In its just released H1 2019 financial year results to end September 2019, Vedanta subsidiary Hindustan Zinc Ltd reported some real technology milestones. Swayam Saurabh, CFO, said: “Our investments in automation and digitisation are steadily delivering results and would support cost optimisation goals. Our target is to maintain our strong financial profile and cost leadership through higher productivity.”

Production at the Sindesar Khurd (SK) mine is expected to ramp up in H2 on account of opening of new blocks, faster development and higher back filling post commissioning of second paste fill plant. The production shaft at SK, which was commissioned earlier in the year, has seen production ramped up with associated conveyor & automation system in production.

At Rampura Agucha (RA), the shaft project is in advanced stage and expected to be completed in Q3 FY2020. At Zawar, India’s first ever dry tailings stacking plant was commissioned during the FY second quarter 2019. Additionally, two backfill plants are on track to be commissioned in Q3 FY2020, enabling mining of left out high-grade ore in old pillars.

At Rajpura Dariba, the existing production shaft capacity is being upgraded from 0.7 to 1.3 Mt/y to debottleneck the mine and expected to complete in Q4 FY2020.

Digitisation projects at RA and SK mines are on track. Key milestones achieved in quarter include tracking of underground equipment on a real-time basis at RA and SK mines, automation of the pumping system at RA, teleremote operations of drilling equipment & loaders at RA and centralised task scheduling & management at SK.