Hindalco says to start Orissa alumina refinery by Jan

It also expects to start mining bauxite in the state from October this year, said Suryakant Mishra, chief executive of Utkal Alumina International Ltd (UAIL) a wholly-owned unit of Hindalco.

"We are planning to commission the refinery by December end or mid-January. Mining will start by October," he told Reuters by telephone.

Mishra said the company initially aims to mine 4.3 to 4.4 mtpa annum of bauxite to supply the refinery, though it has permission to mine 8.5 million tonnes.

Hindalco, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is trebling aluminium production capacity in India to 1.9 million tonnes by 2013 at a cost of about $5 billion. Novelis, its U.S.-based subsidiary, is the world's largest producer of rolled aluminium products.