Mumbai: Sterlite is expanding its capacities in all its businesses to become a global-sized player in the non-ferrous metals market.

It is looking to acquire copper mines. This will make the company a major integrated player in non-ferrous metals, on the lines of Rio Tinto or BHP Billiton. Its ongoing expansion of the copper plant to 300,000 tpa will make the company India''s largest producer of the metal.

Sterlite will continue to acquire new mines to supplement its mines in Australia, which currently meet 30 per cent of its concentrate needs. The company aims to increase that proportion to 100 per cent, which will make it a completely backward integrated player in the copper business.

Its subsidiary, Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), is expanding to 400,000 tpa, which will make it one of the top 10 global producers of zinc. Another subsidiary, Balco, which has one of the country''s oldest aluminium plants, plans to modernise and expand its operations to 345,000 tpa by end-FY2006.

The company has interests in copper, zinc, lead and aluminium. The planned capacity expansions by each of these companies will make Sterlite a global non-ferrous metals major on the lines of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, says SSKI Securities.

Sterlite''s capacity expansion from the current 180,000 tpa to 300,000 tpa is expected to be completed by Q4FY2004. The expansion will increase the company''s refined copper volumes by 16 per cent to 180,000 tpa in FY2004, and by 39 per cent to 250,000 tpa in FY2005.

The domestic market, meanwhile, is expected to grow at a much slower annualised rate of 5 per cent, while zero-duty imports from neighbouring countries continue to increase.

Sterlite is expected to export most of its output from the expanded capacity. Sterlite Industries has recently exercised its option to buy an additional 19-per cent stake in HZL from the Indian government at a price of Rs 40.5 per share.

The buyout is likely to be completed over the next three months, and will cost Sterlite Rs 3.25 billion. The buyout, expected to be funded by a mix of debt and internal accruals, will increase Sterlite''s stake in HZL from the current 46 per cent to 65 per cent.