Vedanta Copper plans $2.3 billion capex, Tamil Nadu smelter restart back on agenda

Mumbai: Vedanta Copper plans to spend around $2.3 billion over three to four years to help expand output beyond 1 million tonnes by the end of the decade, a top executive told ET. This includes a possible restart of its smelter on the Tamil Nadu coast in India, which has been shut for more than eight years, a key executive told ET.

Vedanta Copper is currently a part of Vedanta Ltd, which also houses its zinc-lead and silver business. Other group companies have operations across aluminium, zinc, lead, silver, oil and gas, power, iron and steel.

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"We are going to produce 500,000 tonnes of copper in India, and another 500,000 tonnes in Saudi Arabia," Puneet Khurana, chief executive officer, Vedanta Copper, told ET. "We are already producing 100,000 tonnes in Fujairah in the UAE."

Around $2 billion of the company's planned capital expenditure will be used for integrated operations in Saudi Arabia - where it is planning a rod mill, a smelter and mining. "The rod mill, on which we spent $33 million, is on the verge of commissioning," Khurana said. "We have a mine in Jabal Sayid (in Saudi Arabia), which is very rich in copper, gold and zinc, and we are also working on that," he said.

For the copper smelter in the region, the company is in advanced discussions with the government, and is likely to take a call in the current quarter itself, Khurana said.

In India, it had an output of 170,000 tonnes of copper cathodes from its plant in Silvassa in fiscal 2026. "As of now, we are producing more than 245,000 tonnes (annually) in Silvassa, which is at 95% capacity. We are also working to start the Tuticorin smelter," he said.

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The company's 400,000-tonne smelter at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, which was operational for over two decades, was ordered shut by the government in 2018 on account of environmental concerns. "Once the Tuticorin asset is back, it will contribute 250,000 tonnes. A green copper proposal is already in court, and we are expecting a decision in three months' time," Khurana said.

If the proposal gets a go-ahead, Vedanta plans to spend $250 million on refurbishing and restarting operations at the plant within an eight-to-nine months time frame, with an additional focus on renewable energy, recycling, and environmental compliance, he said.