Vedanta's FY16 alumina production drops marginally

Vedanta Limited announced yesterday production results of fourth quarter and full year ended 31 March 2016.

In Q4 FY2016, Lanjigarh alumina refinery operated at a single stream and produced 211,400 tonnes. Vedanta Ltd has received approvals for expansion of the Lanjigarh refinery to 4 mtpa, which will be ramped up in phases on further visibility on bauxite sources.

During FY2016, alumina production was marginally lower at 970,900, due to the single-stream operations at the refinery.

Vedanta had set up the refinery in 2007, keeping an eye on the bauxite mine at Niyamagiri, spread over Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. In 2004, Vedanta had entered into a joint venture with state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), the original lessee of Niyamagiri deposits for mining and sourcing of three million tonnes of bauxite per annum for its Lanjigarh plant.

However, the mining plan was shot down by the ministry of environment and forest first on objections by activists and then on the basis of opinion expressed in gram sabhas held on the orders of the Supreme Court. The Odisha government finally scrapped the mining project in 2014 dealing a severe a blow to the alumina refinery at Lanjigarh.

Presently the alumina refinery is running at 50 per cent capacity. Vedanta Ltd is importing the raw material from outside the state such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra, Gujarat and even from places abroad like Papua New Guinea to run the plant.

"The refinery unit is incurring about INR 3-crore loss daily," said chief operating officer KK Dave, in an earlier press brief.