JAIPUR, FEBRUARY 3: Hindustan Zinc Ltd has decided to exit from lead manufacturing activities. The PSU has taken the decision in view of the heavy losses which have risen to Rs 30 crore per year.The ongoing LME price of lead metal is $470 per tonne and at this rate no company could make profits by producing lead, says KVK Seshavataram, chairman and managing director of HZL. Lead accounted for 10 per cent of the total sales of the company. Last year, total sales were Rs 1,240 crore.
During the current fiscal the sales are expected to rise to Rs 1,500 crore, says the chairman.
The ongoing losses in the manufacture of lead were due to the low metal content in the ore. In the Rampur-Agucha and other mines, the lead content varied from 1.5 per cent to 3 per cent. In the mines out of India, the lead content was over 10 per cent.
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