INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: London-listed Vedanta Resources hopes to restart its copper smelter in Tamil Nadu and still wants to double its capacity despite
day after the state of Tamil Nadu, where the smelter is located, said it was seeking a permanent closure of the plant due to allegations
Thoothukudi, has been shut since late March for maintenance and pending a renewal of its license, even as locals continued largely peaceful
protests demanding its permanent shutdown.
The opposition escalated on Tuesday when thousands of people marched towards a local government
office on the 100th day of the protest
was the most polluting industry in Thoothukudi because of its size, and that support of the local community would be important to restart
cut the power to the smelter on Thursday, saying that last week it found the company preparing to resume production without
smelter, which produces 400,000 tonnes of copper a year.
Around 250,000 tonnes of the output is consumed locally, making up for 36 per cent
which Ramnath expects to grow by up to 10 per cent annually
The expansion would, however, be delayed from its earlier completion target of late 2019.
