Vedanta's Alumina Output Falls 8% in Q2

Diversified metals and mining major Vedanta Ltd has reported eight per cent slide in its alumina output in July-September quarter. Total alumina production at the Lanjigarh refinery located in the eastern state of Odisha stood at 269,000 tonnes in the period under review. In the comparable period of FY17, Vedanta posted a better output at 292,000 tonnes.

Vedanta ascribed the fall in production to transportation bottlenecks which impeded bauxite supplies from the Balco owned mines in Chhattisgarh.

The company aims to produce 1.8 million tonnes of alumina in this financial year. It has already logged 0.75 million tonnes at the end of September and is hopeful of reaching the targeted figure.

Vedanta's Lanjigarh refinery in Odisha's Kalahandi district is equipped with a design capacity of six million tonnes in a year. And, it has approvals to produce up to four million tonnes. But, Vedanta's current run rate was only two million tonnes, about half of the permitted quantum.

Drying up of local bauxite sources after the Union ministry for environment & forests red flagged the bauxite rich Niyamgiri hills has left Vedanta's refinery in a tight spot. The refinery has been groping for locally available bauxite but to no avail. Even the Odisha government's endeavour to supply bauxite through its mining PSU - Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has not fructified till now as various statutory approvals are still pending to open up the bauxite leases.

Vedanta has been catering to the refinery by sourcing bauxite from its Balco mines and from states like Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. A sizeable portion of bauxite is also imported from resource rich countries like New Guinea. Though the refinery has been operating since 2005, local bauxite continues to elude the project.