Construction at Nalco’s Damanjodi alumina refinery to commence in Feb 2017

<p>India's Navarana PSE National Aluminium Company (Nalco) expects to commence construction at its alumina refinery complex at Damanjodi, in the Koraput district of Odisha, in February 2017, according to industry reports. The vertically integrated aluminium producer had announced a major expansion plan at the site earlier this year.<br /><br />According to the announcement made in February, Nalco will invest a total sum of INR 20,550 crore for expansion of its alumina refinery at Damanjodi and setting up an aluminium park at Angul in the state.<br /><br />The expansion would result in the addition of a fifth stream to the facility, which would enhance the total production volume to 2.275 million metric tonnes per annum.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Nalco-Damanjodi%20(1).jpg" alt="News" width="576" height="269" /><br /><br />&ldquo;We expect to get environment clearance for the refinery expansion by December this year. Hopefully, by February next year, we would be able to start work on the planned expansion,&rdquo; said Nalco chairman and managing director (CMD) Tapan Kumar Chand.<br /><br />According to the company sources, the new capacity will be fed by bauxite sourced from the Panchpatmalli mines in Odisha's Koraput district. The total resource volume in the mines is estimated at 300 million metric tonnes, with capacity totalling around 6.8 million metric tonnes per annum.<br /><br />Nalco&rsquo;s rights to mining at the site was recently extended by the state government through 2020 under the amended Mines and Minerals- Development &amp; Regulation (MMDR) Act.<br /><br />The company will also source bauxite, the prime raw material for alumina production, from its Pottangi bauxite mines, which spans an area of about 4,295 acres. The firm secured rights to the site recently for a period of 50 years.</p>