Vedanta to set up $2 billion copper project in Saudi Arabia

Anil Agarwal-led mining and metals conglomerate, Vedanta Resources, will invest $2 billion to establish a copper processing facility in Saudi Arabia, giving a boost to the kingdom’s diversification programme.

Vedanta will be setting up a 400,000 tonne capacity smelter and refinery besides a 300,000 tonne facility for the manufacture of copper rods, which is used for making electrical cables.

The move to set up a copper smelter in the Middle Est comes after Vedanta was forced to close its Indian copper smelter operation following a major accident at the plant. 

The Saudi project aligns with both Vedanta’s proposal of basing copper production in India or rhe West asia Gulf region and Saudi Arabia’s strategy of diversifying into metals production as oil economy enters its final lap, according to Chris Griffith, CEO of Vedanta Base Metals.

Vedanta will initially invest $30 million to set up a copper rod mill with an annual production capacity of 125,000 tonnes, with fullscale production planned by 2026.

Saudi Arabia is estimated to have untapped resources like copper, gold and phosphate, worth $2.5 trillion and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 focuses on tapping these wealth with foreign participation and diversify the economy away from oil.

Vedanta expects a 40 per cent increase in copper demand by 2040, although an oversupply has dimmed current demand for the metal.