India’s Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) has secured a license to mine tungsten in southern state of Andhra Pradesh, as part of its strategy to diversify from its existing operations of production of zinc, lead and silver, a company statement said on Thursday.
Tungsten is used in steel making to increase hardness and wear resistance specially in high performance steel tool that need to withstand high temperatures and wear resistance.
The licence was granted by the Andhra Pradesh government after HZL emerged the winning bidder for the tungsten block in Kanaganapalle district.
The tungsten and associated minerals block spans a total area of 308.30 hectares and is currently at the G3 level of exploration.
