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Birla
Copper, Hindalco's copper division in the coastal
town of Dahej in the Bharuch district of Gujarat,
enjoys a leadership position in India and is among
the fastest-growing copper businesses in the world.
The
company's copper product range includes copper
cathodes and continuous cast copper rods. It also
produces precious metals, sulphuric acid, phosphoric
acid, di-ammonium phospate (DAP) and other phosphoric
fertilisers, and phospho-gypsum.
Copper cathodes
Hindalco's Birla Copper Cathode (BC Cathode) is
a trusted brand name known for its high purity
and consistent quality. BC Cathodes are square
shaped with 99.99 per cent copper purity levels
made by the Mount ISA electro-refining process.
They meet the international quality standards
BS 6017 1981 (1989) and u-Cath-1 / ASTM B-115
(1999), and are registered as LME A Grade. They
are characterised by a high grade with the lowest
levels of various group and individual impurities.
Cathodes
are largely used in the manufacture of copper
rods for the wire and cable industry, and copper
tubes for consumer durable goods. They are also
used for making alloys such as brass, bronze and
alloy steel, and find application in diverse areas
like defence, mint and construction.
Logistics
and transportation
BC Cathodes are
delivered by road to the company's port
storage and handling facilities for sale in export
markets. A contracted fleet of containers carrying
trucks for copper is used. An adequate trucking
fleet is available. Copper is also shipped on
break bulk cargo from the company's captive jetty
at Dahej.
Copper
is delivered to our customers in India on a CIF
basis.
Continuous
cast copper rods
Hindalco's continuous cast copper rods meet all
the requirements of international quality standards.
Their excellent surface finish makes it suitable
for processing to enamelled, coated and plated
wires. They are available in 8, 11, 12.5, 16 and
19mm diameters.
The
homogeneous structure and fine grain size of the
continuous cast copper rods lead to outstanding
drawability. They can be drawn to an ultra-fine
wire with high productivity.
The
Birla Copper rod is considered suitable for:
- power
and communication cables
- strips
for power and distribution for transformers
- magnet
wires
- zari
manufacturing
A
larger diameter rod —11, 12.5 and 16 mm —
is used for producing profiles and busbars.
Birla Copper is the only manufacturer of the 19
mm diameter copper rod in India. This rod is used
for groove conductors and profiles.
Precious
metals
Precious
metals are extracted at our precious metals refinery
located at Dahej. The metals gold and silver have
an affinity to copper ore and are found in certain
quantities in the concentrate supplies. Hindalco
pays for the gold and silver content based on
the prevailing international bullion market prices
and other terms.
The
precious metals are extracted after copper refining
to produce 99.9 per cent pure gold and silver,
and selenium. The residue contains traces of platinum
and palladium which are sold as platinum group
metal mix, commonly known as PGM.
Logistics
and transportation
The dispatch is made by special, armoured vehicles
contracted on a long-term basis through agencies.
Gold and silver are transported from Dahej to
safe vaults at various locations. Customers pick
up the delivered goods from these vaults and the
due delivery certificates are returned to us by
the transport contractor.
DAP
and NPK complexes
As
a value-added product, Hindalco produces DAP and
nitrogen phosphorous potassium compound (NPK) which
are used as fertilisers. Phosphoric acid is produced
at the company's phosphoric acid plant by the chemical
reaction of sulphuric acid from the smelting complex
and rock phosphate, which is imported. At the DAP
plant, phosphoric acid and ammonia are reacted to
form DAP. Addition of imported potash in required
quantities is part of the chemical process to produce
NPK complexes.
Logistics
and transportation
Bulk
DAP and NPK are transported from the Hindalco
facilities to the bagging plant by trucks. After
bagging, based on the delivery instructions, the
material is transported to various destinations
by road or rail. They are stored at the company's
stockists, then delivered to dealers, co-operative
societies and other customers.
For more information on DAP/NPK complexes,
click here.
Others
Sulphuric acid, copper slag, phospho-gypsum and
hydrofluosilicic acid, which are by-products of
Hindalco's production processes, are also sold.
The company is in the process of setting up an
aluminium fluoride manufacturing facility using
its by-product hydrofluosilicic acid.
Logistics
and transportation of sulphuric acid
Transportation is carried out by customer's trucks.
A pipeline to the company jetty for sulphuric
acid shipment is also available.
For
more information on sulphuric acid, phosphoric
acid and phospho gypsum, click
here.
Port
storage and handling facilities
Since
1999, Hindalco has been operating an all season
jetty located next to its facilities in Dahej, Gujarat.
The jetty is capable of handling more than 4 million
tpa of cargo. It is used to handle the import of
cargo such as copper concentrate, rock phosphate,
ammonia and coal for company power plants, and also
for the export of copper products such as break
bulk cargo. Pipelines for the export and import
of phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid are also available.
Depending upon the need for captive cargo, the company
can handle 1 to 2 million tpa of commercial cargo.
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