Vedanta Says India Bauxite Mine On Track Of 4Q Start

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- London-listed miner Vedanta PLC (VED.LN) Friday said it doesn't expect protests will derail the start of mining at a controversial bauxite mine in India. "Residual" permits should be obtained in coming months to allow mining to begin in October or November, CEO MS Mehta said in a conference call following the release of Vedanta's first quarter earnings. "We don't see any issue coming in the way." Mehta said the company is finishing a conveyor belt that will connect the Niyamgiri bauxite mine in the state of Orissa to its Lanjigarh alumina refinery. The Niyamgiri mine has been contested by tribal people who believe the hills where the deposit is located are sacred. India's Supreme Court gave Vedanta the right to mine the deposit in August last year, but human rights groups and environmental activists are campaigning against its startup. Mehta said the project has been approved at all regulatory levels, and has the support of locals. About half of the employees at Vedanta's Niyamgiri refinery live locally, he added. The beginning of mining at Niyamgiri will help Vedanta in reducing production costs at its aluminum smelters in India from $1,290 per metric ton to its goal of $900/ton, Mehta said. -By Matthew Walls, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9412; matthew.walls@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=%2Ba5Lz8J90kdQ%2F%2Fo1CwsSQw%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.