Codelco of Chile to Provide Copper Concentrate to Adani Group's Smelter

The largest copper producer in the world, Chile's state-owned Codelco, said Wednesday that it will provide copper concentrates to the $1.2 billion smelter owned by the Adani Group in India, the largest single-site plant of its kind in the world.

At the conglomerate's headquarters in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in the western state, Codelco chairman Maximo Pacheco met with Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and announced that the supply would begin this year.

The smelter, officially known as Kutch Copper, is situated in Gujarat as well. Previously, its executives stated that it would source concentrates from Chile and other nations.

The smelter began operations a year ago and last month formed a joint venture to manufacture wires and cables.

India's imports of copper have skyrocketed since Vedanta's Sterlite Copper smelter, which produced about 400,000 metric tons of copper, closed in 2018.

At the moment, India's only copper producers are state-owned miner Hindustan Copper and Hindalco Industries, a branch of the Aditya Birla group.

A separate preliminary agreement was also signed by Codelco and Hindustan Copper to work together on mineral exploration and processing.

Following the closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper smelter in 2018, which produced about 400,000 metric tons of the metal, India has been importing more copper.

Only the state-owned miner Hindustan Copper and Hindalco Industries, a division of the Aditya Birla group, currently produce copper in India.

In order to explore and process minerals, Codelco and Hindustan Copper also inked a preliminary agreement.