By Alex MacDonald
LONDON --U.K.-listed, India-focused Vedanta Resources PLC
(VED.LN) remains on track to meet its production targets in lead
and silver, as well as zinc from its overseas operations, this year
and hopes to achieve its targeted rate of oil and gas production in
the near-term, the company's chief executive said Tuesday.
"We remain on track to deliver earlier projected growth in the
integrated silver and lead production for the year as a whole at
about 100,000 tons of lead and about 11 million ounces of silver"
driven by the ramp-up of its SK mine and the new 100,000 ton-a-year
Dariba lead smelter, both in India, MS Mehta said in a conference
call about the company's second fiscal quarter results.
Vedanta produced 53,000 tons of lead from its integrated
operations in the first six months ended Sept. 30, up 59% on year,
while integrated silver production rose 61% on year to 5.14 million
ounces.
Moving onto Zinc International, Mr. Mehta said the company
remains on track to deliver the volume guidance given in May of
around 400,000 tons of zinc, largely due to lower grade ore. Zinc
International produced 220,000 tons of zinc in the first half of
the fiscal year, down 5% on year.
He also said the company's majority-owned Cairn India Ltd.
(532792.BY) is seeking to achieve a near-term production target of
240,000 barrels of oil equivalent output a day by calendar 2013,
primarily through the start-up of several fields coming online by
March 2013. Cairn India produced record second-quarter oil output
of 207,245 barrels of oil a day, due to the ramp-up of production
in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
At 1043 GMT, Vedanta's shares were up 3.2% at 1,102 pence a
share, while the FTSE 350 mining index was up 1.5%.
Mr. Mehta also said the corporate restructuring process was on
track to be completed by the end of the year. Vedanta has proposed
an all-share merger between metals producer Sterlite Industries
(India) Ltd. (500900.BY) and iron ore producer Sesa Goa Ltd.
(500295.BY) to create Sesa Sterlite, an India-based natural
resources champion, with combined sales of $14.2 billion, that
would simplify Vedanta's holdings across various units.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
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