New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) State-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) looks to rope in a partner with strong financial health to help it expedite ore output capacity to over 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), its CMD Arun Kumar Shukla has said.

He said all statutory clearances are in place for the first phase of expansion.

Also Read | Nithiin-Shalini's Mehendi Ceremony Pics Are Out and They Are Simply Stunning!.

Speaking to PTI, the HCL chairman and managing director said the company will enhance its ore production capacity from the current level of 4 MTPA to 12.2 MTPA in the first phase, and subsequently to 20.2 MTPA, in line with the government's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative.

To achieve this target, he said HCL "is looking for a suitable partner with strong financial background to expedite its future mine expansion project at a faster pace".

Also Read | Assam Reports 1,165 New COVID-19 Cases Today, Total Count Reaches 31,086: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on July 25, 2020.

Kumar said three-fold rise in ore production under first phase is expected to be achieved in next seven to eight years and this includes a major shift from open pit mining to underground mining at Malanjkhand Copper Project (MCP) -- the flagship unit of HCL.

HCL is presently struggling with the issue of low grade ore. However, it is expected that by the end of 2020-2021 ore production from underground mine will start and the issue will be partially addressed, the CMD explained.

Earlier, Shukla had said that the financial condition of HCL is in "dire straits" primarily due to the dismal performance of the PSU in 2019-20 and had asked the employees to brace up for tough times ahead.

Hindustan Copper had posted a consolidated loss of Rs 514.27 crore for the quarter ended March 2020.

For the year ended March 2020, the company had a consolidated loss of Rs 569.21 crore.

The company had said that "profit (loss) for the period was from continuing and discontinued operations after tax".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)