Vedanta copper operation taps South Africa’s RMB to help raise debt

Bloomberg News | May 9, 2025 | 9:41 am Markets Top Companies Africa Copper

Vedanta says it will fight any attempt by Zambia to sell Konkola Copper Mines

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is Zambia’s largest copper producer. (Image courtesy of BlueSalo | Creative Commons)

Vedanta Resources Ltd.’s Zambian copper mining unit has hired Rand Merchant Bank to help raise as much as $1 billion in debt financing for the expansion of its operations in the country.

The unit of Vedanta — owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal — has tasked RMB with tapping lenders to fund investment at Konkola Copper Mines, according to people familiar with the matter. The debt-funding plans are at an early stage, the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter.

Vedanta regained control of 80% of KCM 10 months ago after resolving a long-running dispute with the Zambian government, partly by pledging to invest $1 billion in the operations. The company said it’s already invested $330 million since retaking control of the mines, mainly to pay creditors.

KCM is ramping up annual copper production to 300,000 tons. Output was only about 40,000 tons in 2023, when the assets were run by a court-appointed administrator.

While copper has been hit by fears that President Donald Trump’s trade war will hurt global growth, the biggest miners are still pushing to increase output, anticipating long-term deficits of the metal that’s key to the green energy transition. Barrick Mining Corp., First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and China Non-Ferrous Metals Co. are also investing billions of dollars in copper projects in Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest producer.

Vedanta has committed to investing about $1 billion in KCM over five years, mainly for completing work on the underground Konkola Deep operation. The company is evaluating a range of financing alternatives, “including internal accruals, debt instruments and equity options,” a spokesperson for Vedanta said by email.

The company is considering listing KCM, Ajay Goel, chief financial officer of Mumbai-listed Vedanta Ltd., told Bloomberg Television this month. Vedanta has also had discussions with commodity trading houses about prepayment deals for copper output.

A spokesperson for RMB declined to comment.

(By William Clowes)