Vedanta group firm HZL plans to foray into potash mining; eyeing block in Rajasthan

Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd ( HZL) plans to foray into potash mining and is eyeing a block in Rajasthan which has a fair chance of having lithium reserves also, a top official of the company said. India heavily relies on potash imports and has been exploring ways to reduce its dependence on imports. India's potash imports primarily come from countries like Russia, Canada, Belarus, and Israel.

The company is also planning to expand beyond base metals -- zinc and lead -- and precious metal silver as well as all critical minerals which are of strategic interest to the company.

Hindustan Zinc was declared as the preferred bidder for Dugocha gold block in Rajasthan, resulting into expansion of its portfolio of precious metals.

"So all the critical mineral blocks, as I said, we have got gold...block, we have got tungsten block. So Hindustan Zinc will expand beyond zinc, lead and silver.

"We will expand into all critical minerals, whichever is of strategic interest to us, including not only minerals, including potash... Potash is there in Rajasthan... (There are) also chances of lithium association there (in the potash block). So we will look at that," Hindustan Zinc CEO Arun Misra told PTI.

Hindustan Zinc Limited was awarded the Balepalyam Tungsten Block in Andhra Pradesh.

The company, he said, is eyeing to participate in the auction of all mineral blocks taking place in the country and added that its subsidiary Hindmetal Exploration Services Pvt Ltd --focused on strategic mineral exploration particularly in critical minerals -- is fully on the job.

"I am sure they (the company) will turn out to be the biggest private explorer as far as India is concerned," he explained.

Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) on Friday reported a 47.3 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,003 crore in the quarter ended March 2025, backed by record metal volume and lower production cost.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,038 crore in the year-ago period.

HZL is the world's largest integrated zinc producer and is amongst the top five silver producers globally. The company supplies to more than 40 countries and holds a market share of about 77 per cent of the primary zinc market in India.