Industry urges SC review on Sterlite Copper verdict

Protesters confident plant won't reopen

- SHINE JACOB

Even as Vedanta's Sterlite Copper is expected to approach the Supreme Court (SC) with a review petition, the copper sector and dependent industries are hopeful that the court may consider the current demand-supply situation in the country.

According to an assessment by the International Copper Association, during the past five years since the closure of the plant, India has not only lost close to $1 billion per year in net foreign exchange inflow on account of copper exports but also has to spend close to $1.2 billion per year for copper imports to fill the supply gap.

Additionally, at the corporate level, it is a huge loss to Vedanta. On the other hand, protesters say that the apex court is unlikely to reconsider its reopening.

It was on February 29 that the SC declined permission to reopen its copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi (also known as Tuticorin), citing "serious environmental violations and repeated breaches".

"Sterlite's vacuum is being compensated by imports. The industry adjusted by importing copper, which may be expensive and have few logistic challenges. Not only copper production, but the Sterlite plant shutdown has also led to a loss of production of various by-products including sulphuric acid," said Mayur Karmarkar, managing director, International Copper Association India.

India's copper demand has witnessed significant growth, jumping from 1.31 million tonnes (mt) in 2021-22 to 1.52 mt in 2022-23. Karmarkar added that on the supply side, although the installed capacity of copper smelting is 950,000 tonnes per annum, the current operational capacity is 500,000 tonnes per annum.