Adani’s Kutch Copper Smelter to Source Copper From Chile’s Codelco
Adani Group owned Kutch Copper Ltd. will be sourcing Copper ore concentrate from Chile-based Codelco, which is the world’s largest producer of Copper. The deal for the same was finalised when Mr. Maximo Pacheco, Codelco’s Chairman, met Mr. Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, in Ahmedabad.
Codelco to Feed One of World’s Largest Single-Location Copper Plants
Kutch Copper’s plant in Mundra, Gujarat is being developed with an investment of USD 1.2 billion. Currently, the plant (phase 1) has a production capacity of 0.5 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA), which will be ramped up to 1 MMTPA (through phase 2). Once fully commissioned, it will be one of the world’s largest single-location Copper plants.
Even though the first consignment of Copper cathodes from Kutch Copper’s plant (first phase) was rolled out in March 2024, operations at the smelter are expected to stabilize in the next few quarters.
Codelco to Start Supply of Copper Concentrate to Adani this Year
Codelco is expected to begin supply of Copper concentrate to Kutch Copper during the current year.
While speaking to UK-based cross-commodity price reporting agency, Fastmarkets, Mr. Pacheco said, “I just spent a week in India, which consumes 900,000 tonnes of refined Copper. The world, on average, consumes 3.5 kilos of Copper per capita annually. India consumes 0.75 kilos, so the growth potential is very large”. He also shared that during his time in India, he visited Kutch Copper’s smelter (phase 1 of the plant), for which Codelco will be supplying Copper concentrate.
Earlier Reports of Adani Sourcing Copper Conc. for Kutch Copper
As per several media reports from February 2025, Adani Group has signed contracts to buy 1.6 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) of Copper concentrate for Kutch Copper’s plant. However, details about these contracts were not disclosed in the said reports. An earlier report by Business Standard dated 24th October 2024 even suggested that Adani Group was negotiating a Rs. 30,000 crore deal with Australia’s BHP to procure 1.6 MMT of Copper concentrate for the smelter.
Kutch Copper to Strengthen Adani Group’s Backward Integration
Once operations at Kutch Copper’s smelter are regularised, it will be a valuable asset in terms of backward integration to the Adani Group.
Kutch Copper to Provide Raw Material for Adani’s Cables & Wire Foray
In March 2025, Adani Group announced its plans to enter cable and wire manufacturing through a joint venture of which Kutch Copper Ltd. will be a part. It can be easily deduced that Kutch Copper could be instrumental in providing easy access to Copper for the aforementioned JV, which can thereby enable it to offer its products at competitive prices in the market.
40% of Produced Copper to be Used for Adani’s RE & Transmission Projects
About 40% of the Copper produced at the plant will be utilised by the Adani Group in its Renewable Energy (RE) and transmission projects. This gains special importance since Adani Group is one of the major developers of RE and transmission projects in the country. Adani Group currently has an operational RE capacity of 14.24 GW, which it targets to grow to 45 GW by FY-30. Notably, the group is in the process of developing 30 GW Khavda Park in Gujarat, near the Indo-Pak border, which is set to be commissioned by FY-30, and is poised to be one of the largest in the world.
