Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta kicks off plans to restart Sterlite unit in TN
Anil Agarwal-led Sterlite Copper has issued a fresh Notice of Invitation to Expressions of Interest (EoIs) to supply raw materials such as copper concentrate, imported thermal coal, rock phosphate and petroleum products, among others, as part of its preparatory measures for restarting production at the Thoothukudi unit. in the state of Tamil Nadu.
This plant is likely to resume operations if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the company.
On June 12, the company invited EoIs to carry out factory “restart activities”. The plant was closed more than five years ago on the order of the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). Final judgment is expected by August 2023.
In the current EoI, bids for materials such as 1.4 million metric tons per annum of copper concentrate, 700,000 metric tons of imported thermal coal, 700,000 metric tons of rock phosphate, 60,000 metric tons of petroleum products, 7,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas, 120,000 metric tons of Quartz fines, 42,000 metric tons of quartz chips and 20,000 metric tons of limestone were included. In addition, significant amounts of silica sand, slaked lime, quicklime, caustic soda lye, iron ore, barium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, and sodium sulfate were included.
Before its closure in 2018, the Thoothukudi unit contributed about 40 percent of the country’s total copper smelting capacity and 95 percent of the sulfuric acid market share in Tamil Nadu.
Preference will be given to local suppliers from Thoothukudi and other parts of Tamil Nadu. The company said suppliers with experience, expertise, finances, delivery capabilities, and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability are invited to participate in the EoI.
EoI was June 12 for unit upkeep and maintenance.
The scope of EoI includes safety assessment and review of structures, construction, repair and debugging, dealing with OEMs or experts for certification, replacement of plant and machinery and commissioning of plant and machinery to enable the achievement of designed capability. The company has also endeavored to employ around 4,000 (both skilled and unskilled) in and around Thoothukudi.
She felt that soliciting such bids was standard procedure as the procurement and distribution of materials and resources to restore and restart a plant could be a time-consuming process, stretching over several months.
The plant ceased production in May 2018, after protests broke out against a plan to double annual production capacity to 800,000 tons. The police firing later killed 13 people and injured 102 others.
On June 2 this year, the company finally had access to the factory for maintenance work, after a court ruling in April, allowing it to carry out maintenance work. The factory was established in 1996 and has a production capacity of about 400,000 metric tons per year.
According to Sterling Copper, it is suffering a loss of Rs. 5 crore per day due to unit being closed. In addition, India has become a net importer of copper since 2018-2019, after it was a net exporter of 335 thousand tons in 2017-2018. The country ran a deficit of $971 million in 2021-22, according to reports, mainly due to the closure of the Thoothukudi unit.
May 24, 2018: Two days after the shooting, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Commission ordered the unit to be shut down with immediate effect and power cut off
April 10, 2023: A three-member Supreme Court board, chaired by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, has authorized Sterlite Copper to carry out maintenance work at its plant in Thoothukudi
June 12, 2023: Sterlite Copper makes an announcement calling on EoIs to carry out plant “restart activities”.
June 19, 2023: Fresh EoI was invited to source raw materials