Naidoo returns to Vedanta to oversee critical minerals drive

VEDANTA Resources, the London-based parent company of Vedanta Ltd, has appointed South African mining executive Deshnee Naidoo as its CEO.Naidoo was previously head of Vedanta Zinc until leaving for Vale Base Metals in 2020 which she managed as its CEO until December 2023. Naidoo’s appointment at Vedanta Resources was effective from January 20.Naidoo will oversee a proposal to spin out Vedanta’s base metals assets, including mines in Zambia. Vedanta Base Metals is run by another South African, Chris Griffith, formerly CEO of Anglo American Platinum and Gold Fields.Said Naidoo: “This is homecoming for me, and I look forward to an exciting growth phase at Vedanta, enabled by the demerger”.The future of Vedanta’s base metals forms an important part of the critical minerals and potentially the M&A story in world mining this year.Vedanta aims to restore its Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia from the current 70,000 tons a year operation back to 300,000t/year by 2031 at an estimated cost of $1.3bn. Vedanta owns 80% of KCM (the balance is owned by the state-owned ZCCM-IH) so the Indian group will need a partner.Enter United Arab Emirates company IRH [International Resource Holdings] which first sought to buy control of KCM in April last year before starting talks with Griffith for a lower stake of up to 30%. Those discussions failed but Griffith said other investors were kicking the tyres.In a later development, Vedanta agreed with Saudi Arabia to invest up to $2bn in the country’s copper refining industry. The plan is for a 400,000t/year smelting and refining complex as well as a 300,000t/year copper rods facility which will supply the electric cabling industry.“This project ties in very nicely both with our own ambitions as Vedanta to grow our footprints in India and the Middle East, [and] with the industrial growth strategy in Saudi Arabia,” Griffith told Reuters in November.This is all a far cry from Vedanta’s troubled past in copper.The Zambian government seized KCM in 2019 which resulted in the assets deteriorating badly. “We do not underestimate that it is not just going to be a walk in the park to turn around an asset that has been run by the government or a provisional liquidator,” Griffith reflected last year.Naidoo will also have oversight of the Gamsberg zinc mine and smelting operation situated in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.Anil Agarwal, chair of Vedanta said his group had emerged as a champion in the resources sector. “We are now embarking on a new phase of growth which will make us a $100bn critical minerals, energy and technology company, serving India and the world”.The post Naidoo returns to Vedanta to oversee critical minerals drive appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com