Hindustan Zinc achieve success in exploration

India's largest zinc producer Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) has announced that its ongoing exploration activities have yielded significant success with an increase of 28.7 million tonnes to its reserves and resources, prior to a depletion of 5.8 million tonnes in FY 2008.

Contained zinc-lead metal has increased by 4.0 million tonnes, prior to a depletion of 0.6 million tonnes during the same period. Total reserves and resources at March 31, 2008 were 232.3 million tonnes containing 27.5 million tonnes of zinc-lead metal. The reserves and resources position has been independently reviewed and certified as per JORC standard.

The success of exploration has primarily been in the Sindesar Khurd and Rampura Agucha mines. The sustained exploration and aggressive drilling programme at Sindesar Khurd mine has successfully augmented the resource base to the current level of 37 million tonnes, making it the second largest ore body in HZL's portfolio after Rampura Agucha, with potential for further additions, through ongoing exploration. In FY 2008, the drilling programme successfully increased the strike length, by 300 metres, to 1,600 metres averaging 5.8 per cent zinc, 2.8 per cent lead and 215 ppm silver.

At Rampura Agucha, 28,000 metres of drilling in 32 holes were carried out to outline mineralisation below a depth of 550 metres. Of these, 29 holes intersected ore widths with significant grades averaging 15.5 per cent zinc and 2.0 per cent lead. The combined reserves and resources at Rampura Agucha alone have been augmented to 107.3 million tonnes at March 31, 2008, achieving the landmark of crossing 100 million tonnes in reserves and resources.

The group's exploration philosophy has been to replace every tonne of ore mined with at least one tonne of resource. HZL has dynamically increased in exploration focus, through a team of 40 geologists employing the latest geophysical, geochemical and GIS technologies and high speed deep drilling equipment. This has resulted in an addition of 110.7 million tonnes of reserves and resources, before depletion of 22.1 million tonnes, in the period from April 2003 to March 2008.