India will have sufficient suppliers of both domestic and foreign refined copper certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) by mid-December, the mines ministry said on Friday. As a result, “no serious supply side disruption is envisaged,” it said in a press release. The ministry noted that until Adani Group’s new copper smelter in Gujarat reaches full capacity by March, India will continue to depend on imports for some of its refined copper needs.
The Indian Express did reported on Friday That downstream users of refined copper had warned the government of a supply crisis for more than three months. These concerns stem from delays in certifying Japanese suppliers, who account for the bulk of India’s copper imports. Certification became mandatory after the Quality Control Order (QCO) for Refined Copper came into effect on December 1.
“So far, 7 applications have been received from Japanese smelters for BIS certification, of which one smelter (Sumitomo Metal Mining Company Limited) has already been licensed. According to the information received from BIS, two more licenses will be given within the next week, said the ministry.
“In the financial year 2023-24, India imported about 363 thousand tonnes (THT) of refined copper cathode (HS Code: 740311), valued at Rs. 24,552 crore. Japan accounts for about 2/3 (67%) of refined copper imports. In terms of volume, about 69% of India’s refined copper imports come from Japan. Tanzania is India’s second most important source of refined copper, contributing about 18% of imports. “Mozambique has taken about 5 percent,” he added.
Earlier, the downstream user associations had asked the ministry to delay the implementation of the QCO by four months as the 90-day shortage has already started. According to these associations, Japanese suppliers – which provide the bulk of India’s copper imports – stopped shipments in mid-October to avoid clearance issues after the QCO came into effect on December 1. They warned that it would now take 45 days to ship any copper. arrives, leading to a potential supply crisis that could last up to three months.
“At present, Adani’s Cutch Copper Limited, Hindalco Industries Limited, Gujarat Victory Forgings Pvt Ltd and Vedanta Limited and four foreign suppliers, one each from Japan and Austria and two from Malaysia, have been certified by BIS to supply copper cathode. in the Indian market. Hence, with 4 domestic BIS certified suppliers and 4 foreign BIS certified suppliers and two others certified by mid-December, 2024, no serious supply side disruption is envisaged,” the ministry said.
In 2023-24, imports from Austria and Malaysia were only 1 percent in terms of value. Imports of refined copper from Japan stood at Rs 16,500 crore.
In the statement, the ministry said it consulted several stakeholders and extended the QCO twice “taking into account the supply situation”.
“Secretary (Mines) held a meeting with DG BIS on 17.1.2024 in which besides BIS and Ministry officials, industry representatives also participated. Thus, a sufficient period of 15 months from August 31, 2023 was allowed to domestic and foreign suppliers of copper cathode to obtain Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification,” it said.
“Ms Adani’s Kutch copper refinery has come into production. However, according to company officials, it will take some time to ramp up to full capacity (about February-March 2025). Once achieved, India will be self-sufficient in processed copper, and will not have to rely on imports. Till then, some The quantity of processed copper will be imported,” the ministry added.
Adani Enterprises Ltd’s newly commissioned copper smelter in Kutch is expected to reach a capacity of 5 lakh tonnes per annum by 2025-26, according to details shared by the company in its latest earnings call.
Currently, Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco leads with the largest operational refining capacity of around 5 lakh tonnes, followed by Vedanta at around 2 lakh tonnes. Gujarat Victory Forgings Pvt Ltd also operates with a smaller capacity of 6,000 tonnes per annum. Notably, all these manufacturers have obtained BIS certification.
India was self-sufficient in copper cathodes until 2018, when Vedanta’s Tuticorin plant was shut down due to alleged environmental violations.