Adani Forays into Metallurgy Sector with $1.2B Investment in Copper Smelter

Adani Enterprises' subsidiary Kutch Copper on Thursday commenced operations through the first unit of its greenfield copper refinery project at Mundra, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Marking the Adani Portfolio's debut in the metal industry, the company will invest nearly $1.2 billion to set up a copper smelter with 0.5 MTPA capacity in the first phase. Overall, the plant will have a 1 MTPA and will be set up over two phases.

Once completed, Kutch Copper will be the world's largest single-location custom smelter, benchmarking ESG performance standards while leveraging state-of-the-art technology and digitalization, Adani Enterprises said.

The company expects to create 2,000 direct and 5,000 indirect employment opportunities. Further, it expects the demand for copper to be driven by renewable energy, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and the development of power transmission and distribution networks.

The subsidiary unit is looking to add copper tubes to its portfolio through the establishment of Kutch Copper Tubes Limited, catering to applications in air conditioning and refrigeration.

"With Kutch Copper commencing operations, the Adani portfolio of companies is not only entering the metals sector but also driving India's leap towards a sustainable and aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) future," Gautam Adani, Chairman Adani Group, said.

“Our speed of execution in this ambitious, super-sized project underscores our commitment to take India to the forefront of the global copper sector. We believe the domestic copper industry will play a crucial role in achieving our nation’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2070 by strengthening our green infrastructure hand in hand with mature environmental stewardship," Adani said.