Vedanta Aluminium tends to pivot on backward integration; plans to functionalize two coal mines for securing raw materials at CPP

The global manufacturing industry encountered the deadly Covid pandemic with plenty of dents, the aluminium sector was also one of those challenges. However, India’s mining and metal giant, Vedanta's aluminium business, counter the pandemic well and was not heavily impacted. Now, it tends to focus on backward integration in the next fiscal and plans to functionalize two of its coal mines in Odisha to secure the supply of raw materials at its Captive Power Plants, as reported by a top-level executive of the company.

Rahul Sharma, the CEO of Vedanta Aluminium said, “In the coming financial year, the company's 'focus would be on backward integration.”

"Second is the raw material. We have some mines. We would like to operationalise one or two mines so that our raw material security becomes captive raw material. We see them (Jamkhani and Radhikapur coal mines) coming into operation next financial year,'' Sharma added.

“The expansion of the company's alumina refinery from the current 2 million tonnes per annum to 5 MTPA is going as per the schedule. We are expanding our refinery which is alumina, which is an intermediate product, from 2 to 5 million tonnes. That is going as per the schedule.”

Balco, which is also majorly owned by Vedanta will scale its production from 0.56 million tonnes to 1 million tonnes.

The CEO further said, “To cater to sunrise sectors like electric mobility, renewable energy and aerospace, the company is expanding its portfolio in terms of value-added products like billets and alloys.”

''Nothing has been hampered. Rather we are on track from the product side, expansion side, backward integration side, value-added products.”