Vedanta, led by Anil Agarwal, plans to invest $2 billion in copper projects in Saudi Arabia. This investment will involve the construction of a new smelter and refinery with a capacity of 400,000 metric tons per year.
Vedanta aims to establish a facility capable of producing up to 300,000 tons of copper rods annually, which are important for electric cable manufacturing. Chris Griffith, CEO of Vedanta Base Metals, highlighted the increasing demand for copper and the alignment of this project with Vedanta's expansion goals in India and the Middle East, as well as Saudi Arabia's industrial growth strategy.
The initial phase of the project will be a copper rod mill with a capacity of 125 kilotons per year, requiring an investment of around $30 million. Full commercial production is expected to start in 2026.