Vedanta settles dues worth $246 million to regain control of Zambia copper mine

New Delhi: Vedanta Resources Holding Ltd, the parent company of Indian mining giant Vedanta Ltd, is poised to regain control of the Konkola copper mine in Zambia after settling nearly $246 million in dues. 

The Anil Agarwal-led conglomerate has been looking to take full management control of the mine for the past five years. The Konkola copper mine was pushed into liquidation by the Zambian government in 2019 following president Edgar Lungu's allegations that it had failed to expand copper production.

The Konkola copper mine (KCM) boasts some of the largest deposits of high-grade copper in the world, exceeding  2.4%. It is also among the top cobalt producers in the globe with 412 thousand tonnes (kt) of reserves. 

Vedanta plans to ramp up its KCM copper production to 300 ktpa (thousand tonne per annum) and also increase cobalt production from 1ktpa to 6ktpa by improving production capabilitiesthe mine, the company said in a release.

“Copper is clearly a metal of the future, and its supply chain is one which the Government of India is also extremely keen to secure, given the huge demand for copper in the country, its current limited domestic production, and very high import levels, said chairman of the Vedanta Group Anil Aggarwal. "We expect KCM to help serve some of this demand and strengthen economic and trade ties between India and Zambia.”

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India imported copper and copper articles worth $12 million (approximately ₹100.36 crore) from Zambia in FY23, as per a bilateral trade report by the ministry of commerce.

The mine is expected to become a growth engine for the socio-economic development of the Zambian nation, said Vedanta Base Metals CEO Chris Griffith.

The global copper supply is set to peak in 2026 at 26 million tonne with demand continuing to outpace supply if new major projects do not come online, Vedanta said in the release.

Shares of Vedanta are trading at ₹444.50 on Friday on the National Stock Exchange, down 1.53% from the previous close in a largely weak market.

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