Becoming a Multi-Metal Enterprise is a Key Part of Our Doubling Growth Strategy: Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Hindustan Zinc

Udaipur, 25 August 2025 (Kiran News). Hindustan Zinc is moving towards critical and rare minerals to make India self-reliant and strengthen its position globally.

In its 59th Annual General Meeting, Vedanta Group and the world’s largest integrated zinc producer, Hindustan Zinc Limited, presented its vision for Hindustan Zinc 2.0. Under this new plan, the company is transforming itself from India’s largest zinc and silver producer to a multi-metal and future-focused enterprise.

Addressing shareholders, Chairperson Priya Agarwal Hebbar said that Hindustan Zinc is now evolving beyond zinc and silver to become a multi-metal company that will empower India’s future. Considering the growing demand for critical minerals for clean energy, digital infrastructure, and national security, the company is expanding its capabilities and partnerships to responsibly drive the country’s growth.

Hindustan Zinc is now actively moving into the exploration of copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, potash, and rare earth elements. Additionally, the company is exploring opportunities in neodymium, antimony, graphite, and germanium. It has also become one of India’s first private companies to acquire a rare monazite block.

To accelerate this work, Hindustan Zinc has issued international tenders for exploration using artificial intelligence and drones, taking expertise from Australia, South Africa, Chile, and China. These efforts will strengthen India’s strategic minerals ecosystem and align with the government’s Critical Minerals Roadmap.

In the 59th Annual General Meeting, the Chairperson also shared that Hindustan Zinc’s inclusion in NSE’s Futures and Options segment, Nifty Next 50, and Nifty 100 indices is a significant achievement, reflecting strong investor confidence. Earlier, in the financial year 2025, the company ranked third in the Nifty Metal Index by market capitalization and became one of the top 10 wealth creators in the Nifty 200 Index.

Hindustan Zinc is working to double its production capacity in the coming years, including new smelting capacity and mine expansions. The first phase of the doubling growth strategy has started, with an investment of about ₹12,000 crore in a new integrated refined metal smelter with a capacity of 250 kilotonnes per year at the Debari Zinc Smelter in Rajasthan. Additionally, expansion of mines and mills is underway at various locations. This includes a unique tailings reprocessing project at Rampura Agucha mines, with an investment of ₹3,823 crore, which will process 10 million tonnes of feed to extract zinc and silver from historical tailings.

Along with metals, the company is also investing in a major fertilizer plant in Rajasthan that will use sulphuric acid to strengthen Indian agriculture. This move will reduce import dependence, save foreign exchange, and provide high-quality fertilizers to Indian farmers.

Alongside growth, Hindustan Zinc is making sustainability a core part of its development. About 13 percent of the company’s operations already run on renewable energy, with a target to reach 70 percent by financial year 2028. The company has achieved 3.32 times water positivity and has been ranked as the world’s most sustainable metal and mining company by S&P Global CAA 2024 for two consecutive years. Hindustan Zinc has also become the first Indian mining company to join the International Council on Mining and Metals, furthering its commitment to responsible and sustainable mining.

Hindustan Zinc 2.0 is the next stage of the company’s development, based on three pillars: expansion as a multi-metal enterprise, adopting sustainability and circular economy practices, and investing in future-ready technology and exploration. This is not just about becoming bigger, but about a strategic shift towards nation-building and placing the company at the centre of a self-reliant and developed India.