Nalco representatives to visit Iran next month to access feasibility of the proposed aluminium smelter

<p>As a forward step towards the construction plan of an aluminium smelter and a gas-based power plant in Iran, Nalco is sending a research group comprising of senior executives to Iran for doing a feasibility round up. The information came from a senior Indian government official on condition of anonymity.<br /><br />After the Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s visit to Iran in May when India signed a deal to develop the Chabahar port, India&rsquo;s has been working on its strategic ties with the Parsian Gulf country. Nalco has a plan to invest $2 billion to set up a 0.5 million tonne per annum smelting facility in Iran and to produce aluminium at a lesser cost.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/nalco-62396-5.jpg" alt="News" width="517" height="226" /><br />After the U.S. and other western nations eased the sanctions on Iran, firms are queuing up for projects in the nation rich in natural resources. In May, Nalco had signed an MoU with the government of Iran, to explore the possibility of setting up the aluminium smelter in Iran. It also led towards the formation of a taskforce with experts from Nalco and Iranian Mines &amp; Mining Industries Development &amp; Renovation.<br /><br />The team is expected to discuss toll-smelting with existing smelters in Iran to produce aluminium from Nalco&rsquo;s surplus domestic alumina, another official said. Nalco is also expected to hold extensive discussions on the gas price for the proposed gas-based power plant.<br /><br />{googleAdsense}<br /><br />In a September news story, it was stated that India&rsquo;s mines ministry had asked state-controlled Nalco to rethink its overseas expansion plans and focus on domestic value addition. However, the company sources say that the Iran project is on the line and the Nalco team will visit Iran next month to discuss various issues before taking a final decision on the project.<br /><br />Nalco registered an all-time high production of 6.3 million tons of bauxite in FY 2015-16 and 1.9 million tons of alumina. It produced 372,183 tonne of aluminium in FY 2015-16 registering an increase of 14% YOY.<br /><br />Nalco has a capital expenditure target of INR 870 crore for the current financial year and is targeting revenue of INR 7,100 crore from its on-going projects. It operates the Panchpatmali mine, an alumina plant at Damanjodi and an aluminium smelting complex at Angul in Odisha.</p>