Calcutta: Government-owned Hindustan Copper has earmarked Rs 408 crore for copper ore exploration over a period of two years, jointly with Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL).

The public sector miner has also got government approval to become an independent copper exploration agency.

"As on today, we are not exploring beyond an average 500 metre depth. We are not fully aware of our potential in terms of copper reserves available in our mines.

"We are going to take exploration in a big way. We have mobilised funds for that," chairman and managing director Santosh Sharma said on Tuesday.

The company has already awarded a contract to Minerals Exploration Corporation (MECL) in the Singhbhum belt and more are on the pipeline.

The PSU also plans to explore at the Khetri belt in Rajasthan as well as at Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh and its adjoining areas. During 2017-18, Hindustan Copper had opened the Kendadih mines in Jharkhand and commissioned a mine at Banwas in Rajasthan. Sharma said production from these mines would be ramped up this fiscal.

Rock sale

In a bid to diversify and lower the impact of volatility in copper price fluctuation, the company is planning to sell waste rock to Indian Railways. The miner has estimated more than 100 million tonnes of rock (ore burden) valued at Rs 1,000 crore.

Sharma said the company is aiming Rs 2,000 crore revenue in the current fiscal, while efforts to create wealth from waste will add Rs 50 crore to its bottomline. In view of the crisis in Vedanta's Sterlite Copper plant, Sharma said HCL was ramping up its own smelting capacity to produce more refined copper.