Metals Recycler Runaya To Spend Rs 1,500 Crore On Rare Earth Magnets, Zinc
The company is involved in technology-enabled manufacturing and recovery of metals from scrap
Metals recycler Runaya Pvt. plans to spend Rs 1,500 crore on multiple segments from recovery of rare earth magnets and to minor metals from processed zinc ore.
The company is involved in technology-enabled manufacturing and recovery of metals from scrap. The firm sources aluminium and zinc waste from large manufacturers such as Hindalco Industries Ltd., Balco Aluminium Co. and Hindustan Zinc Ltd. It is already extracting green aluminium from dross or layer of impurities floating on molten metal.
Runaya was co-founded by Naivedya Agarwal and Annanya Agarwal—sons of Navin Agarwal, the vice chairman of Vedanta Group.
"We receive a processing fee from the manufacturers to recover around 90% of the aluminium from the waste, which is close to 40% in terms of the weight," Naivedya Agarwal, co-founder and chief executive officer of Runaya, told BQ Prime in an interview.
Naivedya Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of Runaya. (Source: Company)
"The aluminium is then given back to the manufacturers for a processing fee, while the remainder waste we value add and sell as low carbon briquettes to steel companies," he said.
The recovered aluminium has just 400 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of production, which is much lower as compared with global emissions of 3-4 tonne of CO2 per tonne.
For aluminum, the company has a recovery plant in Jharsaguda and is in the process of setting up the plant for recovery of minor metals from zinc ore waste in Chanderi, Rajasthan.
"We have spent Rs 400 crore till now and have planned a capital expenditure of Rs 400 crore in FY24," Agarwal said.
Over the next two to three years, the company will spend close to Rs 1,500 crore on the expansion of existing business, as well as rare earth magnets business, where Runaya has tied up with the IREL (India) Ltd.—the state-run rare earth minerals company—to buy their entire produce, the CEO said.
At present, India is a net importer of industrial magnets. There is potential for magnets in the country in the electric vehicle, electrical products segments and by other industries.
Runaya had a turnover of Rs 300 crore in FY23 and expects its revenue to cross Rs 950 crore in FY24. "The Rs 600 crore jump is mostly expected from the commissioning of the minor metal plant and full capacity utilisation of existing businesses," Agarwal said.
The work on rare earth magnet project will start at the end of the year and will take 12-18 months for commissioning, he said.
Watch the full interview here: