Vedanta Profile

Vedanta Limited operates as a diversified natural resource company. The company is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited.

The company’s business is principally located in India. The company has operations and projects in India, South Africa, Namibia, the UAE, Ireland, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Liberia. The company primarily engages in zinc, oil and gas, iron ore, copper, aluminium, commercial power generation and steel businesses; and is also developing and operating port operation, glass businesses and infrastructure assets. The company has expanded its existing business across oil and gas, copper, zinc, aluminium and iron ore and acquired new businesses, such as the steel business through acquisition of ESL in 2018 and FACOR in 2020. The company is the leading and only integrated zinc producer.

Zinc Business

The company’s fully integrated Zinc India business is owned and operated by HZL. In FY 2022, HZL was the second largest zinc-lead miner and fourth largest zinc-lead smelter based on production volumes and in the first quartile in terms of all zinc mining operations worldwide, according to Wood Mackenzie Production Rankings. The company has a 64.9% ownership interest in HZL, with the remainder owned by the GoI (29.5%) and institutional and public shareholders (5.6%). The company has exercised the second call option to acquire the GoI’s remaining ownership interest in HZL. HZL had initiated arbitration proceeding which have been withdrawn and tribunal dissolved. HZL’s operations include five lead-zinc mines, one rock phosphate mine, four hydrometallurgical zinc smelters, two lead smelters, one pyrometallurgical lead-zinc smelter, eight sulphuric acid plants, six captive power plants in northwest India, and processing and refining facilities for zinc, lead and silver at Pantnagar, located in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India. HZL’s mines supply almost all of its concentrate requirements. The silver refinery of HZL has been added to the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) good delivery list for silver with effect from April 16, 2018. HZL is India’s third refiner to be listed on LBMA. LBMA lists those refineries whose gold and silver bars have been found, when originally tested, to meet the required standard for acceptability in the London bullion market. HZL is among the top 10 silver producers globally.

The company’s Zinc International business comprises 100% stake in Skorpion, which owns the Skorpion mine and refinery in Namibia and 74% stake in Black Mountain Mining, which owns the Black Mountain mine and the Gamsberg mine in South Africa.

Oil and Gas Business

The company’s oil and gas business is primarily owned and operated by it and its subsidiary – CIHL. The oil and gas business segment has a diversified asset base with 58 blocks in India. The blocks are primarily located across the Indian basins in Barmer, Krishna-Godavari, Cambay, Assam, Gujarat Kutch and Cauvery.

The company engages in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil, gas and related by-products. Oil and gas business continues to contribute significantly to India’s domestic crude oil production. The company operated approximately 25% of India’s domestic crude oil production as of March 31, 2022.

Iron Ore Business

The company engages in the exploration, mining and processing of iron ore. In India, the company owns the rights to reserves consisting of 71.41 million tons of iron ore at an average grade of 45.3%, as of March 31, 2022. In addition, the company manufactures pig iron and metallurgical coke, and also operates two waste heat recovery plants of 30 MW each in Goa.

The company’s mining operations are carried out in the states of Goa and Karnataka, both of which became subject to suspension of mining activities due to alleged environmental and other violations by miners, which has adversely impacted its production of iron ore since August 2011. The company’s mines in the state of Goa were impacted consequent to the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

Copper Business

The company’s copper business is principally one of custom smelters. The company’s assets include a smelter, a refinery, a phosphoric acid plant, a sulphuric acid plant, a copper rod plant and three captive power plants at Tuticorin in Southern India, a refinery and a copper rod plant and three blister/secondary material processing plant at Silvassa in Western India, a precious metal refinery that produces gold and silver, a dore anode plant and a copper rod plant at Fujairah in the UAE. The company owns the Mt. Lyell copper mine in Tasmania, Australia. The operation of Mt Lyell mine was suspended in January 2014, following a mud slide incident. Subsequently, the operations at Mt. Lyell copper mine has been placed under care and maintenance since July 9, 2014, following a rock falling on the ventilation shaft in June 2014.

Aluminium Business

The company’s aluminium business is based out of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The company operates the business in Chhattisgarh through BALCO, in which it has a 51% ownership interest, with the remainder owned by the GoI. The company has exercised its option to acquire the GoI’s remaining 49% ownership interest, although the exercise is subject to dispute. BALCO’s operations include two bauxite mines, one coal mine, 1,710 MW captive power plants, an alumina refinery (operations of which have been suspended since September 2009), a 245,000 tpa aluminium smelter, a 325,000 tpa aluminium smelting and fabrication facilities in Central India.

The company’s aluminum operations in Odisha were earlier operated through Vedanta Aluminium Limited. The operations include 2.0 million tpa alumina refinery at Lanjigarh with associated 75 MW coal based captive power plant. The alumina refinery at Lanjigarh was commissioned in March 2010 and second stream was restarted in April 2016 increasing the alumina refinery’s total capacity to 1.4 million tpa. The company also capitalized a debottlenecking project for the alumina refinery in March 2017 increasing the refinery’s total capacity to 2.0 million tpa.

At Jharsuguda, the company operates two smelters with a combined capacity of 1.75 million tpa. The first is one of 0.5 million tpa, which is fully operational. The second is one of 1.25 million tpa capacity which is in the process of being ramped up to increase its total capacity to 1.75 million tons per annum (mtpa), subject to obtaining the required approvals from the GoI. The company also has associated 1,215 MW and 1,800 MW (three units of 600 MW each) coal based captive power plants at Jharsuguda. The company’s 1.25 million tpa smelter initially commenced production on December 1, 2015 and 1,855 pots have been capitalized as of March 31, 2022.

Power Business

The company operates multiple power plants across locations in India. The company’s power business comprises 600 MW thermal power plant in Jharsuguda, Odisha, 300 MW thermal power plant in BALCO, Chhattisgarh, 106.5 MW thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu and 80 MW thermal power plant and 31.5 MW liquid fuel power plant in Tamil Nadu and a 1,980 MW thermal power plant in Mansa, Punjab.

The company operates a 600 MW thermal coal-based commercial power facility at Jharsuguda and it has a power purchase agreement with GRIDCO Limited, a nominee of the state government of Odisha (GRIDCO).

BALCO used to operate two independent power plants units with a total installed capacity of 600 MW which are a part of its 4 x 300 MW power plant. The other 300 MW unit has been converted to a captive power plant, as per order received from Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC) for conversion of 300 MW capacity from IPP (independent power plant) to CPP (captive power plant).

The company’s power business also includes 273.5 MW of wind power plants operated by HZL and 106.5 MW power plant at MALCO situated at Mettur Dam in southern India. The MALCO plant has been put under care and maintenance from May 26, 2017.

Steel Business

The company operates the steel business through ESL in which it has 95.49% ownership interest as of March 31, 2022, ESL owns and operates an integrated steel manufacturing facility near Bokaro, Jharkhand and has a capacity of 1.5 mtpa, which it plans to expand to 3 mtpa in the upcoming year(s).

ESL, the company’s subsidiary filed an application for renewal of CTO (Consent to Operate) on August 24, 2017, for the period of five years, which was denied by Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) on August 23, 2018.

Zinc India Business

The company’s Zinc India business is owned and operated by Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL). HZL’s fully integrated zinc operations include five lead-zinc mines, one rock phosphate mine, four hydrometallurgical zinc smelters, two lead smelters, one pyrometallurgical lead-zinc smelter, eight sulphuric acid plants and six captive power plants at its Chanderiya, Dariba and Zawar facilities in the state of Rajasthan and processing facilities for zinc and lead, as well as a silver refinery at Pantnagar, located in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India. HZL sources all of its concentrate requirements from its mines. HZL’s operations also includes 39.6 MW solar power projects installed at its Agucha, Debari and Dariba complexes and a 40.67 MW waste heat recovery power plant adjunct to its captive power plants.

The company has a 64.9% ownership interest in HZL. The company has exercised the second call option by a letter dated July 21, 2009 to acquire the GoI’s remaining ownership interest in HZL.

Principal Products

Zinc

The company produces and sells zinc ingots in five international standard grades: Special High Grade (SHG - 99.995%), High Grade (HG - 99.95%), Continuous Galvanising Grade (CGG - 99.5%), Prime Western (PW - 98.0%) and Hindustan Zinc Die-casting Alloy (HZDA - 95.0%). The company sells most of its zinc ingots to Indian steel producers for galvanizing steel to improve its durability. Some of the company’s zinc is also sold to alloy, dry cell battery, die casting and chemical manufacturers.

Lead

The company produces and sells primary lead ingots of 99.99% and 99.97% purity, primarily to battery manufacturers and to a small extent to chemical manufacturers.

By-products

Sulphuric Acid

Sulphuric acid is a by-product of the company’s zinc and lead smelting operations. The company sells sulphuric acid to fertilizer and cement manufacturers and in other industries also.

Silver

Silver occurs naturally in the company’s zinc and lead ore and is a by-product of its lead smelting operations. The company produces and sells silver ingots primarily to industrial users and traders of silver.

Lead-Zinc Mines

HZL normally sources all of the lead-zinc ore required for its business from its underground mines at Rampura Agucha, Zawar, Rajpura Dariba, Sindesar Khurd and Kayad in the state of Rajasthan in northwest India. Lead-zinc ore extracted from the mines is conveyed to beneficiation plants that processes the ore into zinc and lead concentrates. With good ore mineralogy providing a high metal recovery ratio, the Rampura Agucha mine, including its satellite Kayad mine accounted for 53.6% of HZL’s total mined metal in zinc and lead concentrate produced in the year ended March 31, 2022, with the Zawar, Rajpura Dariba and Sindesar Khurd mines accounting for the remaining 15.8%, 4.7% and 25.9%, respectively.

The company’s mining capacities are governed by reserve and resources, mine plan and environmental clearances. Based on such approvals, the capacities are approximately 6.15 mtpa, 4.8 mtpa, 6.0 mtpa, 2 mtpa and 1.2 mtpa for Rampura Agucha mine, the Zawar mine, the Sindesar Khurd mine, the Rajpura Dariba mine and the Kayad mine respectively, in the year ended March 31, 2022.

Zinc Smelters

HZL has two types of zinc smelters, namely hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical. Four of HZL’s smelters are hydrometallurgical and one is pyrometallurgical.

Lead Smelters

HZL has two lead smelters in Chanderiya and Dariba. The smelter in Chanderiya uses Ausmelt technology and the smelter in Dariba uses Shuikoushan Smelting Technology (SKS) oxygen bottom blowing technology. There is also a lead-zinc smelter at Chanderiya, which uses the pyrometallurgical imperial smelting furnace process.

HZL’s lead smelter located in Dariba is based on SKS oxygen bottom blowing technology, where lead concentrate is smelted directly in SKS furnace along with fluxes. SKS furnace produces lead bullion and slag. SKS furnace slag is then reduced in blast furnace to produce bullion. Lead bullion produced in the process is then treated in lead refinery plant to produce high purity electrolytic grade lead cathodes through electrolysis.

Finishing and Delivery to Customers

The zinc and lead cathodes are transported from its hydrometallurgical plants in Rajasthan to its facilities in Uttarakhand in northern India where they are further processed into zinc and lead ingots. One of the residues from smelting is anode slime and another is high grade lead material, both of which are also transported to Uttarakhand facilities from which silver is processed and casted into silver ingots. The facilities in Uttarakhand, process, refine the zinc, lead and silver and distribute the finished products nationwide, making it a centralized finished goods center for the company’s customers.

Principal Facilities

Mines

Rampura Agucha

The Rampura Agucha lead-zinc mine is located near Gulabpura in the North-west state of Rajasthan. During the year ended March 31, 2022, the Rampura Agucha underground mine produced 4.51 million tons of ore with 11.16% zinc and 1.64% lead. It produced 454,664 tons of zinc metal in concentrate and 45,828 tons of lead metal in concentrate. The main shaft has completed up to a depth of 950 meters as planned with completion of the north and south vent. Power is primarily supplied from the HZL’s captive thermal and solar power plants with two backup 5 MW generators on-site.

Rajpura Dariba

Rajpura Dariba is an underground lead-zinc mine and processing facility located northeast of Udaipur in the Rajsamand district in the state of Rajasthan, northwest India. Power for the mine is supplied largely from HZL’s 160 MW captive power plants at Dariba and through a contract with a state-owned entity. The orebody is correlated with a geological cut-off grade of 3.0% TMC (Total Metal Content) (lead and zinc combined), to create mineralized envelope, the orebody contacts generally have a sharp natural contact.

In the year ended March 31, 2022, 1.25 million tons of ore at a feed grade of 4.78% zinc and 1.08% lead ore was mined at Rajpura Dariba mine which produced 40,635 tons of zinc metal in concentrate and 7,422 tons of lead metal in concentrate.

Sindesar Khurd

The Sindesar Khurd mine is a large-scale underground mine deposit. The mine block extends over 1,500 meters along strike and up to 570 meters depth extension.

As of March 31, 2022, HZL estimated the remaining mine life at Sindesar Khurd to be around 8 years based on reserves; and planned production which is determined based on a life of mine plan. In the year ended March 31, 2022, 5.23 million tons of ore at a grade of 3.33% zinc and 2.02% lead ore was mined at the Sindesar Khurd mine. From the ore produced at Sindesar Khurd mine 166,378 tons of zinc metal in concentrate and 97,353 tons of lead metal in concentrate was produced in the year ended March 31, 2022.

Zawar

Zawar consists of four mines namely, Mochia, Balaria, Zawar Mala and Baroi. The deposit is located near Udaipur City, in the state of Rajasthan in northwest India. The deposits lie within a 36.2 square kilometers mining lease granted by the state government of Rajasthan which is valid until March 31, 2030.

The mineralization ranges over 2.5 to 3.0 kilometers each at Mochia, Balaria and Baroi mines each and 0.6 kilometers at Zawarmala mine. The mineralization ranges below 1 kilometer vertically, while the deposit is still open in depth. An exploration program from the surface and underground is ongoing for lateral and depth extension along with upgrading the resource to reserve.

In the year ended March 31, 2022, 4.41 million tons of ore mined at a grade of 2.45% zinc and 1.55% lead, which produced 99,673 tons of zinc metal in concentrate and 60,838 tons lead metal in concentrate. As of March 31, 2022, HZL estimates the remaining mine life of the Zawar mine to be 8 years based on current reserves; and planned production which is determined based on a life-of-mine plan.

Kayad Mine

The Kayad lead—zinc mine is located in Ajmer, in the state of Rajasthan. A mine lease of 480.5 hectares was granted to Kayad mine by the state of Rajasthan and is valid until February 2048, subject to further renewal. The company has obtained surface land rights over 49.8 hectares. The company has also obtained mine plan approval from the Indian Bureau of Mines and received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for an increase in lead—zinc ore production capacity from 1.0 mtpa to 1.2 mtpa. The company has also obtained consents under various environmental laws to operate the mine, including from the State Pollution Control Board.

Chanderiya

The Chanderiya facility is located approximately 120 kilometers east of Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan. The facility contains 4 smelters, 3 associated captive power plants and 3 sulphuric acid plants:

an ISP (imperial smelting process) pyrometallurgical lead-zinc smelter with a capacity of 105,000 tpa of zinc and 35,000 tpa of lead that was commissioned in 1991;

two RLE (roast, leach and electrowin) hydrometallurgical zinc smelters with a capacity of 240,000 tpa each that were commissioned in May 2005 and December 2007. Pursuant to the improvement in operational efficiencies and debottlenecking of plant, zinc smelting capacity of both the plants increased from 170,000 tpa to present;

an Ausmelt lead smelter with a capacity of 50,000 tpa that was commissioned in February 2006, which is further increased to 55,000 tpa in FY 2020;

associated 154 MW (2 captive plants of 77 MW each) and 80 MW coal-based captive power plants (whose capacity is further increased to 91.5 MW in October 2021) commissioned in May 2005 and April 2008, respectively;

a 14.8 MW fuel based captive power plant transferred from Debari in March 2009 and which was originally commissioned at Debari in March 2003; and

3 sulphuric acid plants with a total capacity of 859,000 tpa of sulphuric acid.

Concentrate requirements for the facility are supplied by HZL’s mines. The 154 MW and 91.5 MW thermal power plant along with 13.7 MW WHRB (Waste Heat Recovery Boilers) power generation facility at Chanderiya provide all of the power for the facility. In addition, two liquid fuel power generation capacity of 14.8 MW are also available. The captive power plants require approximately 105,000 metric tons of coal at 6,000 gross calorific value (GCV) per month, which is met through imports and domestic sources. The impure silver obtained as a by-product from zinc-lead smelting at this smelter is refined at the Pantnagar plant.

Dariba

The Dariba hydrometallurgical zinc smelter is located in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, which was commissioned in March 2010 having capacity of 220,000 tpa, which has increased to 234,000 tpa pursuant to debottlenecking of plant in 2019 and further increased to 240,000 in 2020. The Dariba facility also includes a 306,000 tpa sulphuric acid plant. In July 2011, the company commissioned a new 100,000 tpa lead smelter and pursuant to the improvement in operational efficiencies, which was completed in March 2018, the capacity increased by 20,000 tpa to 120,000 tpa. It also includes a 98,500 tpa sulphuric acid plant. A majority of the power requirements of the facility is sourced from the 170 MW coal-based captive power plant and 19.67 MW WHRB power generation facility at Dariba. A new roaster was commissioned in April 2013 in the Dariba facility with an associated sulphuric acid plant capacity of 306,000 tpa. Zinc cathodes are sent to its refining facilities at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand state for refining and processing. The anode slime obtained as a residue from lead smelting at this smelter is refined and processed into silver ingots at the Pantnagar plant.

Debari

The Debari hydrometallurgical zinc smelter is located in the state of Rajasthan. The hydrometallurgical zinc smelter uses RLE technology and has a capacity of 80,000 tpa which was increased to 88,000 tpa in April 2008, pursuant to improvements made to its operational efficiencies. The Debari facility also includes a 387,600 tpa sulphuric acid plant. A majority of the power requirements of the facility is sourced from the coal-based captive power plant at Chanderiya and Zawar and 7.3 MW WHRB power generation facility. In addition, 2 liquid fuel-based power generation capacity of 14.8 MW are also available.

Haridwar

The zinc ingot processing and refining plant in Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand was commissioned in July 2008. This plant processes and casts zinc ingots from zinc cathodes produced in the Chanderiya smelter and therefore its production capacity does not increase the total production capacity of HZL’s facilities. After expiry of tax holiday benefit, production activities have stopped at the smelter in 2018.

Pantnagar

The Pantnagar plant, which is located in the state of Uttarakhand in northwest India, includes a 518 tpa silver refinery that was commissioned in December 2011, a zinc ingot and a lead ingot refining and processing plant that was commissioned in February 2012. Pursuant to the improvement in operational efficiencies and debottlenecking of existing facility, which was completed in March 2019, the Silver smelting capacity increased by 282 tpa to 800 tpa. The Pantnagar plant refines and processes zinc and lead ingots from zinc and lead cathodes that are produced by the company’s Chanderiya and Dariba smelters and also refines the impure silver obtained as a by-product from lead smelting conducted at its Chanderiya and Dariba smelters.

Distribution, Logistics and Transport

Zinc and lead concentrates from HZL’s lead-zinc mines are transported to the Chanderiya and Debari smelters by road. Zinc and lead ingots, silver and sulphuric acid by-products are transported primarily by road to customers in India directly or via HZL’s depots. Zinc and lead cathodes are mostly transported by rail to its processing and refining facilities in Uttarakhand state in northern India. Zinc and lead ingots are transported for exports to ports in India primarily by rail, from where they are loaded on ships. The facilities in Uttarakhand also serve as finished goods center for nationwide distribution of its finished products.

Sales and Marketing

HZL’s marketing office is located in Mumbai, and it has field sales and marketing offices in most major metropolitan centers in India. In the year ended March 31, 2022, HZL sold approximately 65% of the zinc metal it produced in the Indian market and exported approximately. 35% of the company’s Zinc India segment revenue.

Projects and Developments

HZL has been actively conducting exploration, which has resulted in net ore reserves of 150.3 million tons across all mines in 2021. The plan includes developing a 4.5 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) underground mine at Rampura Agucha mine and expanding the Sindesar Khurd mine from 2.0 mmtpa to 6.0 mmtpa, Zawar mines from 1.2 mmtpa to 4.5 mmtpa, Rajpura Dariba mine from 0.6 mmtpa to 2.0 mmtpa and Kayad mine from 0.4 mmtpa to 1.2 mmtpa.

Business

The company’s zinc international business comprises THL Zinc Namibia Holdings (Proprietary) Limited (Skorpion), which owns the Skorpion mine and refinery in Namibia; and Black Mountain Mining (BMM), which owns the Black Mountain mine and the Gamsberg mine in South Africa.

Skorpion

Skorpion’s wholly owned subsidiaries are Skorpion Zinc (Proprietary) Limited, Namzinc (Proprietary) Limited, Amica Guesthouse (Proprietary) Limited, and Skorpion Mining Company (Proprietary) Limited. Skorpion Zinc (Proprietary) Limited is an investment holding company, owning the entire share capital in Namzinc (Proprietary) Limited and Skorpion Mining Company (Proprietary) Limited. On March 31, 2020, the mine was put into care and maintenance and on April 30, 2020, the refinery was also put into care and maintenance. Up and till being put into care and maintenance, Namzinc (Proprietary) Limited operated a zinc refinery, which procures oxide zinc ore from Skorpion Mining Company (Proprietary) Limited, which in turn extracted the ore from an open pit zinc deposit. Skorpion Mining Company (Proprietary) Limited is a member of the Chamber of Mines in Namibia.

Principal Products

Skorpion produced SHG zinc ingots of LME grade. Skorpion offered the product to customer’s primarily through short term or spot contracts, covering the sale of all zinc ingots produced at the integrated mine and refinery of Skorpion.

Mines

Skorpion Mines

The Skorpion Zinc Deposit is located in the southern Namib Desert of Namibia. The deposit lies just inside the Sperrgebiet or forbidden area, known as Diamond Area 1. The extracted ore is sent to the refinery for further processing.

Sales and Marketing

Skorpion’s 10 largest customers accounted for approximately 100% of its revenue in 2021. Skorpion’s marketing office is located in Rosh Pinah.

Market Share and Competition

The Skorpion mine produces high-grade, high purity SHG zinc ingots that are registered on the LME. It is a 100% export-oriented unit with around 20Kt to 35Kt of the total production sold in the Africa region. It is the only Mining and Zinc Refinery unit in African region.

Black Mountain Mining

BMM consists of the Black Mountain underground mine and the Gamsberg open-pit mine. The company owns a 69.6% interest in BMM, Exxaro Resources Limited (through its wholly owned subsidiary, Exxaro Base Metals and Industrial Mineral Holdings (Pty) Ltd) holds 24.4% interest and the remaining 6% is held by Employee Trust in BMM.

During the year ended March 31, 2022, 1,547,578 tons of ore at 2.11% zinc and 2.14% lead were mined from the Black Mountain mine, which produced approximately 53,686 tons of zinc concentrate and 40,463 tons of lead concentrate, containing 24,852 tons of zinc metal and 27,393 tons of lead metal respectively. In addition, the Black Mountain mine also produced 5,083 tons of copper in concentrate and 24 tons of silver in concentrate.

During the year ended March 31, 2022 (fiscal year 2022), 3,018,753 tons of ore at 6.18% zinc was mined from the Gamsberg mine, which produced approximately 358,199 tons of zinc concentrate, containing 168,880 tons of zinc.

Principal Products

BMM produces zinc, copper and lead in concentrate and all the zinc and copper concentrate are shipped overseas. A small portion of the lead concentrate is sold locally, with the bulk shipped overseas. The BMM mine started producing Magnetite during the period from the mine tailings.

By-Products

Silver

Silver is a by-product of the company’s copper and lead concentrate.

Mines

The Black Mountain underground operation mines a polymetallic ore body, with an attached concentrator producing approximately 53,686 tons of zinc concentrate and 40,463 tons of lead concentrate respectively. In addition, the Black Mountain mine produced 5,083 tons of copper in concentrate and 24 tons of silver in concentrate.

The Black Mountain mine is operated pursuant to mining right 58/2008 MR granted pursuant to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 28 of 2002 of South Africa, which entitles the company to mine for lead, copper, zinc and associated minerals in, on and under an area in the district of Namaqualand measuring 24,195 hectares for a period of 30 years from 2008 to 2038.

Distribution, Logistics and Transport

Zinc concentrate, lead concentrate and copper concentrate from the mine is hauled by road to the port of Saldanha with delivery terms to export customers on a cost, insurance and freight basis.

Sales and Marketing

BMM produces zinc, lead and copper concentrates that are sold in international markets on a spot basis or a frame contract basis. The commercial terms negotiated include taking into account the percentage of payable metals, treatment and refining charges and applicable prices. Some of the customers of Black Mountain mine are Louis Dreyfus Company Metals Suisse SA and Trafigura PTE Limited.

Gamsberg Mine produces zinc and lead concentrates that are sold in international markets on a spot basis or a frame contract basis. The commercial terms negotiated include taking into account the percentage of payable metals, treatment and refining charges and applicable prices. Some of the customers of Gamsberg Mine are Korea Zinc, MRI Trading AG and Nobel Resources Limited.

Oil and Gas Business

The company’s oil and gas business is primarily owned and operated by it and its subsidiary – Cairn India Holdings Limited (CIHL). The oil and gas business segment has a diversified asset base with 58 blocks in India. The blocks are primarily located across the Indian basins in Barmer, Krishna-Godavari, Cambay, Assam, Gujarat Kutch and Cauvery.

Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business is primarily engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil, gas and related by-products. The company’s oil and gas business continues to contribute significantly to India’s domestic crude oil production. The company operates approximately 25% of India’s domestic crude oil production as of March 31, 2022.

Rajasthan, RJ-ON-90/1 block, Barmer Basin (operator, 70% participating interest)

The Rajasthan, RJ-ON-90/1 (theRajasthan block) is an onshore block. It is Cairn’s principal production asset where the company along with CEHL owns a 70% participating interest pursuant to the PSC. Cairn’s joint operation partner, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), has a 30% participating interest. The RJ Block is spread over 3,111 square kms in the west of Barmer district and consists of three contiguous development areas, such as Development Area 1, primarily comprising the Mangala, Aishwariya, Raageshwari, Guda and Saraswati fields; Development Area 2, primarily comprising of the Bhagyam, (NI and NE) and Shakti fields; and Development Area 3, comprising of the Kaameshwari West fields.

The Mangala field was discovered in January 2004. This was followed by many other discoveries, including the Aishwariya and Bhagyam fields. In the RJ Block, 38 discoveries have been established since inception. Exploration activities and studies indicate that the block has further potential for reserves that would support future growth opportunities.

The company’s oil and gas business also own and operate significant infrastructure assets to facilitate the processing, transportation, and sale of crude oil produced in the RJ Block. For fiscal year 2022, the company’s oil and gas business’s net average daily production were 56,287 boepd from the RJ Block.

Cambay, CB/OS-2 block, Cambay Basin (operator, 40% participating interest)

The Cambay CB/OS-2 (the Cambay block) is an offshore block which is located in the Cambay Basin of the state of Gujarat in western India. The company’s oil and gas business’s operations in the Cambay block are centered on the Lakshmi and Gauri oil and gas fields and the CB-X development area. Based on exploration and development activities undertaken by the company’s oil and gas business, the Cambay block has yielded natural gas discoveries in its offshore Lakshmi and Gauri fields and onshore CB-X field and crude oil discoveries in the former two fields. Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business along with its Joint venture partners ONGC and TATA, commenced its gas production from the Lakshmi gas field in 2002 and from the Gauri field in 2004. Production of co-mingled crude oil, which consists of crude oil plus condensate, from the Gauri field commenced in 2005. Lakshmi and Gauri offshore fields cover areas of 121.1 square kms and 52.7 square kms, respectively, in the Cambay Basin and lie off the coast of the state of Gujarat in water depths of approximately 20 meters. CB-X is an onshore gas field situated in the Cambay block and covers an area of 33.3 square kms. There is no production from CB-X field. For fiscal year 2022, Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business’s net average daily production was 2,463 boepd from the Cambay block.

Ravva, PKGM-1 block, Krishna Godavari Basin, Eastern India (operator, 22.5% participating interest)

The company’s oil and gas business’s production operations in the Krishna-Godavari Basin are centered on the Ravva PKGM-1 (the Ravva block), lying off the coast of Andhra Pradesh in Eastern India, in water depths up to 40 meters. Developed in partnership with ONGC, Videocon Industries Limited and Ravva Oil Singapore, Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business became the operator of Ravva block in 1996. For fiscal year 2022, Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business’s net average daily production was 2,260 boepd from the Ravva block.

KG Onshore, KG-ONN-2003/1, Krishna Godavari Basin (49% participating interest)

The onshore block KG-ONN-2003/1, located in the Krishna Godavari basin in the state of Andhra Pradesh, was awarded in NELP V round to a joint venture between Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business and ONGC. Nagayalanka-1Z was the first discovery in the block. For fiscal year 2022, net average daily production was 531 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from the KG block. The company has further identified opportunities to drill three firm wells to accelerate production. Drilling is expected to commence during first half of fiscal year 2023.

KG Offshore, KG-OSN-2009/3, Krishna Godavari Basin (operator, 100% participating interest)

The offshore block KG-OSN-2009/3 covers an area of 1,988 square kms and is located in the Krishna Godavari Basin off the coast of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The block is in the initial exploration phase and several extensions were sought on excusable delay and the removal of access restriction imposed by Ministry of Defence. The company is under discussion with DGH for further progress in the block.

Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) (100% participating interest)

Under the OALP, revenue-sharing contracts have been signed for 41 blocks in October 2018 and for 10 exploration blocks as part of the OALP Round II & III (OALP–II&III) in July 2019. These blocks offer a rich conventional and unconventional resource play. The secured blocks increased the acreage of Vedanta Limited’s oil and gas business to approximately 65,000 square kilometers (sq. km).

Discovered Small Fields (DSF2) (100% participating interest)

The company’s oil and gas business has won two discovered small fields in DSF round-2 named as Hazarigaon and Kaza gas field located in Assam and KG basins respectively.

Principal Products

Oil

Cairn produces crude oil of various grades with different degrees and contents across fields. The crude oil in the majority of fields in the RJ Block is medium sweet oil with high pour point. Conversely, the crude oil produced from the Ravva block and Cambay block are light sweet in nature.

Gas

The Rajasthan, Ravva and Cambay blocks produce natural gas, as well as natural gas commingled with crude oil.

Principal Facilities

Rajasthan

Rajasthan Block Production Sharing Contract (RJ block PSC)

The company’s oil and gas business along with Cairn Energy Hydrocarbons Limited (CEHL) are working in partnership with its joint venture partner, ONGC in connection with the RJ block located in the Barmer district.

The company’s oil and gas business acquired interest in the RJ block from Shell India Production Development B.V. in two tranches and held 100% interest on June 20, 2003. Under the RJ block Production Sharing Contract (PSC), the GoI has an option to acquire a participating interest of 30.0% in any development area containing a commercial discovery. The Government of India (GoI) exercised their right in all three development areas, specifically, Development Area 1 in 2005, Development Area 2 in 2007 and Development Area 3 in 2009, acting through its nominee ONGC, and acquired a 30.0% participating interest in each. As of March 31, 2022, ONGC held 30.0%, Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business holds 35.0% participating interest in the RJ block and the remaining 35.0% interest being held by CEHL, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vedanta Limited.

As per terms of the RJ block PSC and permissions from the GoI, the crude oil and condensate produced from the RJ block is being sold to both, the public sector undertakings refineries and private refineries. As of March 31, 2022, commercial sales arrangements are in place in-line with the production with public sector undertakings and private refineries.

Operations

The RJ block achieved net production of 20.5 mmboe in fiscal year 2022, down by 8%, primarily driven by natural reservoir decline at the MBA (Masters of Business Administration) fields. Development Area 1, primarily comprising the Mangala, Aishwariya, Saraswati, Guda and Raageshwari oil and gas fields, produced a net average 48,711 boepd during fiscal year 2022, lower by 11% year on year, with the Mangala field being the largest contributor. During fiscal year 2022, Development Area 2, primarily comprising Bhagyam, NE and NI fields, produced on an average 7,488 boepd, higher by 17% year on year. Production was from Kaameshwari in Development Area 3 during the year and averaged at 88 barrels of oil per day in fiscal year 2022.

The RJ block received approval from the GoI to begin selling natural gas in March 2013. The eight-inch gas pipeline which runs along the oil pipeline is being used to supply gas to domestic buyers, sales through GIGL pipeline commenced in November 2018. This is an efficient application diligent usage of resources in an environmentally friendly way. During fiscal year 2022, the average gas production from Raageshwari Deep Gas (RDG) field was 157.8 million metric standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) and average sales was 127.7 mmscfd. Construction of new RDG gas facility got completed in fiscal year 2021.

Mangala

The Mangala field commenced production in August 2009 and continues to be the largest contributor to production from the Rajasthan asset. To increase the ultimate oil recovery and support for production volumes, Cairn embarked on an enhanced oil recovery project, which was successfully executed in fiscal year 2016. Cairn executed an infill drilling campaign of 4 horizontal wells and 1 vertical well in FM3 and FM5 sands during fiscal year 2022. Drilling has been completed and 4 wells have been hooked till March 31, 2022.

Bhagyam

Bhagyam, the second largest field in Rajasthan, forms part of Development Area 2 and commenced production in January 2012.

To enhance recovery from the Bhagyam field, enhanced oil recovery program was carried out in during fiscal year 2021. Polymer injections has been ramped to its design capacity and Bhagyam is under full field polymer injection.

To accelerate recovery from the Bhagyam field, an infill drilling campaign consisting of 14 wells has been identified. Drilling is expected to commence during first half of fiscal year 2023.

Aishwariya

Aishwariya, the third largest discovery in Rajasthan, commenced production in March 2013.

To enhance recovery from the Aishwariya field, enhanced oil recovery program was carried out in Lower Fatehgarh (LF) region during fiscal year 2021. Polymer injections has been ramped to its design capacity and the field is currently under full field polymer injection.

The project entails drilling of 25 wells and 7 conversion wells. Drilling is expected to commence during first half of fiscal year 2023.

South Satellite fields, including Raageshwari, Saraswati, Guda and Kaameshwari

The Raageshwari oil field commenced production in March 2012, while the Saraswati field commenced production in May 2011. Kaameshwari and Guda oil fields commenced production in May and June 2017, respectively.

Facilities

Mangala Processing Terminal

The Mangala processing terminal is spread over an area of 1.6 square kms and is a core asset. The Mangala processing terminal processes crude oil produced from various oil fields in the RJ block. The Mangala processing terminal is operational with four oil processing trains. The aggregate liquid handling name plate capacity of the oil processing trains is 1,300 kblpd. The oil processing train primarily consists of slug catchers, production heaters, a production separator and settling tank for oil water separation and degassing. Stabilized crude after meeting export crude specification is transported to refineries through a 24-inch diameter continuously heated and insulated pipeline. The Mangala processing terminal’s integrated production facilities support the FDP approved production, which is in line with Cairn’s unified RJ block offtake capability.

Raageshwari Gas Processing Facility

The Raageshwari gas terminal about 70 kms from the Mangala processing terminal, comprises facilities to remove condensable hydrocarbon liquids and water from the gas produced from Raageshwari gas terminal wells. Gas produced and processed at Raageshwari gas terminal was supplied solely to Mangala processing terminal and to the heating stations along the oil export pipeline from Mangala processing terminal. In March 2013, Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business commenced the commercial sale of gas from the RDG field. This was the first step towards unlocking the natural gas potential of the Rajasthan assets. The construction of the new gas facility completed during fiscal year 2021. The upgraded facility along with existing and early production facility shall have the capacity to process approximately 245 mmscfd of gas. On the pipeline front, GSPL India Gasnet Limited (GIGL) has commissioned a pipeline connecting Raageshwari Gas Terminal to Pali and thereon connecting to Palanpur in Gujarat. Gas flow via GIGL line commenced during the third quarter of fiscal year 2019.

Power facilities

At the RJ block, captive power is generated at the Mangala processing terminal via steam turbine generators and Raageshwari gas terminal via gas engines. The total power capacity across Mangala processing terminal and Raageshwari gas terminal aggregates to 102.3 MW. The gas used as fuel is the associated gas from the fields at Rajasthan. For power requirements exceeding the power generation capacity, which is based on associated gas availability, Cairn taps into the Rajasthan state grid power or buys it through open access from the energy exchanges at lower rates.

Mangala Development Pipeline

The Mangala development pipeline is designed to evacuate the crude oil and transport gas from the RJ block. Beginning at the Mangala processing terminal and Raageshwari terminal respectively, the 24-inch crude oil and 8-inch gas pipeline passes through eight districts across two states, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The pipeline ends at Bhogat near Jamnagar on the western coast of India. There are buffer crude storage terminals at Radhanpur and Viramgam for sales to Indian Oil Corporation and off-take lines at Salaya for sales to the Reliance India Limited and Nayara Energy Limited refineries in Jamnagar. Since its commissioning, total cumulative crude oil sales of 636 million barrels have been achieved through the existing pipeline facilities up to March 31, 2022. With the use of drag reducing agents, the proven dispatch capacity of the Mangala development pipeline has been enhanced to around 250,000 bbls (barrels) per day. Given its length, the Mangala development pipeline incorporates a pipeline intrusion detection system to provide surveillance along its entire length by using fibre optics. Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business’s pipeline operations received accreditation of ISO: 14001 systems in 2018 and ISO45001 in 2019.

Bhogat Terminal Facilities

The Bhogat terminal in the Jamnagar district, Gujarat, is a 160-hectare site located eight kms from the Arabian Sea coast. The terminal will facilitate the storage and evacuation of crude oil by sea. The terminal consists of tankages with storages capacity of around 2.1 million barrels of Rajasthan crude. It also has associated facilities for the operation of terminal and marine export of crude. The evacuation facility includes two 24-inch sub-sea export pipelines from the Bhogat landfall point to the single point mooring system to enable crude transfer and a single point mooring system and sub-sea pipeline end manifold in deep sea to enable tanker berthing and loading. The terminal was commissioned in November 2015 and the dispatch of Rajasthan crude to MRPL has commenced. In fiscal year 2018 supplies of RJ crude to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) commenced from Bhogat terminal. During fiscal year 2020, the company successfully loaded cargos from Bhogat terminal during monsoon season by deploying additional marine support infrastructure to ensure safe operations.

Exploration

The company has completed drilling of 3 exploration wells during fiscal year 2022. The company also performed appraisal activities in tight oil (Vijaya and Vandana (V&V) and DP fields) and Felsic (oil) zone in RDG. The company is also evaluating further opportunities to drill low to medium risk and medium to high reward exploration wells to build on the resource portfolio.

Ravva

Ravva Block PSC

The PSC for the exploration, development and production of the Ravva block (the Ravva PSC) was signed on October 28, 1994 between GoI and a consortium consisting of ONGC, Videocon Industries Limited, Ravva Oil Singapore and Cairn Energy India Pty Limited with Cairn Energy India Pty Limited being designated as the operator.

As of March 31, 2022, the company’s oil and gas business held a 22.5% working interest in the Ravva block with the remaining interests held by ONGC (40%), Videocon Industries Limited (25%) and Ravva Oil Singapore (12.5%) (together the Ravva Joint Operating Partners).

Operations

The production of Ravva block decreased from 3,479 boepd in fiscal year 2021 to 2,260 boepd in fiscal year 2022. This was primarily due to natural field decline. Previous year production included impact of infill drilling campaign.

Facilities

There are eight unmanned offshore platforms and a 225-acre onshore processing facility at Surasaniyanam, Andhra Pradesh, for processing the natural gas and crude oil produced from the offshore field. The Ravva onshore terminal operates under internationally recognized environmental standard (ISO 14001) and occupational health and safety standard (OHSAS18001). The onshore processing facility has the capacity to handle 90,000 barrels per day of liquid, 110,000 barrels (bbls) of water injection per day and natural gas compression capacity of around 60 million metric standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas. The terminal also has the capacity to store 1.0 mmbbls of crude oil and captive power generation capacity of 10 Mega Watt (MW).

Cambay

Cambay Block PSC

Exploration, development and production of the Cambay block is governed by a PSC between the GoI and a consortium consisting of ONGC, Tata Petrodyne Limited (Tata) and the company - oil and gas business (the Cambay Joint Operating Partners), which was signed on June 30, 1998 (the Cambay PSC) and runs until 2023 unless the Cambay PSC is terminated earlier in accordance with its terms and may be extended for a further period of not exceeding five years, provided that in the event of commercial production of non-associated natural gas the Cambay PSC may be extended for period not exceeding 35 years from the June 30, 1998.

The company’s oil and gas business’s participating interest in the Cambay Basin joint operation consists of a 40% interest in the Lakshmi, Gauri and CB-X development areas. The remaining interests in these development areas are held by ONGC (50%) and Tata (10%).

Operations

The Cambay block started production in calendar year 2002. During fiscal year 2022, the block produced 2,463 boepd, lower by 5% year on year.

Facilities

An 82-acre onshore processing facility at Suvali processes natural gas and crude oil from the Lakshmi and Gauri fields. This facility has a capacity to process 150 mmscfd of natural gas and 16,000 bopd of crude oil and includes a three-stage separator oil processing train, four storage tanks of combined capacity of 40,000 bbls, as well as 4.8 MW captive power generation capacity. As part of the asset’s long-term facility augmentation plan, the liquid handling capacity has been augmented. The oil processing capacity has been increased by debottlenecking the liquid processing train by adding additional heater and heat exchangers. Also commissioning of new Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) of additional 6,000 barrels of water per dayx (bwpd) produced water processing and treatment capacity is underway. This will result in increase in the overall produced water treatment capacity to 12,000 bwpd. The processing plant and offshore infrastructure are certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards.

Power Generation facilities

Cairn’s power generation facilities are set up to address the captive power requirements to run its routine business operations. The total installed capacity across upstream and midstream operations are 204.3 MW.

KG Onshore

KG-ONN-2003/1, Krishna Godavari Basin (49% participating interest)

The onshore block KG-ONN-2003/1, located in the Krishna Godavari basin in the state of Andhra Pradesh, was awarded in NELP V round to a joint venture between Vedanta Limited—oil and gas business and ONGC. Vedanta Limited—oil and gas business and ONGC entered into a PSC on September 23, 2005 (the KG-ONN-2003/1 PSC). The company’s oil and gas business has 49% participating interest in the block.

KG Offshore

KG-OSN-2009/3, Krishna Godavari Basin (operator, 100% participating interest)

The offshore block KG-OSN-2009/3 covers an area of 1,988 square kilometers (kms) and is located in the Krishna Godavari Basin off the coast of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The block is in the initial exploration phase and several extensions were sought on excusable delay and the removal of access restriction imposed by Ministry of Defence. Further, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, force majeure was invoked in the block on the grounds that the pandemic made it impossible to conduct petroleum operations. Having regard to the invocation, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) had granted extension to the exploration activities till November 10, 2021.

Blocks awarded under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP)

The 51 blocks, comprising 40 onshore and 11 offshore blocks, are located primarily in established basins, and with some optimally located close to existing infrastructure.

Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry (FTG) airborne survey for prioritising area of hydrocarbon prospectivity has been completed in Assam, Cambay, Rajasthan and Kutch region.

Till March 31, 2022, 11 wells have been drilled (3 in Rajasthan, 6 in Cambay and 2 in North-east). The company intends to continue the exploration across Rajasthan, Cambay, and North-east in fiscal year 2023 to unlock the full potential of the OALP blocks.

Till date three hydrocarbon discoveries have been notified under the OALP portfolio.

Rajasthan (2 Discoveries): KW2-Updip-1 was notified as oil discovery and is under extended testing. Durga -1 notified as oil discovery during fiscal year 2022 and monetisation is under planning.

Cambay (1 Discovery): Jaya-1 is a gas and condensate discovery, and monetisation is under planning.

Geophysical and geotechnical site survey is ongoing in Offshore region Drilling is expected to commence during first half of fiscal year 2023.

Discovered Small Fields (DSF2)

The company’s oil and gas business has won two discovered small fields in DSF round-2 named as Hazarigaon and Kaza gas field located in Assam and KG basins respectively. These discovered fields are providing synergy to existing Vedanta Limited - oil and gas business blocks in the vicinity.

Hazarigaon: Well intervention and testing activities were carried out in Hazarigaon-1 well and monetisation is under planning.

Sales and Marketing

Cairn’s (Cairn India group’s) ten largest customers accounted for approximately 100% of its revenue in fiscal year 2022. Four of Cairn’s customers accounted for approximately 91% of its business revenue in fiscal year 2022.

In fiscal year 2022, Cairn sold 100% of the oil and gas it produces in the Indian market.

Projects and Developments

The Oil and Gas business has a robust portfolio of infill development and enhanced oil recovery projects to add volumes in the near term and manage natural field decline. Some of the company’s - oil and gas business’s principal projects are set out below:

Infill Projects

Mangala - Based on the success of the FM3 infill drilling campaign, Cairn has identified opportunities to further accelerate production by drilling four horizontal wells and 1 vertical well in FM3 and FM5 sands. The project also entails drilling of several deviated wells for FM2/3 sands and conversion of 3 wells to polymer injector. Drilling has been completed and 4 wells have been hooked till March 31, 2022.

Tight Oil (ABH) - The development of Barmer Hill and Satellite fields is a key growth driver for Cairn, with a focus on increasing production through the development of these fields. The Barmer Hill formation can be classified into two major development opportunities namely, Barmer Hill North consisting of oil prone porcellanite rocks and Barmer Hill South consisting of muddy porcellanites.

Aishwariya Barmer hill stage II drilling program established confidence in reservoir understanding of ABH. Based on the success of it, drilling of 5 additional wells were conceptualized. These were drilled by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022. Of these, 2 wells have been hooked up till March 31, 2022.

NI Infill - The project entails drilling, completion, and hook-up of 3 producer wells in the NI field. Drilling and hook up of 3 well campaign has been successfully completed during fiscal year 2022.

Tight Gas (RDG) - Gas development in the RDG field continues to be a strategic priority. In order to realize the full potential of the gas reservoir, an infill drilling campaign of 27 wells has commenced during fiscal year 2022. As of March 31, 2022, 6 wells have been drilled and they are being progressively hooked up to ramp up volumes.

Satellite Fields - In order to monetise the satellite fields, an integrated contract for the appraisal and development activity through global technology partnership is ongoing. Till March 31, 2022, 14 wells have been drilled, of which 2 wells are hooked-up.

Offshore (Cambay) - Infill program in Cambay over the last few years has resulted in incremental recovery. New opportunities have been identified basis integration of advanced seismic characterization, well and production data. Drilling commenced during fiscal year 2022. As of March 31, 2022, 2 wells had been drilled of which 1 well was hooked-up.

Proved Developed and Undeveloped Reserves

For the year ending March 31, 2022, total revisions of 12.66 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe). These total revisions were comprised an increase of 0.55 mmboe for the Cambay block (CB/OS-2), an increase of 0.01 mmboe for the Nagayalanka block (KG-ONN-2003/1), a decrease of 13.90 mmboe for the RJ block (RJ-ON-90/1), and an increase of 0.68 mmboe for the Ravva block (PKGM-1). No revisions were made due to improved recovery. Extensions and discoveries of 0.19 mmboe were on account of inclusion of the Hazarigaon field which was approved for development in the Hazarigaon block (AA-ONHP-2018/01). After adjusting for production of 22.46 mmboe, the total proved reserves as of March 31, 2022, were 87.66 mmboe.

For the year ending March 31, 2022, total revisions of 16.94 mmboe were comprised a decrease of 2.16 mmboe based on changes in production performance and the progression from proved undeveloped to proved developed reserves, and a decrease of 14.78 mmboe due to revisions based on commodity prices. These total revisions were consisted of a decrease of 0.02 mmboe for the Cambay block, an increase of 0.01 mmboe for the Nagayalanka block, a decrease of 17.61 mmboe for the RJ block, and an increase of 0.68 mmboe for the Ravva block. No revisions were made due to improved recovery. Extensions and discoveries of 0.19 mmboe were on account of inclusion of the Hazarigaon field which was approved for development in the Hazarigaon block. After adjusting for production of 22.46 mmboe, the total proved developed reserves as of March 31, 2022, were 76.20 mmboe.

Distribution, Logistics and Transport

Rajasthan

The Mangala processing terminal has been designed as a centralized hub facility to handle crude oil production from the fields in the RJ block that have been discovered by Cairn. Once crude oil reaches the Mangala processing terminal, generally via the pipeline, it is processed and transported to public-sector customers or private refineries that have purchased it.

Cambay

The 82-acre onshore processing facility at Suvali processes natural gas and crude oil from the Lakshmi and Gauri fields. It has a capacity to process 150 mmscfd of natural gas and 16 kilo barrels of oil per day (kbopd) of crude oil and includes a three-stage separator oil processing train, four storage tanks with combined capacity of 40,000 bbls, as well as 4.8 MW captive power generation capacity. The processing plant and offshore infrastructure are certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards.

The crude oil produced from Suvali Onshore Terminal is transported via truck tankers approximately 15 km to Adani Hazira Port Private Limited. Thereafter, the crude cargo is sold to coastal refineries via sea tankers.

The processed natural gas is sold through the Gujarat State Petronet Limited pipeline facility to Gujarat Gas Limited.

Ravva

There are eight unmanned offshore platforms and a 225-acre onshore processing facility at Surasaniyanam for processing the natural gas and crude oil produced from the offshore field. The Ravva onshore terminal operates as per the internationally recognized environmental standard (ISO 14001) and the occupational health and safety standard (OHSAS18001). The onshore processing facility has the capacity to handle 90 kbopd of crude oil, 110,000 bbls of water injection per day and natural gas compression capacity of around 60 mmscfd of natural gas. The terminal also has the capacity to store 1.0 mmbbls of crude oil.

The crude oil produced from the wells in the Ravva block is sent to the onshore processing terminal via subsea pipelines. The crude oil is processed and stored in the storage tanks at the terminal. Thereafter, the crude oil is transported to local refineries (nominated by GoI) via a 20-inch export pipeline (approximately 16 km long) from the terminal to a ship tanker, which is moored to the single point mooring buoy located in the field. The single point mooring buoy and associated equipment are together termed as tanker mooring and loading facility.

Natural gas from the wells after treatment is transported to buyer’s (GAIL) pipeline.

Seasonality

The company’s oil and gas business are not subject to seasonality as demand for oil and gas is consistent throughout the year (year ended March 2022).

Iron Ore Business

The company’s iron ore business is carried out in the states of Goa and Karnataka. The company’s iron ore business includes exploration, mining and processing of iron ore. In fiscal year 2022, the company produced approximately 5.40 million dry metric tons (dmt) of saleable iron ore fines and lumps. The sales for fiscal year 2022 were at 6.8 million dmt.

The company operates a metallurgical coke plant and a pig iron plant with an installed capacity of 522,000 tons per annum (TPA) and 832,000 TPA respectively in Goa and Maharashtra. The second metallurgical coke plant with an installed capacity of 120,000 TPA was acquired in first half of fiscal year 2020, at Sindudhurg, Maharashtra, which became operational on September 9, 2019.

On August 22, 2011, the company acquired a 51.0% ownership interest in WCL, a Liberian iron ore exploration company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Elenilto Minerals & Mining LLC. On December 20, 2012, the company acquired the remaining 49.0% of the outstanding common shares of Western Cluster Limited (WCL) from Elenilto Minerals & Mining LLC.

Principal Products

Iron Ore

The company’s iron ore reserves consist of both lump and fine ore. As of March 31, 2022, the percentage of lump ore in the reserves was approximately 20.0% in Karnataka. The mine in Karnataka consists of average 45.3% grade deposits. The company sells lump ore from its mines in Karnataka primarily to domestic pig iron or steel producers. The majority of other iron ore produced by Goa mines was sold to purchasers in China, but during the fiscal year 2022, no iron ore were mined from Goa mine pursuant to the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order.

Pig Iron

The company produces basic, foundry and nodular grade pig iron in various sub grades for steel mills and foundries.

Metallurgical Coke

The company also produces metallurgical coke, which is primarily used for captive consumption for producing pig iron in India.

Desai Cements

The company produces Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, Portland Slag Cement and Ordinary Slag Cement in various grades for RMC Manufacturers and Construction Companies.

Nickel Business

The company’s nickel business processes nickel/cobalt bearing raw material and plans to produce nickel sulphate (battery grade) & cobalt sulphate in phase I and nickel metal in phase II of the operations.

Mine in Karnataka - A. Narrain (ML No 2677)

The company’s main operation in Karnataka is at the A. Narrain mine Meghalahalli, Chitradurga, ML 2677, which is located approximately 200 kms northwest of Bangalore. The open pit mine is operated by the company and is well connected by rail, with the nearest stations, Sasalu and Amruthapura, and M/s Mineral Enterprises served by Chikkajajur (MMEC) railway siding located 16 kms, 17 kms and 4 kms respectively, from the mine. The nearest port at Mangalore is approximately 430 kms from the mine and the nearest airport is located at Bangalore, approximately 230 kms from the mine.

The leasehold area of the mine is 160.59 hectares, which is classified into two blocks, namely the south block, which is 123.03 hectares, and the north block, which is 37.56 hectares. These two blocks are joined by a narrow stretch of land approximately 40 meters in width and 660 meters in length along the eastern side of the leasehold area. The company has operated the mine since 1994

The MoEF&CC granted the company the environmental clearance for production of 6.0 mmtpa in 2009 but due to conditions introduced by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the production capacity of the mine was reduced to 2.29 mmtpa.

Mine in Liberia - Western Cluster Limited (WCL)

WCL comprises three concession areas (Bomi Hills, Bea Mountain and Mano River).

Amona Plant

The company’s production consists primarily of low ash coking coal and it imports 100.0% of low ash coking coal each year.

Vazare Plant

On July 28, 2019, Vedanta Limited acquired Sindhudurg plant of Global Coke Limited, which was under liquidation as per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The assets acquired mainly included land, building and plant and machinery of similar value as the cash consideration. The acquisition complements backward integration opportunity for Company’s existing pig iron division and also increase the company’s footprint in met coke market in southwestern part of India.

GNRE Plant

On May 20, 2021, the company acquired Assets of Bhachau and Khambalia coke manufacturing units of Gujarat NRE Coke Limited under the provisions of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (including all amendments for the time being in force). The acquisition will complement the company’s existing iron ore business via backward integration through provision of the Met Coke requirement to the company’s existing facilities and also increase company’s footprint in met coke market in western part of India.

Distribution, Logistics and Transport

Sales from the company’s Karnataka mines to Indian domestic customers take place on an ex-mine basis, and the transportation is handled by the customer.

Sales and Marketing

In view of regulatory restrictions, the company’s entire iron ore from Karnataka has to be sold domestically.

Pig Iron: Pig iron is sold in the domestic, as well as export market to foundries and steel mills. The sale of pig iron is generally done on a spot basis with delivery schedule over the month.

Metallurgical Coke: Approximately 80.0% to 90.0% of the company’s total metallurgical coke production during fiscal year 2022 was used for the production of pig iron. The balance was sold in the domestic Indian market to foundries, pig iron producers, ferrous alloys producers and zinc producers, as well as export market.

The sale of metallurgical coke to the other customers is done on a spot basis with delivery schedule over the month.

The company has a marketing office in Goa to sell its pig iron and metallurgical coke products. The company’s sales and chartering needs are managed from the office at Goa.

The company’s ten largest customers accounted for approximately 55.92% of revenue for iron ore business in fiscal year 2022. Two of the customers accounted for more than 10.0% of the company’s revenue in fiscal year 2022.

Market Share and Competition

The company’s primary competitors in both the public and private sectors in India include National Mineral Development Corporation, Rungta Mines Limited, Mineral Sales Private Limited, and Essel Mining and Industries Limited. In addition, the company’s international competitors include Fortescue Metal Group, Sierra Leone, Vale, BHP Billiton Limited and Rio Tinto.

Copper Business

The company’s copper business is principally of custom smelting and includes a smelter, a refinery, a phosphoric acid plant, a sulphuric acid plant, a copper rod plant and three captive power plants at Tuticorin in southern India, a refinery and a copper rod plant and three blister/secondary material processing plant at Silvassa in western India, a precious metal refinery, a dore anode plant and a copper rod plant at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, the company owns the Mt. Lyell copper mine in Tasmania, Australia.

Principal Products

Copper Cathode

The company’s copper cathodes are square shaped with purity levels of 99.9% copper. These cathodes meet international quality standards and are registered as LME (London Metal Exchange Limited) ‘A’ grade. The major uses of copper cathodes are in the manufacture of copper rods for the wire and cable industry and copper tubes for consumer durable goods. Copper cathodes are also used for making alloys like brass, bronze and alloy steel, with applications in transportation, electrical appliances and machines, defense and construction.

Copper Rods

The company’s copper continuous cast rods meet all the requirements of international quality standards, including the ASTM B 49: 2010 or the BS EN 1977:1998 standards. The company’s copper rods are used primarily for power and communication cables, transformers and magnet wires.

Sulphuric Acid

The company produces sulphuric acid at its sulphuric acid plant through conversion of sulphur dioxide gas that is generated from the copper smelter. A significant amount of the sulphuric acid produced at the Tuticorin smelter is consumed by the company’s phosphoric acid plant in the production of phosphoric acid, and the remainder is sold to fertilizer manufacturers and other industries.

Phosphoric Acid

The company produces phosphoric acid at its phosphoric acid plant by chemical reaction of sulphuric acid and rock phosphate, which it imports. Phosphoric acid is sold to fertilizer manufacturers and other industries.

Anode Slime

The company produces anode slimes from the copper refining process that contain gold and silver, which it sells primarily to Fujairah and balance to third parties. The company sells the anode slimes to Fujairah Gold FZC as the dore anode plant has been shifted to its precious metal refinery at Fujairah.

Other By-products

Gypsum and slag are by-products of the company’s copper smelting operations which it sells to third parties.

Supply of Copper Concentrate

As a custom smelter, the company sources a significant majority of its copper concentrate from third party suppliers at the LME price less a treatment and refining charges (TcRc).

Delivery to Customers

The copper cathodes, copper rods, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and other by-products, such as gypsum are shipped for export or transported by road to customers in India.

Principal Facilities

Copper Mine

Mt. Lyell Mine - Tasmania

The Mt. Lyell mine is located at Queenstown, Australia. It comprises an underground copper mine and a copper processing facility and is owned and operated by Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Ltd (CMT). The Mt. Lyell mine is owned and operated under the terms and conditions as stipulated in mining leases 9M/2013 and 10M/2013 granted by the state government of Tasmania.

The principal deposits in the Mt. Lyell region are all of the volcanic disseminated pyrite-chalcopyrite type, which accounts for 86.0% of the known ore in the region. Power at the mine is supplied through an electricity supply agreement with TasNetworks Proprietary Limited and Hydro Tasmania Proprietary Limited.

Smelter and Refineries

Tuticorin

The company’s Tuticorin facility is located in Tamil Nadu in southern India. The company’s Tuticorin facility consists of a 400,000 tons per annum (tpa) copper smelter, a 246,000 tpa copper refinery, a 96,000 tpa copper rod plant, a 1,300,000 tpa sulphuric acid plant, a 230,000 tpa phosphoric acid plant and three captive power plants with capacities of 7.5 MW, 24.0 MW and 160.0 MW. The coal-based power plant of 160 MW is primarily used for captive consumption.

Tuticorin facility will meet most of the facility’s power requirements once the proposed expansion to 800,000 tpa is complete.

The smelter at the Tuticorin facility utilizes IsaSmelt furnace technology. The refinery uses IsaProcess technology to produce copper cathode and the copper rod plant uses Properzi Continuously Cast and Rolled, copper rod technology from Continuus-Properzi spa., Italy, to produce copper rods.

Silvassa

The company’s Silvassa facility is located in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in western India. Silvassa facility consists of a 133,000 million ton (MT) of blister/secondary material processing plant which is developed by converting its existing two rod plants, a 216,000 tpa copper refinery plant, and a new Copper Rod Mill with an installed capacity of 258,000 tpa that was commissioned in October 2019. Its refinery uses IsaProcess technology in the production of copper cathode and its copper rod plants use Contirod technology to produce copper wire rods. The company’s Silvassa facility draws on the state power grid to satisfy its power requirements.

Fujairah

Fujairah Gold FZC is located in the Fujairah Free Zone 2. The company’s Fujairah facility is strategically located on the coast of the Arabian Sea. The precious metal refinery was commissioned in March 2009 and began production in April 2009, with a capacity of 20 tons of gold and 105 tons of silver. Outotec Oyj, Finland, supplied the technology for the precious metal refinery.

Power

The electricity requirements of the company’s copper smelter and refinery at Tuticorin are primarily met by the on-site captive power plants. This plant uses coal that is imported from third parties. The company’s other captive power plants at Tuticorin operate on furnace oil that is procured through long-term contracts with various oil companies. The company has outsourced the day-to-day operations and maintenance of its captive power plants at Tuticorin. The company’s Silvassa facility relies on the state power grid for its power requirements.

Sales and Marketing

The 10 largest customers of the company’s copper business accounted for approximately 45.25% of its copper business revenue in fiscal year 2022.

The company’s copper sales and marketing head office is located in Mumbai, and it has field sales and marketing offices in most major metropolitan centers in India. The company sells its copper rods and cathodes in both the domestic and export markets. In fiscal year 2022 exports accounted for approximately 10.76% of the revenue of the company’s copper business. The company’s export sales were primarily to China, the UAE, Qatar, Belgium, Nepal and Taiwan. The company also sells phosphoric acid and other by-products in both the domestic and export markets. The company’s export sales of copper are made on the basis of both long-term sales agreements and spot sales.

Market Share

The company owns one of the two custom copper smelters in India and had a primary market share of 22% by sales volume in India. The other major custom copper smelter in India is owned by Hindalco Industries Limited, with the remainder of the primary copper market in India primarily served by imports and Hindustan Copper Limited.

Projects and Developments

The company had undertaken expansion projects to setup copper smelter plant II to increase its total copper capacity to 800,000 tpa.

Aluminium Business

The company’s aluminium business is in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The company operates the business in the state of Chhattisgarh through Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), in which it has a 51.0% ownership interest, whereas its aluminium operations in Odisha were previously operated through Vedanta Aluminium, which was merged into Vedanta Limited pursuant to the Re-organization Transactions.

BALCO

The company’s aluminium business in Chhattisgarh is owned and operated by BALCO. BALCO’s aluminium operations comprises two bauxite mines, the Chotia coal block, 1,710 MW power plants, an alumina refinery (operations of which had been suspended since September 2009), a 245,000 tpa aluminium smelter, a 325,000 tpa aluminium smelter and fabrication facility, all of which are located in Korba in the State of Chhattisgarh in Central India.

BALCO’s Bodai-Daldali bauxite mines are located in Kawardha district of Chhattisgarh. Bauxite is transferred to the company’s alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, which converts bauxite to alumina and supplies alumina back to BALCO.

BALCO’s other bauxite mine is in Mainpat bauxite mine, which is an open pit mine located in the Surguja district of the state of Chhattisgarh. Mining lease of the Mainpat mine has been renewed and is valid until July 8, 2042.

The company owns a 51.0% ownership interest in BALCO and have management control of the company.

Principal Products

Primary Aluminium

Primary aluminium is produced from the smelting of metallurgical grade alumina. BALCO produces primary aluminium in the form of ingots and wire rods for sale. Ingots are used extensively for aluminium castings and fabrication in the construction and transportation industries. Wire rods are used in various electrical applications, especially in the form of electrical conductors and cables.

Rolled Products

Rolled products, namely coils and sheets, are value-added products that BALCO produces from primary aluminium. Rolled products are used for a variety of purposes in different industries, including manufacturing of aluminium foil, printing, transportation, consumer durables, building and architecture, electrical and communications, packaging and general engineering industries.

Delivery to Customers

Ingots, wire rods and rolled products are transported by trucks to customers in India and by rail and trucks to ports for export.

Principal Facilities

Bauxite Mines

Chhattisgarh Mines – Mainpat and Bodai-Daldali

BALCO has two captive bauxite mines, namely the Mainpat bauxite mine and the Bodai-Daldali bauxite mine, in the state of Chhattisgarh in Central India. The Mainpat mine is an open-pit bauxite mine located in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh. Mainpat mine has been in production since 1993 and has a leased hold area of 6.39 square kilometers. The bauxite extraction limit for the mine granted by MoEF&CC is 750,000 tpa. Mining lease of Mainpat mine has been renewed until July 8, 2042, and environmental clearances for the Mainpat mine has been renewed by MoEF&CC and is valid until September 16, 2038. BALCO had applied for renewal of forest clearance for forest land co-terminus for the mining lease period, which is valid until July 8, 2042. During fiscal year 2020, mining operations were disrupted and were under temporary suspension since October 11, 2019, as ore quality rendered operations uneconomical.

The Bodai-Daldali deposits are located approximately 260 kilometers from Korba in the Kawardha district of the state of Chhattisgarh. Bodai-Daldali was commissioned in 2004 by BALCO with a lease hold area of 6.26 square kilometers renewable mining lease that is valid until March 26, 2047. The bauxite extraction limit for Bodai-Daldali Mines granted by MoEF&CC is 1,250,000 tpa.

Chhattisgarh bauxite deposits are situated over a plateau with steep scarps on both sides, at an elevation of approximately 1,040 meters above the mean sea level for Mainpat, and approximately 940 meters above the mean sea level for Bodai-Daldali. The bauxite is generally one meter to three meters thick and lies within a laterite sequence overlying thick tertiary basalts of the Deccan traps. The cover of laterite and thin topsoil is up to 5 meters thick but is generally less than 2 meters. Majorly, the Bauxite outcrops around plateau rims.

A typical profile of the Chhattisgarh deposits comprises topsoil and soft overburden above the laterite. The upper laterite consists of hard, loose or indurated bauxite pebbles and boulders with a clear contact with the underlying hard bauxites. The bauxite occurs in discontinuous lenses up to four meters in thickness with laterite in filling joints and fractures with the bauxite. The contact with the softer lower laterite is usually gradational and irregular.

The bauxite ranges from hard to very hard with a natural moisture content of 3.0% to 10.0%, an in-situ density of 2.3 tons per cubic meter. It comprises primarily gibbsite with bohemite and minor diaspore. The reactive silica content is low and iron is present in the form of hematite and aluminous goethite.

All mining and transportation at both mines are undertaken by contractors. One thin topsoil layer is removed by an excavator and is either transported to an adjacent storage point or an area that is being backfilled. The laterite layer is drilled and blasted. The overburden is then removed by backhoe, excavators and 15-ton dumpers. Broken ore is hand-sorted, leaving waste material behind. Ore productivity is around 2 to 3 tons per person per day in the dry season which decreases to 1.25 to 1.75 tons per person per day in the wet season.

Korba Facility

BALCO’s smelting facility is located at Korba in the state of Chhattisgarh and consists of a 245,000 tpa aluminium smelter and a 325,000 tpa aluminium smelter, 1,710 MW captive power plants, and an alumina refinery (non-operational) and fabrication facility. Out of the 1,710 MW, 540 MW captive power plant was commissioned in March 2006 and 900 MW was commissioned in fiscal year 2016. The remaining 270 MW power plant was transferred from power business to aluminum business on April 1, 2016 (Presently, the 270 MW power plant is under suspension) and one unit of 300 MW was converted from IPP to CPP from April 1, 2017 vide order dated January 1, 2019. BALCO has only one 300 MW power unit operating as Independent Power Plant (reported in the power segment).

Smelters

The smelter uses pre-baked GAMI technology and has a capacity of 245,000 tpa, was commissioned in November 2006. BALCO has set up a 325,000 tpa smelter at the Korba facility, of which 84 pots commenced commercial production in September 2014. An additional 84 pots were operationalized in August 2016 and the remaining 168 pots commenced commercial production on May 1, 2017.

Fabrication Facility

The fabrication facility at Korba has two parts, a cast house and a sheet rolling shop.

Cast House

The cast house uses continuous rod casters from Continuus-Properzi S.P.A and has a foundry which has twin-roll continuous casters with a SNIF degasser and hydraulically driven semi-continuous ingot casting machine to produce ingots and wire rods.

Sheet Rolling Shop

The sheet rolling shop has three parts: a hot rolling mill with a capacity of 75,000 tpa, an older cold rolling mill with a capacity of 30,000 tpa and a newer cold rolling mill commissioned in 2004 with a capacity of 36,000 tpa.

Power Plants

Smelting requires a substantial continuous supply of power and interruptions can cause molten metal to solidify and damage or destroy the pots. Power for the Korba facility is mostly provided by the coal-based 540 MW captive power plant commissioned in March 2006. The surplus generation from the power plant is supplied to the State Electricity Board and other customers. 270 MW power plant was transferred from power business to aluminium business on April 1, 2016 (the 270 MW power plant is under suspension). BALCO constructed a CPP 900 MW coal-based thermal power facility in the state of Chhattisgarh. The power generated from CPP 900 MW (3 units of 300 MW each) units is being utilized in the 325,000 tpa smelter. The surplus generation from the power plant is supplied to the State Electricity Board and other customers. One of the 3 units of 300 MW was converted to CPP from April 1, 2017 vide order dated January 1, 2019.

Thermal coal is a key raw material required for the operation of BALCO’s captive power plants. The major coal supplier in India is Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries (mainly, South Eastern Coalfields Limited) and coal mined from the captive Chotia coal block. The balance coal requirements are met from imports. The total volume of coal consumed annually by coal-fueled power plants is largely dependent on the amount of generation. During fiscal year 2022, total coal consumed by 135 x 4 MW and 300 x 3 MW power plants was 2.45 million and 4.05 million tons respectively.

Sales and Marketing

BALCO’s ten largest customers for aluminium accounted for 50.71% of its revenue from the aluminium business in fiscal year 2022. One of BALCO’s customers accounted for more than 15% of BALCO’s revenue in fiscal year 2022. BALCO’s key customers include conductor manufacturers, railways, equipment and machinery manufacturers among other customers.

Projects and Developments

On October 7, 2006, BALCO entered into a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Chhattisgarh, India, and the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board, under which, among other things, feasibility studies will be undertaken to build a thermal coal-based 1,200 MW power facility, along with an integrated coal mine in the state of Chhattisgarh.

The first of two phases of this project commenced with the setting up of a 325,000 tpa aluminium smelter, which uses pre-baked GAMI technology. BALCO has received environmental clearances for both phases of the project. Construction has commenced and trial production started in February 2014 from the 325,000 tpa aluminium smelter and 84 pots started commercial production from September 2014.

Aluminium Business in Odisha

The company’s aluminium business in Odisha was previously operated by Vedanta Aluminium Limited, which was merged with it pursuant to the Re-organization Transactions. The company’s Odisha aluminium operations include a 2.0 million tpa alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, with an associated 75 MW captive power plant.

The company has a greenfield 500,000 tpa aluminium smelter (Plant 1), together with an associated 1,215 MW (nine units with a capacity of 135 MW each). The company also has another 1,250,000 tpa smelter (Plant 2) facilities in Jharsuguda along with associated 1,800 MW (three units of 600 MW each) coal- based captive power plant in Jharsuguda. The 1.25 million tpa smelter initially commenced its production on December 1, 2015 and 1,855 pots have been capitalized as of March 31, 2022. This facility is in the process of being ramped up to increase its total capacity to 1.75 mtpa, subject to obtaining the required approvals from the GoI.The alumina refinery at Lanjigarh produced 1.97 million tons of alumina in fiscal year 2022. The smelters at Jharsuguda reported cast metal production of 1.69 million tons in fiscal year 2022. The net power generation was 8,506 million units and 10,141 million units from the 1,215 MW power plant and 1,800 MW power plant respectively in fiscal year 2022.

Principal Products

Primary aluminium is produced from the smelting of metallurgical grade alumina in smelters. The company produces primary aluminium in the form of ingots, primary foundry alloys, wire rods, billets and slabs for sale. Ingots are used extensively for aluminium castings and fabrication in the construction and transportation industries. Primary foundry alloys find usage in automotive industries mainly. Wire rods are used in various electrical applications especially in the form of electrical conductors and cables. Billets are used extensively in construction (windows and door frames), transportation, engineering, consumer durables, automotive forgings and many other applications. Slabs are used generally in rolling mills for manufacturing aluminium foil and sheet products.

Delivery to Customers

The company’s products are transported by trucks and rakes to customers in India. Exports are delivered through ocean shipping, and inland movement to ports is typically by rakes.

Principal Facilities

Lanjigarh

Alumina Refinery and Captive Power Plant

The Lanjigarh alumina refinery is in the Kalahandi district in the state of Odisha. In March 2007, the company began the progressive commissioning of a 1 mtpa greenfield alumina refinery, expandable to 1.4 mtpa of installed capacity and an associated 75 MW captive power plant, expandable to 90 MW. The captive power plant is fully operational and can meet the power requirements of the refinery. The second production stream of the Lanjigarh alumina refinery was commissioned in March 2010. Production of alumina at the refinery at Lanjigarh was suspended since December 5, 2012, due to inadequate availability of bauxite and the plant recommenced operations on July 12, 2013.

Jharsuguda

Aluminium Smelter and Captive Power Plant

The company has a greenfield 500,000 tpa aluminium smelter together with an associated 1,215 MW (nine units with a capacity of 135 MW each). The company also has another 1,250,000 tpa smelter facilities in Jharsuguda along with associated 1,800 MW (three units of 600 MW each) coal-based captive power plant in Jharsuguda. The 1.25 million tpa smelter initially commenced its production on December 1, 2015 and 1,855 pots have been capitalized as of March 31, 2022. This facility is in the process of being ramped up to increase its total capacity to 1.75 mtpa, subject to obtaining the required approvals from the GoI.

Principal Raw Materials

Bauxite

Bauxite is being sourced primarily through imports (36.7%) and Odisha Mining Corporation (63.3%). The company has entered into long term agreement with Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) in accordance with state policy and supply of bauxite to the Lanjigarh refinery has started from first quarter of fiscal year 2019.

Power

The company has signed the Coal Mine Development and Production Agreement (CMDPA) with GoI and received Vesting Order for the coal block. The mine has a capacity of 2.6 mtpa. The production at this mine is expected to commence from July 2022.

Distribution, Logistics and Transport

The company’s aluminium products are transported from the Jharsuguda facility to domestic customers through a combination of road and rail and shipped for export.

Sales and Marketing

The company’s 10 largest customers of Jharsuguda accounted for approximately 67% of Odisha aluminium business in fiscal year 2022. The company sells only primary products and has equal focus on both the Indian and the exports market. The company’s key customers include cables and conductor manufacturers, transport sector and electrical equipment and machinery manufacturers.

Projects and Developments

On August 6, 2021, the company received environmental clearance for 6 MTPA (million tons per annum).

Power Generation Business

The company has been building and managing power plants since 1997. As of March 31, 2022, the total power generating capacity of the company’s thermal power plants, wind power plants and gas-based plants was approximately 9,300 MW, which includes its seventeen thermal coal-based captive power plants (plant at Tuticorin is inactive) with a total power generation capacity of 5,685.5 MW.

Commercial Power Plants

The company has a 2,400 MW coal based thermal power plant facility (comprising four units of 600 MW each) in Jharsuguda in the state of Odisha. The power plant was earlier operated through Sterlite Energy (Sterlite Energy Limited) and is a part of Vedanta pursuant to the Re-organization Transactions. The typical coal volume required for full scale operations of 600 MW IPP ranges between 2.5 million to 3.5 million tons.

PPA with GRIDCO

In September 2006, Sterlite Energy entered into a PPA with GRIDCO, which was amended in August 2009 and further amended in December 2012, in which GRIDCO was granted the right to purchase up to 25.0% of the power sent out from the power plant after adjustments for auxiliary consumption by the company. Power to be purchased by GRIDCO is required to be evacuated by GRIDCO from the bus bar (which is the discharge point of power plant) of the project.

One customer of the company’s Odisha power business accounted for 100.0% of Odisha power business in fiscal year 2022.

Talwandi Sabo

In 2008, Sterlite Energy succeeded in an international bidding process and was awarded the project for the construction of a 1980 MW coal-based thermal commercial power plant at Talwandi Sabo in the state of Punjab in India. The project was bid as Case-2 tariff based competitive bidding implying that the developer had to quote for capacity charges and efficiency.

BALCO

BALCO’s power business includes only one unit of 300 MW power plant at BALCO’s Korba facility. The 270 MW power plant was transferred from power business to aluminium business on April 1,2016. BALCO had constructed an IPP 600 MW coal-based thermal power facility in the state of Chhattisgarh which had received approval to operate on January 14, 2015, from the regulatory authorities. One unit of 300 MW was commissioned during fiscal year 2016, and the second unit was commissioned in March 2016 and commenced commercial production on May 1, 2016. One unit of 300 MW has been converted from IPP to CPP from April 1,2017 vide order dated January 1, 2019.

HZL (Hindustan Zinc Limited) – Wind Power Plants

As of March 31, 2022, wind power plants have the combined power generation capacity of 273.5 MW, which was commissioned in earlier fiscal years in the States of Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Rajasthan in India. The electricity from these wind power plants is sold to State Electricity Boards.

MALCO Energy Limited – Mettur Power Plant

Mettur power plant is a 106.5 MW coal based thermal power plant operated by MALCO Energy Limited in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The plant has been set up in stages, with the first 75 MW set up in the year 1999 to cater to the requirements of the aluminium smelter operated by MALCO. The aluminium operations were closed since November 2008. An additional 25 MW unit was added in 2009. Further, 6.50 MW steam turbine generator was added in 2013, increasing the total capacity to 106.5 MW.

MALCO used to source its entire coal through imports (from various countries, including Indonesia, Russia and South Africa). The total volume of coal consumed annually by the company’s coal-fueled power plants is largely dependent on the amount of generation and ranges between 0.5 million to 0.55 million tons at 100.0% plant load factor (PLF).

Steel Business

ESL Steel Limited’s (ESL) manufacturing facility is a greenfield integrated steel plant located near Bokaro, Jharkhand, India, which has a capacity of 1.5 mtpa and the potential to increase to 2.5 mtpa. It primarily consists of one sinter plant, a vertical coke oven plant, two blast furnaces, an oxygen plant, a lime calcination plant, a steel melting shop, a wire rod mill, a bar mill, a captive power plant and a DI pipe plant.

Principal Products

TMT Bars

TMT Bars are thermo mechanically treated steel bars, which are produced by controlled quenching and self-tempering process. ESL TMT bars are produced in Fe500, Fe500D and Fe500D CRS variety as per IS 1786/2008 grade. The company sells its TMT Bars primarily to construction industry.

Wire rod

Steel wire rod is rolled from steel billet in a wire rod mill and is used primarily for the manufacture of wire. The steel for wire rod is produced by all the modern steelmaking processes, including the basic oxygen and electric furnace processes. Steel wire rod is usually cold drawn into wire suitable for further processing, such as cold rolling, cold heading, cold upsetting, cold extrusion, cold forging or hot forging. The company sells its wire rod primarily to automobile and white goods industries.

DI pipe

DI pipe is a pipe made of ductile cast iron commonly used for potable water transmission and distribution. The ductile iron used to manufacture the pipe is characterized by the spheroidal or nodular nature of the graphite within the iron. Protective internal linings and external coatings are often applied to DI pipes to inhibit corrosion, the standard internal lining is cement mortar and standard external coatings include bonded zinc, asphalt or water-based paint. The company’s DI pipe is primarily used in sanitation, sewerage and irrigation.

Pig Iron

Pig iron is an intermediate product of the iron industry, also known as crude iron, which is first obtained from a smelting furnace in the form of oblong blocks. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically ranging from 3.8% to 4.7%, along with silica and other constituents of dross, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications. Pig iron is made by smelting iron ore into a transportable ingot of impure high carbon-content iron in a blast furnace as an ingredient for further processing steps. Pig iron is further processed and is used in steel plants.

Steel Billet

A billet is a length of metal that has a round or square cross-section. Billets are created directly via continuous casting or extrusion or indirectly via hot rolling an ingot or bloom. Billets are further processed via profile rolling and drawing. Final products include TMT and wire rod.

By Product

Granulated slag

Granulated blast-furnace slag is obtained by quenching molten iron slag from a blast furnace in water or steam, to produce a glassy, granular product that is then dried and grounded into a fine powder. Granulated slag is used in the production of quality-improved slag cement by cement industry.

Principal Facilities

Coke Oven

Coke is prepared from coking coal or bituminous coal by heating it strongly in the absence of air. Coke plant is often described as a process of destructive distillation since it involves the separation of volatile matter based on the difference of boiling point. For the purpose of coking, two coke ovens have been designed, i.e. vertical coke oven of 0.5 mtpa and horizontal coke oven of 0.5 mtpa. Only vertical coke oven has been commissioned. It is of non-recovery/waste-heat recovery type i.e. heat is recovered from the flue gases for power generation in the captive power plant.

Coke is preferred to coal in the blast furnace operation because it is stronger and can take the burden of blast furnace charge, it creates a permeable bed for the flow of hot gases and molten metal, and it acts a better source of heat and reducing agent. The vertical coke oven has 4 batteries having 35 ovens each. The annual capacity of coke oven is 0.5 mtpa.

Sinter Plant

Sintering is agglomeration of iron ore fine particles (ranging from 0mm to 8mm) along with flux fine particles at high temperature (ranging from 1200° C to 1300°C) using coke fine particles as solid fuel to raise the temperature. There are two sets of 105 square meter sintering machines with annual output of 2.25 mt of sinter. Sinter produced is transferred to blast furnace for hot metal production.

Blast Furnace

The company has three blast furnaces (two operational) for production of hot metal, namely BF-2 having furnace size of 1050 cubic meter, BF-3 having furnace size of 350 cubic meter and BF-1 having furnace size of 1,050 cubic meter (semi-constructed). The company is producing at the run rate of 1.5 mt of hot metal annually.

Steel Melting Shop

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Carbon percentage in steel is less than 2.0%. The molten hot metal coming from the blast furnace is oxidized in the basic oxygen furnace. The scrap is charged into the furnace first since it may contain moisture. Then the molten metal from the blast furnace is added. Fluxes like limestone and dolomite are also added. The oxygen is blown from top and the resulting hot metal after removal of slag is taken to argon rinsing station where ferro-alloys and aluminium are added to adjust the chemistry and to remove oxygen respectively. The molten metal is sent to ladle refining furnace if required in order to produce different grades of steel. The steel from ladle is taken to ladle turret and poured onto the tundish. Tundish pours the molten metal onto the mould and cast into steel billet.

Rolling Mills

There are two types of rolling mills, i.e., bar mill and wire rod mill. ESL’s bar mill is a continuous mill with horizontal-vertical combination. Bar mill is having annual production capacity of 0.7 mtpa. In its bar mill, slit rolling process is adopted for 10mm, 12mm and 16mm of TMT bars. The designed maximum finishing rolling speed is 18 m/s. The mill is designed to make TMT bars of size ranging from 10mm to 40mm but TMT bars of diameter 8mm are also being made using the 125x125mm steel billets. TMT bar mill has 18 number of stands having horizontal vertical combination.

ESL’s wire rod mill is a tandem rolling mill with stands in horizontal-vertical combination. Wire rod mill has annual production capacity of 0.5 mtpa.

DI Pipe Plant

The molten metal is taken from blast furnace and stocked in mixer. From the mixer the liquid metal is taken by ladle and transferred to induction furnace where the composition of the liquid metal is corrected to desired level. The composition depends upon the size and thickness of the ductile pipe to be made. After attaining the metal composition, the temperature is risen to a desired level based on the type of pipe to be made.

Power Plant

ESL has its own captive thermal power plant of 80 MW capacity of capacity, expandable to 120 MW. Captive power plant has three centralized fluorised bed commercial boiler of coal based and two steam turbo generator of 60 MW each. The company also has two waste heat recovery boilers of 75 tons each which is fired by coke oven flue gases. The power requirement is met partially by captive power plant and remaining is purchased through grid.

Sales and Marketing

The company has marketing offices in Kolkata, West Bengal, as well as two sales offices in Delhi and Mumbai, along with regional managers for sales in four regions across India.

Port Business

The company had a 100.0% interest in Vizag General Cargo Berth Private Limited (VGCB) as of March 31, 2022, a consortium between Vedanta Limited and Leighton, which won the bid to mechanise the coal handling facilities and upgrade the general cargo berth for handling coal at the outer harbour of Vishakhapatnam port, on the east coast of India.

The capacity of the upgraded berth is 10.18 mtpa. VGCB had entered into an agreement on June 10, 2010, with the port authority, Vishakhapatnam Port Trust, to mechanise the coal handling facilities and upgrade the general cargo berth on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis for 30 years commencing on the date of award of concession. Vishakhapatnam Port Trust receives a royalty of 38.1% of the gross revenue as per TAMP tariff from the cargo handling activities as set out in the concession agreement. As of March 31, 2022, the total cost (Gross block) was 6,831.67 million. During the fiscal year 2022 VGCB had handled a volume of 6.48 million tons i.e., 49% higher volumes.

Sterlite Ports Limited, a 100.0% subsidiary of Vedanta Limited has received an award of letter dated March 31, 2016, for redevelopment of berths 8, 9, barge berths and mechanical ore handling plant at the Port of Mormugao, Goa on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis for 19 mmtpa capacity multi-cargo port terminal. A special purpose company, ‘Goa Sea Port Private Limited’ was incorporated on July 5, 2016, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sterlite Ports Limited. Goa Sea Port Private Limited entered into an agreement on September 22, 2016, with the Mormugao Port Trust, to operate the berth on a build-finance-operate transfer basis for 30 years commencing on the date of award of concession.

Ferro Alloys Business

Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR) has Charge Chrome Plant (CCP), which was established in 1983 and is one of the India’s largest producers and exporters of Ferro Alloys, an essential ingredient for production of steel and stainless steel.

FACOR has the capacity to produce 80,000 TPA of Charge Chrome / Ferro Chrome along with a 100 MW power plant in Bhadrak, Orissa. It has also established a mining complex at Jajpur and Dhenkanal districts in Orissa for the mining of Chrome Ore having annual capacity of 250,000 TPA.

Mining Division

Sukinda Chromite valley has 93% of total resources in India and 100% ore production of India is coming from this Sukinda valley. Ferro Alloys Corporation Ltd. (FACOR) contributes 8% of Indian chrome ore production. Chromite deposit in Sukinda Valley is the richest deposit in India covering about 40 square kilometers was discovered in Jajpur District. FACOR has 2 open pit running mines and 1 underground mines in the Odisha state.

The Ostapal Chromite Mines and Kalarangiatta Chromite Mines are spread over an area of 72.84 Hectares and 23.80 Hectares respectively, over the Sukinda Valley in the Jajpur District of Odisha and both are in operation. The Kathpal Chromite Mines, FACOR is spread over an area of 113.31 Hectares in the Dhenkanal District of Odisha. The company requires to mine out chromite to feed its Charge Chrome Plant, at Randia, District- Bhadrak, Odisha to produce better quality of Ferro Chrome/Charge Chrome.

Charge Chrome Plant (CCP)

High Carbon Ferrochrome / Charge Chrome are produced in Submerged Electric Arc Furnace of rating 45 MVA. Furnace is of stationary and semi-closed top.

Principal Products

High Carbon Ferrochrome

Specifications

Carbon: 7 -8.5%, Chromium: 57 -63%, Silicon: 4% max, Sulfur: 0.050% max, Phosphorous: 0.040% max and Iron.

Application Areas

Ferro Chrome used for making stainless steel, carbon steel, ball-bearing steels, tool steels, as well as other alloy steels.

Power Plant

The electricity requirements of the company’s Charge Chrome plant at Bhadrak are primarily met by the on-site captive 100MW power plant. Major Equipment for this Plant has been sourced from a range of established manufacturers, including Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Thyssenkrupp Industries India, ABB Limited, and Thermax Limited, all well-known suppliers in the thermal power industry. Pneumatic ash conveying supplied by M/s Mecaber Beekay. FPL having 3 nos of boiler and two nos turbo generator connected with common steam distribution header One boiler capacity is 155 TPH with steam quality 100 kg/cm2 and temp. is 540 degree centigrade, First unit boiler-1 and TG-1 commissioned on date 8.07.2011 with coal handling plant, CHP capacity is 200 TPH, FPL have railway siding, as well as wagon tippling unit, water is sourced from Salandi river having intake well adjacent to river, also having two nos reservoir, pretreatment unit ,demineralization unit to supply make up water to boiler which make is M/s Thermax, FPL have effluent water treatment plant as zero discharge scheme as required by SPCB.As turbine is water cooled condenser Cooling tower supplied by M/S Paharpur of 7 cells is available.

Sales and Marketing

During the FY2022, the company was able to export 42% (incl 27% deemed export) of its Ferrochrome production whilst its domestic sales figures contributed to 58%. The company’s main product which it offers is premium quality High Carbon Ferro Chrome along with chrome ore, having consistent supplies, timely deliveries, best in class Service and Quality Assurance.

Projects and Development

Mining division is planned for expansion from 250 kilo tons (Kt) to 390 Kt in FY 23. Also, 33 MVA SAF project is underway for capacity enhancement.

33 MVA Project consists of 33 MVA Semi-closed Submerged Arc Furnace (SAF); GCP and Raw material/Finished product storage and handling facilities; extension of MRSS; electrics/instrumentation/automation/communication and FDA System; plant water system; utility system (dust extraction/acvs/compressed air/fire fighting system); and 20 TPH Briquetting Plant.

There is plan for Relining of existing furnace 45MVA along with new COB plant commissioning for enhanced capacity of 50TPH.

Exploration and Development Activities

The company engages in ongoing exploration and development activities to locate additional ore bodies in India, Australia, South Africa, Namibia and Ireland. The focus of the company’s exploration has been sediment hosted zinc deposits in India and oil and gas exploration in India and South Africa.

Strategy

The key elements of the company’s strategy include delivering profitable production growth across the portfolio; consolidation and simplification of the group structure; continuing to add reserves and resources for long-term value; and protecting and preserving license to operate.

Competition

For Vedanta Limited- oil and gas business, competition faces from Indian companies, including Indian National Oil Companies- ONGC and Oil India Limited (OIL), as well as private players like Reliance Industries Limited.

Regulatory Matters

Major environmental laws applicable to the company’s operations include the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, or Forest Act; the Forest Conservation Rules, 2003; Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977; Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973, or Coal Nationalization Act; Coking Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1972; Coal Mines (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1973; Coking Coal Mines (Emergency Provision) Act, 1971; Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957; Coal Mines (Conservation and Development) Act, 1974; and the New Coal Distribution Policy, 2007.

The company is subject to various Labor, health and safety laws which govern the terms of employment of its laborers at its mining and manufacturing facilities, their working conditions, the benefits available to them and the general relationship between its management and such laborers. These include the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, Factories Act, 1948, Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, Employee State Insurance Act, 1948, Payment of Wages Act, 1936, Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

History

The company was founded in 1954. It was incorporated in 1965. The company was formerly known as Sesa Sterlite Limited and changed its name to Vedanta Limited in 2015.

Contact Details

Key Executives