Hindustan Zinc plans 10-MTPA tailings recycling plant to recover critical minerals
CEO Amarendu Prakash said that the recycling project would involve two key components - handling and processing mining waste, including through hydro-mining, and recovering valuable metals from the material.
Hindustan Zinc CEO Amarendu Prakash has said that the company plans to establish a 10-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA) tailings recycling plant to recover zinc and critical minerals, including germanium, from mining waste. The CEO informed that the recycling facility is expected to become operational within two years.
The company has completed conceptual designs and engineering work and entered the implementation phase. However, the investment outlay is yet to be decided as it evaluates technologies for processing tailings and extracting metals through metallurgical and chemical methods.
Prakash said that the recycling project would involve two key components – handling and processing mining waste, including through hydro-mining, and recovering valuable metals from the material. Hindustan Zinc CEO also said that rising metal prices and technological advances were making previously discarded resources commercially viable.
As per reports, company’s Chief Financial Officer Amit Gupta said that the company expects its average zinc production cost to decline to $825–850 per tonne this financial year, compared with its earlier guidance of around $1,000 or slightly lower. The company expects lower costs and higher production in the December quarter than in the September quarter.
Targeting Higher Production
Hindustan Zinc is targeting silver production of 680 tonnes for the full year. Having produced more than 320 tonnes in the first half, excluding additional sales of approximately 20 tonnes in concentrate, the company remains confident of meeting its target. It is also exploring capacity expansion amid global supply shortages and rising demand.
The company plans to increase mining capacity from 18 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes over the next two to five years. It is developing value-added zinc alloys and promoting a zinc park in Rajasthan to attract downstream manufacturers.
Additionally, Hindustan Zinc is exploring four critical mineral blocks in India, with contracts for two more expected to be finalised in the second half of the financial year.
Prakash cited projected global refined zinc demand of 13.87 million tonnes in 2026 against supply of 13.69 million tonnes, indicating a potential deficit of 180,000 tonnes. The company aims to maintain its low-cost position while expanding production and recovering valuable minerals from mining waste.
