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REGIONAL NEWS - ASIA 16 E&MJ; • APRIL 2016 www.e-mj.com India Set to Auction 12 Copper Reserves in 2016 The Indian government will, for the frst time, auction 12 copper reserves over the next year to enable backward integration of the domestic industry. Currently, government-owned and op- erated Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) is the country's sole integrated copper pro- ducer with its own captive mines. All oth- er producers are dependent on imported copper concentrates for conversion to copper cathodes and rods. According to an offcial in India's Min - istry of Mines, the government was suf- fciently encouraged by discovery of new reserves and encouraging results from prospecting licenses issued for reserves across the country to plan an auction of certain blocks to domestic and foreign copper producers. The proposed auction would also open up import-dependent domestic copper producers to invest toward backward integration and ensure raw material secu - rity, he said. He said fve copper reserves had been identifed in the western Indian province of Gujarat, three in the central desert province of Rajasthan and four in Maha- rashtra, which, per estimates of the min - istry, would ensure 10-15 million metric tons per year (mt/y) of incremental copper ore supplies to the domestic industry. Through initiatives of the govern- ment's mineral exploration agencies, the ministry has identifed copper reserves of 26 million mt with trace gold and silver estimated at 1.5 million mt at the Alwar district in Rajasthan. This would be one of the reserves put on the block this year. In addition, exploration is currently being conducted in the provinces of Ra- jasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, and of the 20,000 km 2 covered so far, an estimated reserve of 1.5 million mt have been identifed. The fndings were signifcant con- sidering that India has limited copper reserves, accounting for only 2% of glo- bal reserves. Production from these re- serves represents only 0.2% of world cop- per ore production. Although total Indian production of refned copper has account- ed for 4% of world production, indicating the import dependency of the domestic industry. Altech Raises Funds to Advance Malaysian Alumina Plant Design Western Australia-based Altech Chem- icals will use A$1.2 million raised in a placement to fnalize the detailed design of a proposed high-purity alumina (HPA) plant to be located at Johor, Malaysia. Apart from the design work for the 4,000-mt/y plant, funds will be used for completion of debt fnancing and for gen- eral working capital. The company said the Malaysian plant forms an integral part of its plan to be- come a signifcant supplier of 99.99% high-purity alumina—a high-value prod- uct that is the critical ingredient required for production of artifcial sapphire. Artifcial sapphire is used in the man- ufacture of substrates for LED lights, semi-conductor wafers used in the elec- tronics industry, and scratch-resistant ar- tifcial sapphire glass used for wristwatch faces, optical windows and smartphone components. According to the company, there is no substitute for HPA in the man- ufacture of artifcial sapphire. Altech has also received the results of an update to the bankable feasibility study for the Johor plant. Altech's man- aging director Iggy Tan said, "This up- dated BFS confrms the fnancial and technical robustness of the company's HPA project, as was identifed in the original BFS. "Since the completion of the BFS in June 2015, the various technical consul- tants have taken time to conduct a de- tailed review of the entire HPA project, identifying optimization opportunities, critically reviewing equipment selection, and updating all equipment and operat- ing cost pricing. "This is quite important given the changes that have transpired in the resources industry since the BFS was completed. "The focus for Altech now is the f- nalization of project fnancing, comple- tion of fnal design and construction drawings, the formal appointment of the EPC contractor and the subsequent award of various works packages to en- able the commencement of construction in early 2017." The company recently secured a 30- year lease on a site in Johor Bahru for the proposed HPA plant. Johor is linked to Singapore by causeway and is the only state in Malaysia with three ports and an international airport for cargo. Hindustan Copper Ltd. is India's only integrated copper producer with its own domestic ore supply.