From waste generation to responsible stewardship across our value chain
Hindustan Zinc has long considered waste as an inevitable cost of mining and metal. Recently, we systematically shifted waste management from a disposal-led model to a value-led model, adopting a multi-pathway approach that prioritises prevention, recovery, reuse, and safe co-processing. The programme improves resource efficiency, reduces long-term environmental liabilities, and unlocks incremental metal recovery and by-product monetisation.
Problem Statement
Mining, milling, and smelting generate significant volumes of overburden, waste rock, tailings, Jarosite, slags, and dusts that require engineered storage, monitoring, and closure planning. They also contain recoverable zinc, lead, silver, and minor metals, alongside cadmium-rich streams arising as smelting by-products. Limited downstream recovery capability meant part of this embedded value remained unrealised.
The opportunity: Build commercially viable pathways that convert waste into products and recover metals, while strengthening operational resilience and ESG performance.
Hindustan Zinc approach
Key efforts undertaken in FY2026 to scale environmental performance and translate them into measurable economic value, include:
- Reduction at Source: Initiated underground internal waste dumping directly into open stopes to reduce surface haulage, footprint, and associated handling costs
- Recovery from Legacy Wastes: Developing India’s first tailings processing plant at Rampura Agucha with 10 Mtpa feed capacity for additional zinc, lead, and silver recovery from legacy tailings while lowering long-term storage and closure liabilities
- Residue Utilisation: Jarosite co-processed in cement manufacturing and Jarofix deployed in road/rail infrastructure applications
- Process Innovation: Advanced fumer and hot acid leaching technologies to reduce or eliminate Jarosite formation, while enabling incremental recovery of 12 kt metal and 60 MT silver annually
- By-Product Monetisation: Partnered with Runaya Green Tech to process cadmium-rich purification cake generated during smelting, and refine it into finished goods
Impact created
- Established a defined pathway towards net zero Jarosite disposal through in-house R&D, global technology engagement, and industry partnerships
- Scaled multiple utilisation routes (including hematite conversion, alternative gypsum, and hybrid technologies), leading to gainful utilisation of c.653 kt of Jarosite/Jarofix (around 55% of total generation) in FY2026, c.3.8x the FY2020 baseline
- The fumer plant recovered 2.8 kt of additional metal and 11.9 MT of silver in FY2026, while reducing Jarosite generation by 101 kt
- Produced cadmium finished goods in FY2026, demonstrating monetisation potential from secondary material streams
- Improved resource efficiency, lowered landfill dependence, and reduced environmental risk, supporting stronger licence to operate and long-term stakeholder value creation
What This Means for Investors
Circular economy at Hindustan Zinc is critical on both ESG and profit-and-risk lever fronts. It reduces environmental liability and regulatory exposure, unlocks capital-efficient growth optionality from existing waste streams, and reinforces the operational resilience that underpins long-term value creation.
Value creation from circular initiatives in FY2026
Revenue generated
EBITDA contribution