India To Not Rely On Copper Imports Once Adani's Kutch Refinery Expands Capacity: Mines Ministry

India will not rely on copper imports by early next year, after the copper refinery unit of the Adani Group in Gujarat's Kutch expands its capacity, according to a release issued by the Ministry of Mines on Friday.

According to the officials of Adani's Kutch Copper Refinery, ramp up to full capacity will require some more time till around February-March 2025, the ministry said. "Once achieved, India will be self-sufficient in refined copper, and will not have to rely on imports," it added.

The ministry stated that until then, some refined copper imports will still be required.

In fiscal 2024, India imported approximately 3,63,000 tonnes of refined copper cathodes worth Rs 24,552 crore, with Japan accounting for about 67% of these imports by value. In terms of quantity, Japan supplies around 69% of the country’s refined copper imports, the release said.

Tanzania is India's second-largest source of refined copper, providing about 18% of the imports, followed by Mozambique at 5%.

Currently, seven applications from Japanese smelters certification by the Bureau of Indian Standards have been received. Among them, one smelter, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., already been granted a license. According to BIS, two more licenses will be issued by next week.

At present, four domestic suppliers—Adani’s Kutch Copper Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Gujarat Victory Forgings Pvt., and Vedanta Ltd.—and four foreign suppliers, including one each from Japan and Austria, and two from Malaysia, are certified by BIS to supply copper cathodes to the Indian market, the release said.

With four domestic and four foreign BIS-certified suppliers, along with two more certifications expected by mid-December 2024, no significant supply-side issues are anticipated, it added.

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