India's Hindustan Zinc starts new zinc smelter

NEW DELHI, Dec 14 (Reuters) - India's top zinc producer, Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZNC.BO), said on Friday it had started production at a second zinc smelter in the northwestern state of Rajasthan.

It said the smelter at Chanderiya has a capacity of 170,000 tonnes per annum, and would increase the firm's total production capacity of lead and zinc to 670,000 tonnes annually from 500,000 tonnes.

The company aims to raise total capacity to one million tonnes by 2010. (Reporting by Biman Mukherji; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)