Codelco will send copper concentrate to Adani smelter in India
Codelco has agreed to supply copper concentrate to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s smelter in India, as part of a push by the world’s biggest copper miner to open up new markets.
The Chilean group “agreed to supply concentrates starting this year, which will support the diversification of our customer portfolio,” Codelco said in a website post. Chairperson Maximo Pacheco met with Adani at the smelter in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Tuesday.
The $1.2-billion Kutch operation has had a challenging ramp-up after starting last year, with the global copper market facing its biggest shortfall of concentrate in decades. Glencore and Hudbay Minerals were among its other suppliers, people familiar with the matter said last year.
No other details about Adani’s supply agreement with Codelco were given.
Copper smelters worldwide have faced severe difficulties in getting enough ore, and Adani’s plant was among a wave of new sites that threatened to stretch supplies even further. Smelting fees — the sum received by processors for turning concentrates into refined metal — have plunged below zero and reached a new low last week, according to Fastmarkets data.
Codelco has long flagged India as a major growth market for copper, which is used in pipes and wires, as well as in batteries. Demand is expected to grow rapidly as the nation’s economy modernizes, and Adani Enterprises plans to expand the Gujarat operation to meet that rising consumption.
Codelco’s Pacheco was among Chilean executives visiting India with President Gabriel Boric, who met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday to kick off talks for a trade deal between the two nations.
The Chilean company said it also signed a memorandum of understanding with State-owned Indian mining group Hindustan Copper on cooperation in exploration and processing.
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