ANGUL: The National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has achieved 97 per cent of its aluminium production target for the current fiscal year as of August 16, with 940 out of 960 pots operational daily at its smelter plant.
The total production so far stands at 1.70 lakh tonne, said Nalco’s executive director, N Subrahmanyam. The company has set a production target of 4.70 lakh tonne of aluminium for the current financial year, aiming to match last year’s output.
Nalco’s smelter produces aluminium from alumina, which is imported from its Damanjodi refinery. The smelter’s full capacity consists of 960 pots dedicated to aluminium production.
“What is important for us is maintaining quality and reducing production costs, particularly by optimising power consumption and other inputs,” Subrahmanyam stated, adding, “We are currently managing power usage judiciously, importing 30 to 40 MW of power from the state grid.” Looking ahead, Subrahmanyam expressed confidence that aluminium production would accelerate after the monsoon season, beginning September. He also stated that the company has a comfortable coal stock of 3.5 lakh tonne at its captive power plant, sourced not only from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) but also from Nalco’s two captive coal mines. The ED expressed optimism on the company’s performance in the coming months.