Hindustan Zinc plans to double silver output in next five years

Hindustan Zinc Ltd, a subsidiary of mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd, aims to produce 1,000 tonnes of silver in the next five years as the company seeks to take advantage of rising prices and more demand for the metal.Due to increased demand from silver investors and from solar panel producers globally, silver prices have risen over 40 percent since the beginning of the calendar year.

“With many Indian companies planning to set up solar panel manufacturing units, I see a huge demand for silver coming from there. And with high prices, I think silver is going to be in a sweet spot for some time to come,” Sunil Duggal, Chief Executive of Hindustan Zinc told Reuters.Duggal said the company is looking to increase its metal recovery percentage from its lead and zinc smelters and mines by 5 percent in the current fiscal year and 20 to 25 percent in the next five years to achieve a 90 percent recovery rate.

Since the beginning of the year, international silver prices have moved up from $13.84 an ounce to $19.70 on Tuesday, an increase of 42 percent. Prices climbed to $21.11 on July 4, the most since July 18, 2014.

Source:The Financial Express