Vedanta CEO meets Odisha CM for urgent allocation of bauxite mine

Vedanta's chief executive officer (CEO) Tom Albanese urged Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik last Thursday to arrange for bauxite for its dying one million tonne per annum (mtpa) Lanjigarh refinery in Kalahandi district as soon as possible.

The CEO also officially intimated the company's decision to close what is claimed to be India's one of the top world-class refineries in a phased manner since it has no access to bauxite and the cost of production is scaling higher with every passing day. Previously, the company had made an announcement to this effect; yet no measure was taken by the state's mining authority.

"There is no cooling-off period for the refinery. Steps have been initiated for its closure as there is no raw material. We are operating in a condition of business crisis where we are losing cash flow," the CEO told the media after meeting Mr. Patnaik.

"We had a fruitful discussion with the chief minister on possible solutions. The state government has taken it seriously," he added.

Abhijit Pati, Vedanta's chief executive officer (aluminium) said prices of aluminium on London Metal Exchange (LME) have been declining sharply oflate. To this was added falling demand for aluminium in international market which prompted the company to cut the refinery capacity substantially.

"We were running it at 100% capacity. But we have decided to gradually bring down the capacity to survive," he said.

Pati said bauxite crisis has been plaguing Vedanta's operations in Odisha for the last 10 years. The Lanjigarh plant employs over 10,000 people, whose fate hangs in the balance as the state delays its decision to allocate bauxite mine to the refinery.