The USD 1.2-billion facility will start operations of the first phase by March-end and full-scale 1 million tonnes capacity by FY29 (March 2029), two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

India joins China and other nations that are rapidly expanding production of copper, a metal crucial for transition away from fossil fuels. Technologies critical to the energy transition like electric vehicles (EVs), charging infrastructure, solar photovoltaics (PV), wind and batteries, all require copper Kutch Copper Ltd (KCL), a subsidiary of the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), is setting up a greenfield copper refinery project for the production of refined copper with 1 million tonnes per annum capacity in two phases.

For Phase-1, capacity of 0.5 million tonnes per annum, KCL achieved financial closure through a syndicated club loan in June 2022.

“Adani wants to become a global leader in the copper business, leveraging the Adani Group’s strong position in resource trading, logistics, renewable power, and infrastructure,” one of the sources said. “Their aim is to be the world’s largest copper smelting complex by 2030.”