periphery villages, NALCO is operating 4 Mobile Health Units (MHU) in 163 periphery villages at Mines & Refinery Complex, Damanjodi and 1 MHU at Pottangi. Similarly, 3 MHU and two OPD are operating in Smelter & Power Complex, Angul, covering 39 periphery villages. More than one lakh patients are being treated every year.

To bring tribal children of periphery villages to mainstream education, NALCO collaborated with reputed residential institutions e.g. (i) Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS), Bhubaneswar, (ii) Koraput Development Foundation (KDF), Jeypore and (iii) Bikash Vidyalaya, Koraput for providing quality education to the children of periphery villages of Damanjodi sector in Koraput. The Company has so far inducted 755 children from 18 tribal dominated periphery villages for residential education. The total cost towards study, lodging and boarding of those students till they complete schooling is being borne by NALCO.