Vedanta's production levels at record highs

Vedanta Resources, the India-based mining group, produced record amounts of aluminium, copper and zinc in the second quarter of the year and its expansion projects stayed on schedule. Vedanta's aluminium production for the quarter ending September 30 was 99,000 tonnes, 25 per cent higher than the same period of 2006. The company produced 196,000 tonnes over the half year, up 27 per cent, with most of the increase coming from its new Korba smelter. In copper, the group's mines in India and Australia produced 91,000 tonnes of copper cathode in the second quarter, up 14 per cent, while Zambia-based subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines produced 40,000 tonnes, up 29 per cent. Refined zinc production rose 20 per cent in the second quarter to 94,000 tonnes. Vedanta entered the iron ore market this year through its acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Sesa Goa. The group produced 1.85m tonnes of ore during the second quarter; shipments were low during this period because of the Indian monsoon season. Vedanta is building several new mines and smelters, including a 500,000 tonne a year aluminium smelter and power plant complex at Jharsuguda in India's north-eastern Orissa state. Vedanta said construction at the site was “in full swing”, and the smelter would start production in 2009. Vedanta's new alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Orissa started production this year and produced 28,000 tonnes in the quarter ending September 30. But the company is still feeding the plant with imported bauxite as India's supreme court has not given the group permission to develop a nearby bauxite deposit due to environmental concerns. Shares in Vedanta rose 35p to close at £21.90.