Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) is set to enter into a joint venture agreement with Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. (MECL) and National Aluminium Company Ltd. (Nalco) to get into exploration and exploitation of strategic minerals. A joint venture company named KABIL — Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. — will be formed to explore and exploit rare metals such as titanium, gallium and rhenium. These minerals find use in defense equipment, spacecraft and shipbuilding.

Once the Nalco board approves the proposal, a company will be formed to deal in the area of strategic minerals. The joint venture company will primarily deal with government-to-government businesses. The company is also in the process of investing close to INR 2,000 million for extracting precious metals such as gold and silver from its copper tailings or the copper left behind after extraction from the ore.

The plant will come up at Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh.