Vedanta Base Metals CEO Griffith quits amid debt, short-seller woes
Vedanta Resources, the Indian mining conglomerate of billionaire Anil Agarwal that was targeted in a short-seller’s report, has lost the top executive of its base metals business, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chris Griffith, who joined Vedanta Resources in 2023, has left the mining firm in recent days, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Aside from being in charge of some of Vedanta’s key assets like zinc mines in South Africa and neighboring Namibia, Griffith was also the President of the firm’s international business. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Vedanta had appointed a replacement for the executive.
A spokesman for Vedanta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Griffith also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The departure of Griffith, who previously had been the boss of Gold Fields, comes amid a report released Wednesday from Viceroy Research saying it was shorting the debt held by Vedanta Resources. It called the group structure an “under-appreciated risk to creditors.”
Sentiment around the conglomerate has long been weighed down by Vedanta Resources’ debt burden, the result of an acquisition spree that includes stakes in Bharat Aluminium Co. and Hindustan Zinc.
Shares of the Vedanta traded little changed early Thursday, after dropping 3.4% the day before.
In a statement, Vedanta dismissed the report as “a malicious combination of selective misinformation and baseless allegations,” and said it had not been contacted by the short seller. “We remain focused on the business and growth, and request everyone to avoid speculation and unsubstantiated allegations,” a spokesperson said.
Griffith quit as Gold Fields chief executive officer after the company’s failed attempt to take over Canada’s Yamana Gold. He previously headed the platinum and iron-ore businesses of Anglo American, in which Agarwal was once the biggest shareholder.
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