Vedanta readies $2bn war chest for mines acquisition

UK-listed Indian metals group Vedanta has earmarked around $2 billion to buy mining assets with a focus on East Europe and Latin America.

Anil Agarwal, Vedanta chairman, told an Indian newspaper: "We believe that backward integration is the way forward for us. We are continuously looking at acquiring mines to become a fully integrated player in basic metals."

Mining assets in resource-rich East Europe and Latin America will facilitate the group's endeavour to attain a capacity of a million tpy each in aluminium, copper and zinc, said Agarwal.

Agarwal also expressed interest in acquiring further up stream assets in India, particularly in the coal sector to feed its proposed power plant in Orissa.