Vedanta's Lanjigarh alumina refinery revives second stream operations

London listed metals and minerals giant Vedanata Resources has resumed work at its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha. The company had idled the second stream at the refinery on sourcing constraints of bauxite, the principal raw material for alumina production. But, now as aluminium output enhancement has been held up as a strategic objective for the medium to long term, it has tightened its belt and gone for a commensurate ramp up in alumina production.

Vedanta's alumina production increased two per cent to reach 0.27 million tonne in the quarter ended June 30, 2016. The company now has approvals to operate the alumina refinery at 1.4 mt. Hence, depending on the visibility of adequate bauxite, it will ramp up its production volume to that level.



Presently, Vedanta is depending entirely on externally sourced bauxite to feed its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh. It sources 70 per cent of bauxite from the domestic miners of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, and imports the rest 30 per cent from countries like New Guinea.