Australian company Aditya Birla Minerals, a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries, would raise up to A$299 million ($218 million) from an IPO. The company has filed the IPO prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

A release from Hindalco to the exchanges said the IPO would open on 20 April and close on 10 May, 2006. Subsequent to the issue, the company''s shares would be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The company is offering 154 million shares at A$1.95 per equity share to institutional investors and brokers. There will not be any general public offer. Hindalco''s stake in the company would come down to 51 per cent after the IPO.

The IPO proceeds are expected to be used for retiring debt besides financing its expansion plans. The company is expected to become the fourth-largest producer of copper in Australia. Profit forecast for the year ending March 2007 is at A$48 million.

Aditya Birla Minerals operates two copper mines in Australia which supplies nearly one-fifth of the copper concentrate requirements of Hindalco''s copper smelter in Gujarat.

In 2003 the company acquired the Nifty copper mine in Western Australia, the third-largest copper mine in Australia and one of the top 25 copper deposits globally. The mine with annual capacity of 25,000 tonnes of copper cathodes was acquired at a cost of A$80 million. The company has also acquired explorations rights for multiple sites.

The second mine, Mount Gordon in the state of Queensland, was acquired in the same year for A$21 million. The mine has a capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes of copper concentrate annually.