Vedanta Copper International, a 100% subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Investment and Ministry of Industries & Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This collaboration aims to make investments of $2-bn in full-size copper projects, encompassing a 400-ktpa greenfield copper smelter and refinery and a 300-ktpa copper rod project, which can be set to be mounted in Ras Al Khair Industrial City in Saudi Arabia. Copper is widely taken into consideration to be one of the most important critical minerals in the international energy transition.
Vedanta’s initiatives assist Saudi Arabia’s ambitious ‘Vision 2030’, which endeavours to unlock an anticipated $1.3 trillion in mineral resources and increase the minerals sector’s GDP contribution from $17-bn to $64-bn by 2030. Currently, Saudi’s copper demand is around 365-ktpa, anticipated to more than double via 2035, ordinarily met by imports at present.
Together, these projects are anticipated to help create lots of new jobs, facilitate the development of hundreds of downstream industries, and will make contributions about $19-bn to the national GDP. Over time, they’ll additionally assist the Kingdom in achieving self-sufficiency in its copper supply chain.
Vedanta plans to commence operations in the Kingdom with a 125-ktpa copper rod mill project, which requires an investment of around $30-mn. Commercial production is expected to begin in complete swing via Q4 FY 2025-26.
