Jamshedpur, March 3: The board of directors of the ailing public sector undertaking Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) has approved the management’s suggestion to import copper concentrate from abroad for production.

The management has been permitted by the board of directors to import 60, 000 metric tons in this financial year. The board of directors of HCL met recently to discuss matters pertaining to the company.

Sources at the PSU told The Telegraph that the HCL officials are exploring all options to ensure from which country it would import the material.

“It could be either from Chile, South Africa or even Australia. They want to ensure that the best quality material is brought to the company at the cheapest available price. And the shipment would be brought to Kandla port from where it would be despatched to the company,” sources said.

Many HCL officials feel that the approval of the board of directors of HCL, allowing them to import copper concentrate, signals that the divestment process of the ailing PSU would not materialise in near future.

“We have a feeling that the Union government did not have immediate plans to go ahead with the divestment of the HCL. Otherwise the board of directors would not have granted permission to import copper concentrate,” officials of the company said.

The two labour unions attached with the Ghatshila-based Indian Copper Complex (ICC) confirmed that the board of directors of HCL has granted permission to the management to import copper concentrate.

“The company would be procuring imported copper concentrate from abroad after a long time. It would give a fresh lease of life to the ailing unit as the cost of production would come down considerably,” general secretary of Jharkhand Copper Mazdoor Union (JCMU) D.P. Mukherjee said.

General secretary of the recognised ICC Workers’ Union Ajit Ray appreciated the move of the board of directors of HCL to grant permission to HCL to import copper concentrate.

“We have been putting pressure on the management for a long time to grant permission to import copper concentrate which would have a positive bearing on the cost of production of the final products. It is good that our suggestions have been heard,” Ray added.

Insiders of the company hinted that the entire consignment would be brought in phases as the cash-strapped PSU does not have the resources to pay the whole amount together.

“The first consignment of about 30,000 metric tons is likely to arrive by April end and the second lot would reach by end of August this year,” sources said.

According to the management’s plan the imported copper concentrate would be used for production at its smelter plant at Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) in Rajasthan.

The copper concentrate that is being mined at the HCL’s Malajkhand unit in Madhya Pradesh would be sent to its ICC smelter plant at Ghatshila.