Golden glory

Jamshedpur, Sept. 28: All that glitters is just gold. At least for Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL). The public sector unit has decided to resume production of the precious yellow metal at its Ghatshila plant after a gap of almost two years.

Gold is a by-product of copper cathode manufactured by HCL. Company officials said till December 2006, the public sector giant produced about 24kg gold every month. Understandably, it also earned huge revenue.

However, the production of gold had to be stopped when the volume of copper produced at the unit started going down and down. “It was a time when producing gold was not a commercially viable option. It was a drain on our coffers because we had no profit after paying a heavy excise duty,” said a company official.

But now, the PSU has hit the revival road. Production of copper is on the rise and the HCL management has decided to resume operations at its Ghatshila metal plant.

The recent hike in the price of gold has also prompted the HCL authorities to decide on producing the yellow metal once again. The plant is expected to start full-fledged operation within two weeks, sources in the company said.

According to officials, the HCL has a much bigger copper-producing unit at Khetri in Rajasthan. But the unit does not have a plant for precious metals like the one at Ghatshila. The latter houses a plant that can produce gold, silver and a few more precious metals.

Officials said “blister” copper is processed at the Ghatshila plant through a solution of chemicals. Slime, a by-product, accumulates at the base during copper production. This contains a high percentage of gold and other precious metals. The slime is collected and processed through the precious metal plant to extract gold.

A top HCL official said the production of copper at the Ghatshila unit had gone up to 21,000 tonne per annum from the earlier 16,500 tonne. “This means the volume of slime has also gone up. And, when there is more slime, it is a win-win situation to resume production of gold. We will definitely be able to make good profit even after paying a big amount of money as excise duty,” explained the senior official, on the condition of anonymity.

The precious metal plant at Ghatshila is the only of its kind in the entire country. It has been maintained well despite production being stopped in December 2006. “So, it will not be difficult to resume gold production even after 20 months. We are confident that production of the yellow metal will begin once again and that the volume will be much more than what it was earlier,” he said.