India Poised To Lead The ‘New Copper Age’, Says Vedanta’s Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal believes the world is stepping into a “New Copper Age,” an era where the red metal will power everything from artificial intelligence to clean energy technologies.

Drawing a link between ancient history and modern innovation, Agarwal said copper has always been central to human progress. “Copper has a very close association with the advance of human civilisation, and our ancient India. Around 6,000 years ago, the Indus Valley Civilisation, one of the world’s first great civilisations, came up in the Copper Age, when we learnt to use the red metal for the first time,” he said in a post on X.

“I believe we are now entering a New Copper Age. The technologies of the future, whether AI or energy transition, are all underwritten by massive amounts of copper, a most versatile metal and best conductor of electricity,” he added.

Agarwal said India is well placed to lead this new era, citing the country’s human capital, natural resources, and technological strength. “Like in the first Copper Age, I believe India is rising to become a global leader in this new one. We have the human resources, natural resources and tech capability. Our future will be as prosperous and glorious as our ancient past,” he wrote.

Copper futures rose 0.8% to Rs 1,015.35 per kilogram on Monday due to higher spot demand. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, copper contracts for December delivery grew Rs 8.05 or 0.8% to Rs 1,015.35 per kg in a business turnover of 2,340 lots.