Anil
Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Ltd. has emphasised the need to urgently scale up
India’s mineral production by increasing output from existing mining assets,
particularly in copper and gold.
“If the
world wants to increase mineral production in the short term, there is only one
way. Sweat existing assets. New projects take 5 to 10 years to produce,” Mr.
Agarwal said in a social media post.
He
highlighted India’s heavy import dependence, with the country importing nearly
99.9% of its gold requirement and around 95% of its copper, despite the
presence of domestic assets that remain under-producing or dormant. Several of
these assets are under government ownership.
At current
global price levels, Mr. Agarwal said there is a strong case for encouraging
private participation to unlock faster production. “Take a plunge. It is the
fastest way to self-reliance,” he said, adding that boosting mineral output
should be treated as a national priority.
He noted
that reviving production from existing assets would require focused investment,
technology deployment and operational expertise. “All it needs is some
entrepreneurial energy, investment and technology,” Mr. Agarwal said.
Referring to
former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, he added, “It doesn’t matter if the cat is
black or white as long as it catches mice,” underscoring the need for a
practical, outcome-driven approach.
The remarks
come amid growing focus on securing critical mineral supplies for
manufacturing, infrastructure and energy transition requirements.
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