Aluminium, the Metal of the Future

Aluminium is a strategic metal, critical for a country’s national security, socio-economic and sustainable development. It is the second most important metal in the world today. The high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance, light weight, supreme formability, and infinite recyclability of the metal, coupled with the fact that bauxite (the ore from which aluminium is made) mining is sustainable, have given aluminium the ‘green metal’ moniker.

About Vedanta’s Aluminium Business

Vedanta Aluminium is amongst the world’s top aluminium producers, and India’s largest producer of aluminium, catering to discerning customers in nearly 50 countries. In FY23, we produced more than half of India’s aluminium at 2.29 million tonnes. With deep expertise in metal production and value-addition, we leverage innovative and leading-edge technologies to serve our customers a bundle of advantages, including the best quality products and an ecosystem designed to support them in their evolving business journey.

Today, we are one of the world’s most preferred suppliers of top-quality aluminium products and alloys, which find applications in critical sectors like aerospace, aviation, defence, transportation, electricity distribution, packaging etc and in sunrise sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy and more. With our world-class assets, we passionately fulfil our mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium, for a greener and more sustainable tomorrow.

Alumina Refinery, Lanjigarh (Odisha)

We operate a 2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity alumina refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district, Odisha), India since 2007 and an associated 75 MW captive power plant. The refinery feeds our large aluminium smelters at Jharsuguda, in Odisha, and BALCO, in Chhattisgarh. Our alumina refinery is widely hailed as having transformed one of the most underprivileged regions of the country to bring it into the socio-economic mainstream of the state of Odisha.

Aluminium Smelter, Jharsuguda (Odisha)

We operate the world’s largest single-location aluminium plant (ex-China) at Jharsuguda, Odisha. The plant has 1.8 MTPA aluminium smelting capacity and an associated 3615 MW thermal power generation facility. It is the only Indian smelter in the global ‘1 Million Tonne’ production and export club, and a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications across a diverse array of industries.

Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), Korba (Chhattisgarh)

BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company Limited) is India’s iconic aluminium producer and was conceived as a temple of modern India. It is owned 49% by the Government of India and 51% by Vedanta Limited. BALCO operates a 0.57 MTPA aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is widely acclaimed as one of India’s greatest disinvestment and privatisation success stories. The company has seen a growth of roughly 6 times since the government divested a 51% stake when it increased its aluminium production from 100 KTPA (kilo tons per annum) in FY 01 to 345 KTPA in FY05 to 575 KTPA in FY20. The company has deployed world-class technologies and operational efficiencies to clock this unprecedented quantum growth.

Website : www.balcoindia.com

Mines

Our newly formed Mines Business Unit oversees the operations of our various coal blocks and bauxite block that we have recently secured. When fully operationalised, these will together ensure raw material security for our alumina refinery, aluminium smelters and power plants. Bauxite is the primary ore of aluminium, which undergoes processing in two stages, i.e., bauxite to alumina and alumina to aluminium. Coal helps us generate thermal power to run our aluminium operations, and one coal mine has been operationalised. These mine blocks are located in the proximity of our plant locations in Lanjigarh (Odisha), Jharsuguda (Odisha) and Korba (Chhattisgarh). Combined, these mines have ample reserves to be strategic value creators for Vedanta’s Aluminium Business.  Over the coming years, with the operationalisation of all our mine blocks, we stand to be amongst the largest captive miners in India. Our operations will connect these regions to the socio-economic mainstream and bring prosperity to the communities that live here.