Zinc
Lead
Silver
At Hindustan Zinc, we innovatively leverage advanced technologies and modern tools at our smelters to seamlessly produce high-quality zinc, lead and silver from the zinc and lead concentrates received from our captive mines. The smelters are self-sufficient in power supply, with our in-house captive power plants (CPPs) catering to their power requirements. A variety of by-products are produced during the smelting process, and these are either sold or consumed in the course of the operations.
A combination of roasting, leaching and purification, along with electrolysis and melting & casting, is used to process the zinc concentrate received from the mines. This enables us to produce 99.99% pure zinc, including HZDA (zinc-aluminium alloy), continuous galvanising grade (CGG), 1 tonne jumbo and high grade, along with by-products such as sulphuric acid.
We use sinter, imperial smelting furnace (ISF), lead refinery, zinc refinery and silver refinery to produce prime western (PW) zinc of 98.65%, special high grade (SHG) of 99.995% and lead of 99.99% purity. During the process, high grade metal, containing 25-30% silver, is produced and is sent to the silver refinery to make silver of 99.99% purity.
This cutting-edge technology directly consumes the lead concentrate to produce lead bullion, having lead content of over 96.5%. The bullion is further processed in the lead refinery to produce 99.99% pure lead.
SKS, blast furnace (BF) and lead electrowinning process (LEP) technologies are blended to produce 99.99% pure lead. The LEP process causes 25-27% silver to be left over in the refinery mud, which is processed in the silver refinery to produce silver of 99.99% purity.
Continuing with our focussed initiatives to boost efficiencies and sustainability at our smelters, we maintained our production guidance to cross the bar of more than ‘1 million tonne’ refined metal production, for second time in a row, during FY 2023-24. Some of the major initiatives across the processing units that led to this exceptional feat were:
Fumer integration: 1% increment in metal recovery in Hydrometallurgy plant
Debottlenecking of cell house through increment in amperage, resulting in capacity enhancement from 88 kt to 92 kt
Major overhauling in roaster-3 plant to enhance the throughput from 36 tonnes per hour to 40 tonnes per hour
Oxygen enrichment in all roaster plants to achieve a throughput of 40 tonnes per hour
Up to 37% indigenous coal consumption in CPP units to reduce the cost of power generation
Increased plant load factor (PLF) from 63% to 85% by improving plant efficiency and increasing indigenous coal consumption
The commissioning of a Fumer facility paved the way for enhanced metal recovery in the Hydrometallurgy plant during the year. This achievement marked a milestone in the operational journey of Hindustan Zinc, which continued to forge ahead on the path of enhanced performance and sustainable growth.
The cost of production (COP) for zinc and lead has been on the upswing for the last three years. Our strategic efforts to boost the production and operational efficiency in our smelter business, however, helped us lower the COP by c.100 US$/MT during FY 2023-24. Listed below are the major initiatives undertaken to optimise the cost of production, as well as the untapped potential that still exists for further optimisation.
As an industry frontrunner in pursuance of the zero harm goal, we, at Hindustan Zinc, strive continuously to create a safe workplace. We remain steadfastly dedicated to safety protocols and sustained vigilance to improve the safety of the work environment. Embracing safety excellence, we proactively identify and mitigate potential hazards, implement robust safety measures, and empower our workforce with the knowledge and tools necessary to prioritise safety above all else.
Fatalities across Hindustan Zinc
Innovative interventions and initiatives at all locations continued to propel our journey towards net zero during the year.
Cumulative GHG emission savings at all locations in FY 2023-24
Cumulative GHG emission savings target for FY 2024-25
Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) across smelters
100% green power at Pantnagar metal plant
Biomass consumption in captive power plant, along with coal
Cleaner fuel vehicles and 10 electric vehicles introduced for inter-unit and finished goods movement
Fumer integration in Hydrometallurgy plant
6,800 KLD water saving
30,000 tCO2e GHG emission savings
76,035 tCO2e GHG emission savings
20 kgCO2e GHG emission savings on 242 kilometre journey
20% reduction in jarofix production
As a part of our efforts to raise the performance bar of our smelters business, we make continuous investments in innovation, automation and digitalisation to enhance productivity and efficiencies. It is our endeavour to build a data-driven organisation by using advanced technologies that enable real-time data analysis. Our focus areas in this regard include:
Increasing the availability of ISF plant by 0.25 days/month through computer-based sinter belt health monitoring, thus increasing zinc production by 100 MT/month
consumption optimisation at leaching & purification plant with annual potential saving of ₹ 4.5 crore
Real-time monitoring of operations across smelters, ensuring that they stay within the limits specified by CTO (consent to operate)
Ladle operation monitoring and interlocking with electric overhead travelling (EOT) via computer vision in lead refinery to mitigate the risk of hot metal spillage
100% auto booking in SAP for all the products
Finished goods ingot surface quality monitoring through computer vision
In line with our strategic focus, we shall continue to invest in scaling our performance through investments in the enhancement of operational efficiencies and digitalisation of our systems and processes. At the same time, we shall continue to drive our ESG goals to deliver sustainable growth and value creation. Some of our major plans moving forward include:
Our power plants are designed to run at 100% imported high gross calorific value (GCV) coal (6,000 Kcal/kg) but usage of imported coal has led to high cost of generation. To keep the generation cost in check, we initiated the use of Indian coal. Suitable design modifications were made to enable the shift to indigenous coal usage. These amendments helped to mitigate issues like particulate matter emission, availability of Indian coal, among others.
Moving forward, we plan to increase the Indian coal consumption and sustain the same in other units too. We shall replicate the upgradation processes in the other units and also scale the other auxiliary system.
The transparent culture has been key to my comprehensive understanding of the business, enhanced by the multifaceted learning environment. Moving forward, my mission is to align all efforts toward realising our business goals, ensuring balanced and fulfilling progression for my team, guided by the organisation’s vision of sustainable growth.
Embracing the mantra “Stay fearless and be humble”, I’ve fostered a supportive environment, seeking guidance from seniors and mentors to overcome challenges. Hindustan Zinc provides platforms for personal development and recognition, like the V-Lead initiative, empowering women leaders to contribute to ambitious goals, including producing 1.2 Mt of metal at a US$ 1,000 cost with zero harm.
