Vedanta Resources is a diversified and integrated metals and mining group with annual sales of $1.9bn. Its principal operations are located in India, where it has a major market share in each of our main metals: aluminium, copper, zinc and lead. There are also substantial copper operations in Zambia and 2 copper mines in Australia.

            Red = 25 day moving average.           Green = 200 day moving average.

                        

Copper - (6 month graph)

SALES PER ACTIVITY (Data as of 31/03/2006)

Copper:      60%
Zinc:         24%
Aluminium:  12%
Others:       4%

Mickey Clark, Evening Standard
20 April 2006

The recent moves in the miners are just the beginning in our view,' says Credit Suisse. It reckons demand continues to outstrip supply and today's prices are a reflection of mid-cycle earnings, not peak ones. The broker says the sector has scope for a further rise of between 50% and 100%.


......Vedanta's target is lifted from 1200p to 2000p

given that this company will be in the FTSE 100 in five weeks time and that institutions are going to have to buy as much stock as they can get their mits on, todays price is quite low imho.

as with any other stock, dyor on this one but one look at the above chart should tell you most of what you need to know!!!!

topping up time chaps -those MMs are giving money away again!!!!!

good call mate excellent

Whose money are they giving away?

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the increase in Chinese rates would ultimately benefit commodity prices and non-Chinese mining companies and metals producers, given the reduction in supply that would eventually feed through to end markets.

Global inventories of copper have sunk to critically low levels and supply concerns remain acute. Workers at Falconbridges Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile were due to vote on possible strike action on Thursday.

AFX


LONDON (AFX) - Vedanta Resources PLC said its unit Hindustan Zinc Ltd ('HZL') has reported strong growth momentum on account of increased volumes and zinc prices.

Net sales for the fourth quarter and year ended March 31 2006 were up 142 and 76 pct respectively.

Profits before depreciation, interest and taxes for the fourth quarter and year ended March 31 were up by 242 pct and 136 pct, respectively

Net profit for the fourth quarter and year rose by 250 pct and 123 pct.

Lead metal produced during the year was 24,000 tonnes, including 4,300 tonnes from the recently commissioned 50,000 tpa Ausmelt lead plant.

Vedanta said preliminary work on the new 170,000 tpa zinc smelter at Chanderiya has commenced. The plant is expected to commissioned by early 2008, taking HZL's total zinc capacity to 570,000 tpa.

Into the FTSE100 we go in 4 weeks time and with metal prices soaring and not enough of the stuff to meet demand the sp on VED will fly past 20 in no time at all imho.

Financial Times.

Copper at new high on supply fears.
By Neil Dennis
Published: May 4 2006 17:40

Copper prices soared to new highs on Thursday as shrinking stockpiles of the metal and the continuing threat of production disruptions stoked supply fears.

BHP Billiton, the worlds largest miner, said that labour disputes and equipment shortages, added to rising global demand, would be likely to result in a shortfall of copper concentrate through to the end of 2008, while planned new mines and production plants come online.

John Croft, the mining groups base metals marketing executive, said that prices were unlikely to fall far while stockpiles remained at such low levels.

The London Metal Exchange reported that stocks in its warehouses had fallen to the lowest levels since April 19, and represented just two days of global demand.

But traders said volumes were starting to dry up as prices continued to hit a succession of new highs. Volume is dying away and liquidity is poor, said John Kemp at Sempra Metals. He added that hedge fund buying was providing the main prop, as speculators bet the market could continue to support higher prices.

I dont see what will turn the market around in the immediate near-term. People are just too scared to go short, he said.

By the close of trade in London, the three month LME contract stood at $7,650 a tonne, up $545 from the previous sessions close, but off a record of $7,680.


Gold prices hit a fresh 25-year peak of $677.40 an ounce as funds sought havens from geopolitical tensions in the face of an imminent UN Security Council resolution on Iran.

Meanwhile, it appeared there was significant reduction by gold miners in their hedging commitments in the first quarter. The worlds biggest gold miner, Barrick Gold, said it had cut its forward sales by 4.7m ounces. In total, the global hedgebook fell by 5m oz to 48m oz in the quarter.

this is certainly the value company at the moment. it is going into the FTSE100 next month and the big players and institutions are going to have to keep buying big-time. stock will become scarcer and the price then has to keep rising. all this is imo - dyor.

Very low price at the moment and, yes, given that VED is going into the FTSE 100 in a few weeks time and that it is already the 63rd biggest company, this is definitely a good time to buy and/or top-up.

seems like the mining sector is looking ripe for consolidation. how about Vedanta being bought out ??? price will go through the roof!!!

weird that people can sell a stock which is in a red-hot (mining) sector and about to enter the FTSE100 whilst copper and the global demand for it is still rising.

Things are looking good for Vedanta !!!!!!!!!!!!!


Reuters - Aluminium at 18-year peak, new copper record

Tue May 9, 2006 5:07 PM
By Nick Trevethan

Speculators pushed aluminium prices above $3,000 a tonne for the first time since 1988 and zinc and copper hit record levels on Tuesday as investors piled back into commodities after a shaky start to the week.

Aluminium hit an 18-year peak of $3,029 a tonne in electronic trade, driven by the volume of buying by funds and other investors who have moved in as industrial metals outperform more traditional assets.

Copper touched a new all-time high of $7,830, zinc climbed to a record $3,503, platinum stormed to unprecendented levels and gold was nearly $700 an ounce, its strongest in 25 years.

Oil futures were over $1 higher at $71.10 a barrel, nearing recent record highs of $75.35.

Base metals had wobbled on Monday, losing as much as three percent before recovering by the close.

"Aluminium is catching up with the rest of the complex, it was always projected to hit $3,000 or beyond," an LME trader said.

"I think it can go beyond that figure today, there is enough money coming and there is enough buying around", he added.

Barclays Capital analyst Ingrid Sternby said: "We have recognised in recent weeks that things are coming together for aluminium."

Sternby said stocks of the metal were falling, China appeared keen to rein in breakneck expansion by its power-hungry aluminium industry and demand was being buoyed by world growth.

"The support we have seen in prices has resulted in a positive trend and above $3,200 is the technical goal."

Three-months aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was $3,013 at the close, up 2.9 percent from Monday's $2,928 last trade.

LME copper for delivery in three months was at $7,815 against Monday's close of $7,630, and Sternby saw copper hitting $8,000 soon.

Dealers noted fees for converting copper ore into refined metals had dropped sharply in recent weeks, indicating that ore supplies were getting tighter.

"The copper concentrate market is tightening very quickly. That may mean there won't be enough concentrate for the smelters," a trader said.

Copper, used in wiring and tubing, has gained as much as 77 percent this year and has increased more than fivefold since 2001 on strong demand, especially from China and India, supply disruptions and speculative fund buying.

Last week the world's largest diversified miner, BHP Billiton, which produces copper and zinc, said prices were unlikely to fall until stocks rose from current low levels.

Robust global demand, labour unrest and supply disruptions at copper mines in Mexico and elsewhere lent support, while shortages of skilled labour and mining equipment were hampering efforts by producers to bring on new capacity.

Little progress has been made in talks to end a strike at Grupo Mexico's La Caridad copper mine after workers there walked off the job on March 24.

China Plans to Build Metals Reserves to Ensure Supply

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- China aims to build up strategic reserves of minerals such as uranium, copper and aluminum to help meet rising demand and provide a buffer against supply disruptions, the Ministry of Land and Resources said.

The nation plans to have ``sufficient reserves'' of uranium, and will start to amass stockpiles of copper, aluminum, manganese, tungsten and other minerals in the next few years, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. The term ``sufficient reserves'' was not defined, and there were no specific targets for the eventual size of the mineral holdings.

``China's at a new stage of industrialization,'' Zhou Ming, a Shanghai-based metals analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Co. said today. If China wants to ``ensure its interests are unhurt, while sustaining growth, it must control enough of the world's key resources.''

China, the world's biggest consumer of steel, copper, and aluminum, recorded growth of 10.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier. The expansion, the fastest among the world's major economies, has contributed to a surge in many metal prices to records this year.

The country has already announced plans to begin building a strategic oil reserve as early as this year. The government has also urged companies such as Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the world's second-largest alumina maker, to secure raw materials overseas to make sure the nation's metals needs are met.

Joint Investment

The government and companies will jointly invest to build up the mineral reserves, the statement said, citing a five-year state plan. It didn't say how the reserves will be managed.

China's State Reserve Bureau currently oversees the nation's commodities reserves, including those in copper and steel. The bureau has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since late last year covering wrong-way bets on copper as the metal climbed to a record, Chinese traders have estimated.

The ministry said it will step up domestic exploration and increase the country's proven reserves of iron ore by 5 billion metric tons; of copper by 20 million tons; and of bauxite by 200 million tons by 2010. Bauxite is used to make aluminum.

The ministry wants to increase proven reserves of oil by 4.5 billion to 5 billion tons; natural gas by 2 trillion to 2.25 trillion cubic meters; and coal by 100 billion tons, the statement said.

The announcement of China's stockpiles initiative comes as prices of many commodities, including both base and precious metals, have been driven to all-time highs.

Shanghai Futures

Copper futures in Shanghai rose to a record for a third straight day today, taking their gain this year to 83 percent. Nickel futures in London have gained 48 percent in the same period, and zinc has jumped 82 percent.

``China has always been short of these materials, so the government needs to ensure they have enough,'' Zhou Feng, senior economist at the Information Center of China Minmetals Corp., the country's largest metals trader, said from Beijing today.

``It's probably because prices are high that people are linking'' them with the stockpiling plan, ``but this sort of policy isn't something that would have been decided just in the last few days,'' said Zhou.

The surge in commodity prices has also been underpinned by an increase in speculative investment in metals and energy by hedge and pension funds seeking better returns than from stocks and bonds. Money in commodity index investments may rise 38 percent to $110 billion this year, Barclays Plc has estimated.

Telegraph

Copper passes $8,000 a tonne
(Filed: 10/05/2006)


Copper surged past $8,000 a tonne for the first time in history as speculative investment fund buying continued to dominate in a market already hit by strong demand and supply constraints.


For three-month delivery, copper advanced $195, or 2.5pc, to $8,010 a metric tonne in morning trade.

Labour disputes and threats to output from Mexico to Indonesia have dented global stockpiles, driving copper 82pc higher this year alone. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, recently said supplies will be limited until 2008, while inventory tracked by the London Metal Exchange, the world's biggest metals bourse, is so low it will last the world less than three days.

At the same time, pension and hedge funds are pouring money into commodities as raw materials from sugar to oil produce returns that far outpace other assets. Barclays has estimated that fund investments in commodities may exceed $120bn by 2008, up from $80bn last year.

Li Rong, a metal analyst at Great Wall Futures Corp, told Bloomberg by phone from Shanghai: "Speculators are confident that London prices will keep rising."

Funds tracking commodity indexes may hold copper futures contracts equal to as much as 465,000 tonnes, almost three times more than the physical metal stored in warehouses monitored by exchanges in London, New York and Shanghai, Bloomsbury Minerals Economics said in a report last week. The shortfall in supplymay drive prices above $9,000 a tonne this year, it added.

Simultaneously, demand, driven by the booming Chinese economy, is soaring. China's economy expanded 9.9pc last year, followed by 10.2pc growth in the first three months. And labour disruptions are exacerbating the situation. Workers at Grupo Mexico SA, the world's seventh-largest copper producer, have been on strike since March 24 over pay and safety. Added to which, a decline in ore grades at Freeport-MacMoRan's Grasberg reduced output in the first quarter.

Alfred Wong, who helps manage $12bn at UOB Asset Management in Singapore, said: "Every day we see further evidence of supply disruptions. I'm not surprised at all to see this kind of rally."

LONDON (AFX) - The price of copper smashed through 8,000 usd per tonne for the first time following the closure of a mine in key producer Mexico.

In morning trade on the London Metal Exchange, three-month copper prices reached 8,010 usd per tonne -- the highest point since the metal was first listed in 1877.

The price of copper, used for electrical wiring and plumbing, has been boosted in recent months by supply problems, limited output and soaring demand from the booming economies of China and India.

Mining company Grupo Mexico said this morning it is closing its zinc and copper mine in San Martin, the country's largest, after the government refused to intervene to end a strike that has affected the site since March.

Zinc, which is chiefly used to galvanise iron and steel, also hit a new record of 3,525 usd per tonne.

Strike action has also hit another of the company's copper mines in Le Caridad, while mining production is declining in Chile, the world's largest producer of the commodity.

China stockpile talk drives copper to highs: LME

Source: Dow Jones


London Metal Exchange three-month copper, nickel and zinc pushed to fresh contract highs Wednesday driven by fresh investment buying on the strength of continuing concerns about supply shortages, market participants said.

Copper grazed fresh contract highs of $8,100/ton in the run-up to late kerb in London, closing just shy of that at $8,070/ton, up $255 on Tuesday's PM kerb price.

Copper bulls were encouraged by market conjecture about whether China will opt to increase its physical strategic reserves of copper rather than boost its exploration activities.

"Reports that China will be looking to accumulate metal for its stockpile only serving to add fuel to the bull fire," said Roy Carson, analyst at Triland Metals.

Illiquid trading conditions are also encouraging sharp upward price moves, particularly in copper, according to market participants.

Aluminium also benefited from momentum created by hedge fund buying, improving on yesterday's breach of the $3,000/ton level and finishing the PM kerb at $3,094/ton. Earlier prices breached fresh 18-year highs of $3,100/ton. Aluminium bulls now target the June 1988 record high of $3,272/ton, according to Roy Carson at Triland Metals.

Nickel also pushed to a fresh contract high of $20,450/ton, closing at that level at late PM kerb in London, up 2.5% on previous PM kerb prices.

Buying momentum also focused on zinc, helping push prices to fresh highs of $3,660/ton at late kerb, up $190 on the previous session close. Wider spreads encouraged fresh buying, as did the strong performance in copper, according to an analyst.

Lead prices breached resistance at $1,300/ton to finish the session up $33 on previous kerb prices at $1,312/ton.

Daily Telegraph
Copper price soars as bull run hots up
By Josephine Moulds (Filed: 12/05/2006)

Commodities continued their bull run led by copper, which broke through $8,800 a tonne during the day.

"It has been a wild, wild day; wilder even than it has become in recent weeks," said Stephen Briggs, economist at French investment bank SG.

"The copper price was, at one point, up 10pc on the day, which is almost unheard of. Copper is dragging the other base metals up with it and having an effect on precious metals."

Copper closed up $471 at $8,619 a tonne in London.

Demand for copper, particularly from China and India, has outstripped supply, which has been hampered by strikes and accidents. Zinc, which closed up $505.5 at $3,980, is in similarly short supply. Nickel rose $1,150 in sympathy with other metals to $21,700. Gold hit a new 25-year high, closing up $16.90 at $719.

The wall of money pouring into commodities has boosted prices. Mr Briggs said: "There is a lot of pension fund and mutual fund money being diversified into this asset class."

A key factor in the metals bull market has also been the decline in the dollar. Metal prices are expressed in dollars, and so when the dollar weakens they become cheaper for holders of other currencies. The dollar's decline continued yesterday, falling 1 cents to $1.8794 against the pound.

Stephen Lewis, economist at Insinger de Beaufort, said: "The dollar has been falling because there has been a feeling that east Asian central banks are not going to be accumulating dollars. Indeed they may be shedding them."

Belligerent comments from Iran's president also prompted risk fears.

Citywire. 12 May.

Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating for Vedanta Resources, raising target to 23 from 16.

LONDON (AFX) - Vedanta Resources PLC said operations at the new 250,000-tonne per year Korba aluminium smelter in India have been hampered by bad weather.

The power plant that is supplying electricity to the smelter tripped because of stormy weather, cutting average daily output to 350 tonnes from 450 tonnes in March, when the facility has been fully commissioned.

'We are currently stabilising the potline under these complex conditions and some pots have been taken out from the existing production line,' Vedanta said in a statement.

'We are making efforts to stabilise the pots taken out from the potline and our current assessment is that this may be progressively completed towards the end of the second quarter of FY 2007,' it added.

Surplus electricity generated by the power plant will be exported to India's state-owned grid, it said.



monicca.egoy@afxnews.com

Copper may rise up to 50% on fund demand, Sucden says

Source: Bloomberg


Copper prices in London may increase by as much as 50 percent in the next year as global demand from hedge funds and cablemakers outstrips supply, according to Sucden U.K. Plc, which trades on the London Metal Exchange.

Prices of the metal have surged 87 percent this year, and reached a record $8,800 a ton on May 11, as hedge and pension funds poured money into commodities in pursuit of higher returns than those offered by stocks and bonds. Global supply may not rise quickly enough to meet demand, Jeremy Goldwyn, global head of industrial commodities at Sucden, said in Shanghai yesterday.

"Many pension and mutual funds see commodities as a natural home for three to five percent of their money," Goldwyn told a futures conference. "They have a massive influence on the price and use commodities as a hedge for their traditional investments" such as stocks and bonds. Sucden is one of 11 companies that trade on the floor of the London Metal Exchange, the world's biggest metals bourse.

Economic growth in the U.S. and Europe meant the high copper price hasn't eroded demand, he said. Cumerio, the copper producer spun off by Belgian metals producer Umicore SA, said last month first quarter deliveries of wire rods and shapes rose 10 percent in the first quarter.

"We don't feel there's a great deal of demand destruction" from the high prices, while copper miners haven't been able to increase output because of problems such as labor disputes, and a shortage of skilled engineers and mining equipment, Goldwyn said.
Increasing prices

"We certainly would not be surprised to see copper at $9,000, $10,000 or $12,000 in the next six, nine or 12 months," he said. Index-linked funds and other passive investors had placed $80 billion to $120 billion in commodities, with as much as 30 percent of that in base metals, he added.

The potential for copper prices to rise and fall sharply had fueled concern amongst brokers that their clients may not be able to meet margin requirements, said Goldwyn. A margin is the amount of cash a client deposits with a broker when buying or selling a commodity for future delivery.

"If clients can't meet margin requirements, their brokers still have to," he said. The system "certainly has been under stress" and extreme price volatility makes it harder for option market-makers to manage their exposure, added Goldwyn of Sucden, which is owned by Paris-based Sucres et Denrees SA.

An option is the right, not the obligation, to buy or sell a commodity within a pre-determined time.

Grupo Mexico SA has had a strike at its La Caridad mine for two months. Chile's state-owned Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said output this year will decline from 2005.

Global demand for refined copper in the first quarter of this year had risen at least 5 percent from a year earlier as users had to buy copper to fulfill their orders, Jon Barnes, principal consultant, copper fabricating, at London-based metals adviser CRU, said in an interview.

"Last year, all the fabricators were running down their stocks," he said. "This year, everyone has to restock so they have to buy, even at high prices," he said.

Still, there are signs that the uptrend in copper prices may end, said John Kemp, an economist at Sempra Metals Ltd., which trades on the floor of the LME and is owned by San Diego- based Sempra Energy.

"Substitution, moderating global growth and a more cautious appetite for risk among investors will eventually bring the bull market to an end," Kemp told the conference yesterday.

"All these factors are already underway," he said. "It's impossible to say when they might start to affect copper prices, or how far the market might fall before finding a floor."
Investment funds

Investment funds now have very large positions relative to the size of the market and can consequently move prices and "shape the environment," Kemp said.

Falling liquidity has accelerated and exacerbated price movements. Price volatility has been increasing and is likely to remain "exceptionally high for at least the next couple of years," he added.

The surge in prices has led to a sharp increase in inquiries from metal consumers to hedge, Dominic Mound, director of base metals in the Asia-Pacific region at ABN Amro Holding NV, said at the conference.

"In the last six months, I've enjoyed more inquiries from consumers with the upsurge in prices than in the previous six years," he said. "One of the reasons is they can no longer ask the fabricator to carry the risk for them, so they are coming to the market," he said.

Business

The Times May 30, 2006

Vedanta Resources, the India-focused miner, will report its full-year results on Thursday. Analysts expect profits of 367 million, from 188 million last time.

Yes, this thursdays results will reveal that profits are double last years. Share price should be well over 1600 by weekend. Definitely the miner to be on this week.

Vedanta goes into the FTSE 100 in a couple of weeks time.

seems the market has been over-reacting to US and should pick up again soon. more buyers than sellers on most stocks. results due tomorrow and years profits are up by 100% (367 million, from 188 million last time.).

UBS buy note today.

Source: Calcutta Telegraph 31 May 2006

Orissa clears Vedanta smelter

The Orissa government today approved the first phase of Vedanta Resources' 5-lakh-tonne aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda district.

The construction work for the Rs 7,000-crore project in Bhokamunda area of Jharsuguda, which will be implemented in two phases of 250,000 tonnes per annum each, is expected to start in June.

In the first phase, the company would invest Rs 3000 crore. The construction of the first phase is expected to be completed in the second half of 2009 and the second phase is expected to get over by 2010.

The proposal for the establishment of smelter in Jharsuguda district was placed before the high-powered project clearance authority, chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik, this afternoon. The aluminium smelter project will largely cater to the export market. According to company officials, around 40 per cent of the funds for the project will be generated through internal accruals, while 60 per cent would be debt funded.

Setting up the smelter is a major step in Vedanta's corporate plan to create one million tonnes of aluminium capacity in India. The smelter will use alumina from the nearby Lanjigarh refinery, which is being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore and is nearing completion.

The alumina refinery project at Lanjigarh is caught in a controversy as the centrally- empowered committee of the Supreme Court has recommended that the Union government should not allow the the contentious project to come up. However, the construction of the alumina refinery is going on at full steam.

Besides Vedanta's alumina smelter, the project clearance authority asked its officials to speed up the process of setting up three mega thermal plants of 3000 megawatt each by Navbharat Power, Mahanadi Aban Power Company, and GMR Energy. The state will get an estimated Rs 150 crore revenue per year from each of these power plants.

The environmental impact of the thermal plants also figured at the meeting. The chief minister asked the officials to take up plantation work around the projects on a priority basis.

Vedanta Resources PLC
01 June 2006


1 June 2006

Vedanta Resources plc
Results for the year ended 31 March 2006


Highlights

Record Financial Performance

- Group Revenue up 96.5% to $3,702 million and Group EBITDA up 142.6% to
$1,102 million, driven by better prices and strong volume growth

- Operating profit up 187.7% to $944 million

- Strong balance sheet with net assets of $2.3 billion and gearing of
under 1%

- ROCE (excluding project capital work in progress) significantly higher
at 37.9% up from 32.0%

- Basic EPS up 108.3% at 130.2 US cents, EPS on the basis of underlying
profits up 166.3%

- Final dividend proposed at 14.3 US cents per share bringing full year
dividend to 20.0 US cents


Volume Led Growth

- Phase 1 expansion projects in copper and zinc completed

- Korba aluminium smelter production being ramped up progressively

- Second phase of expansion projects totalling $3.1 billion announced
during the year

- 50,000 tpa lead plant commissioned making us India's largest primary
producer of lead

Such a good news but falling like a stone ,just dont understand the markets at times.

Merrill Lynch has a buy rating and 18.60 target for Vedanta Resources.

JP Morgan reiterates its overweight rating and 18.25 target for Vedanta Resources.

This seems over done to me .hopefully wont be long before the bounce.

Managed to get on board at the end.... now lets see that bounce.

i wish i had sold this morning when they started trading at 15pounds,thought they will go higher,but went the other way,learnt a lesson which can only be good for the future,as they say profit is only once the stock is sold.good luck for tomo

Never mind ateeq180 can't see this one down for long.

The Times June 02, 2006

Big Shot By Peter Klinger

Anil Agarwals timing is impressive. When he listed the Vedanta Resources mining company on the London Stock Exchange 2 years ago, investors initially balked, sending Vedantas shares down as low as 269p. Mr Agarwal persisted with his vision of building Indias pre-eminent mining company, producing zinc, copper and aluminium within easy reach of the countrys booming markets. His patience and ability to deliver on promises, including yesterdays 188 per cent improvement in full-year operating profit to $943.8 million (504 million), is paying handsome dividends. Vedantas shares are now worth 13.78 and his familys stake is worth 2.1 billion.

Mr Agarwal, who has homes in India and Britain, has been variously described as combative, aggressive and totally focused. It is an approach that has served him well, and could soon serve university students with a role model. Mr Agarwal has pledged $1 billion to a trust with which he wants to set up Vedanta University. The university wants to emulate the international reputations of the likes of Oxford and Stanford. A tall order, but based on Mr Agarwals own rags-to-riches story, who knows. . . ?

Record-breaking results from the Indian copper miner Vedanta Resources could not prevent a bout of profit-taking that saw the shares drop 69p to close at 1,378p. Even so, the group looks likely to win a place in the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, when the latest reshuffle is due to be confirmed, and despite the recent weakness in commodity stocks, the group has a market capitalisation in excess of 4bn. Pre-tax profits more than doubled to $1.1bn, as the company cashed in on strong demand for its products and the global bull market for metals.

The Investment Column: Volatile Vedanta mines vein of long-term growth
Edited by Michael Jivkov Published: 02 June 2006
Our view: Long-term buy Share price: 1,378p (- 69p)

Vedanta made a profit of more than $1bn last year, a record for the mining company. It generated free cashflow of $600m, has next to no debt these days and is in pole position to enter the FTSE 100 in next week's reshuffle of the blue-chip index. Can things get any better for the miner?

Yesterday, Vedanta promised its shareholders that things would, by unveiling plans to become the only company to produce 1 million tonnes per annum of zinc, aluminium and copper by 2010. This in effect doubles its production.

There were only two areas were Vedanta slightly disappointed investors yesterday. Some in the City had hoped the miner would announce a higher dividend than the 14.3 cents a share it flagged. Given the awesome amount of cash the company generated, it certainly had the ability to reward shareholders with a higher payout. Also, Vedanta's Zambian copper business remains a high-cost operation by global standards.

Clearly, the awesome results produced by Vedanta reflect the high raw material prices globally. Kuldip Kaura, the chief executive, warned that there is a possibility prices will soften going forward. However, he argued that the rapid industrialisation of Asian nations would remain the primary driver of world-wide base metal demand and prevent prices from falling back too far.

In this assessment, Mr Kaura is probably right. As long as he remains so, Vedanta should continue to enjoy strong profitability. Although the shares are likely to remain volatile in the near future, it is worth tucking some away for the long term.

Times 2 June 2006

Anil Agarwal, the Indian metals tycoon who has taken Vedanta Resources to the brink of FTSE 100 membership, may move into coal to cash in on Indias demand for energy. Vedanta reported a 109 per cent rise in attributable full-year profits to $373.5 million.

Onwards and upwards.

Broker Recommendations - Friday 2nd June 2006, 12:15 pm

Deutsche reiterates buy Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED.L - news) with a 16.60 target.

Merrill says buy Vedanta Resources.

Morgan Stanley has overweight on Vedanta Resources (2300p target).

Copper Futures Increase on London Metal Exchange, Erasing Earlier Decline

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose on the London Metal Exchange, reversing an earlier decline, on speculation that supply won't keep up with increasing demand for the metal.

A shortfall in copper supplies will give an ``upward shift'' to prices in the next three to five years, Xstrata Plc's copper chief Charlie Sartain said on the sidelines of the Minerals Council of Australia 2006 Minerals Week in Canberra on May 31.

Copper for delivery in three months on the LME was $115, or 1.5 percent, higher at $7,825 a metric ton as of 10:36 a.m. local time. Copper has declined 4.9 percent this week, reducing its gain this year to 78 percent.

``It's bottomed and is heading higher over the next week,'' Peter Hollands, managing director of U.K. consulting company Bloomsbury Minerals Economics Ltd., said in a telephone interview.

BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, on May 4 said there's likely to be a deficit of copper concentrate between 2006 and 2008. Copper concentrate is an intermediate product that is refined into metal, which is used in wires and pipes.

Supplies are been disrupted by labor disputes and equipment and worker shortages.

A strike at Grupo Mexico' SA's La Caridad mine, Mexico's second-largest copper mine, began March 24. Grupo Mexico miners walked off the job at the Cananea copper mine yesterday in a dispute with the government over recognition of a union leader. Cananea is the company's largest mine in Mexico, producing almost half of the refined copper that the company produces in Mexico.

Among other metals for delivery in three months on the LME, lead rose $20, or 1.9 percent, to $1,060 a ton. Zinc gained $95 to $3,600, nickel added $250 to $20,800 and aluminum rose $20 to $2,630. Tin was the only metal to decline, by $10, to $8,175.

Surge in commodity prices is no bubble

By: Geoff Candy Posted: '02-JUN-06 07:00' GMT Mineweb 1997-2004

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) -- The huge surge in commodities prices is no bubble, delegates at the World Economic Forum on Africa heard yesterday.

At a session entitled The Commodities Market: Riding the Bull Run, delegates heard the views of Jeffrey Currie, MD and head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Minister of Solid Minerals for Nigeria and Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Anglo Americans chairman.

What came out of the session is that commodity industry is not a bubble and, while prices are at or near record highs, miners are not producing astronomically high returns.

The primary reason is the significant rise in costs, partly because of the lack of investment across the board and, partly as a result of an increase in regulation, especially environmental regulation and the costs involved in ensuring transparency.

According to the delegates the gold price, whose fluctuations have been historically linked to currency movements diverged from this correlation in September 2005, has once again reconnected, but the equilibrium level has been moved from $300/oz to $650/oz.

The divergence was driven by: the introduction of gold exchange traded funds (ETFs), stagnating production, increased jewellery demand and speculation from central bank purchasing.

This demand for such ETFs has recently reached a plateau, which has resulted in the reconnection with currency movements.

Delegates heard that the fact that long prices have shot up more quickly than spot prices is evidence that the bubble is underpinned by buying from industry players, rather than speculative buying by funds.

An industry that in the long-term cycles between phases of investment and exploitation, the commodities industry is currently at the beginning of a new investment phase. And, it is one that could last at least a decade longer than the last one.

While investment has been surprisingly slow, this was shown to be a sign that this cycle is somewhat different to previous boom-bust type scenarios.

The investment in new mines and infrastructure currently under way is happening in an increasing cost environment without the tax subsidies that characterised the last cycle.

However, because this is a cycle albeit an extended one, the current investment will ultimately result in an excess of supply which will drive prices down.

The question on everyones lips is how long this cycle will last? And, the answer seems to lie in the question of costs.

The current spike in costs is the main reason behind industry reluctance to invest, but as production is scaled up costs could go either way and, until such uncertainty is resolved, prices will remain high.

Prices are recovering a little lets hope the carry on upwards for a change.

Dropped nearly 5.5%...what a bargain.

"Source: Dow Jones Base Metals Board

London Metal Exchange three-month copper slipped lower through the afternoon session as light but persistent selling from investors pushed prices below $7,500 a metric ton, traders said.

The sell-off was largely attributed to overnight anti-inflationary comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Analysts said Bernanke's hint of further interest rate hikes, combined with recent weaker-than-expected U.S. data, points to a slowdown. Until further clarity on how long a tightening period may last, base metals look set to remain volatile, they added.

LME copper hit an intraday low of $7,485/ton, down 4% on the day and a 15.2% drop on the all-time high of $8,825/ton hit May 11. The market closed the kerb session at $7,510/ton.

But in the background, an ongoing strike at Grupo Mexico's La Caridad and Cananea operations, along with still low inventories and a slow supply side response to rising demand is underpinning the market, traders said.

"Because of supply constraints and low inventories, we continue to believe downside risk to the copper price is limited, although upside pressure is also likely to ease amid a seasonally weaker period for demand ahead," said Barclays Capital.

"Importantly also, the physical copper market in China is currently very weak," Barclays Capital added.

The other base metals were far more resilient than copper, although ended the session generally lower.

LME aluminium and zinc were both down but still within their recent ranges.

Of these two metals, analysts said aluminium has the more bearish fundamentals, with the cost of its key ingredients, alumina and power, down in recent days.

In contrast zinc remains in a market deficit, with demand growth from China very strong and supply not anticipated to catch-up until 2008."



The last para' is important because vedanta gets more than half its profits from zinc.

Regarding the last posting (the last two paragraphs). Zinc has gone by more than 5% today on the spot market. As Vedanta derives half its profits from zinc the present sp must be quite cheap. The company goes into the FTSE 100 today too.

Agree HP, nothing other then a bargain at these prices. IMHO

Some famous old names have been thrown out of the FTSE 100 to be replaced by two mining groups and a power station.

Out go Cable & Wireless, the Daily Mail & General Trust and Ladbrokes, while in come mining giants Vedanta Resources and Lonmin along with energy group Drax.

The changes were widely forecast, but not officially revealed by the Financial Times controlled FTSE Group until after the stock market closed on Wednesday. All the relegated companies drop down to the FTSE 250.

Vedanta Resources PLC      13 June 2006


VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF STERLITE GOLD LTD


Vedanta Resources plc ('Vedanta') announced today that it has entered into an
agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Sterlite Gold Ltd. (TSX: SGD)
('Sterlite Gold'), and that it plans to make a cash offer to acquire, directly
or indirectly, all of the outstanding common shares of Sterlite Gold.

Vedanta announces its intention to make a full cash offer for Sterlite Gold, a
gold mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange ('TSX'), for a total
consideration of C$68.45 million (the 'Sterlite Gold Offer'), representing a
price of C$0.258 per Sterlite Gold common share. As part of this transaction,
Vedanta has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital
of Twin Star International Limited ('TSI'), the holder of 55.0% of Sterlite
Gold's common shares, for C$37.68 million in cash (the 'TSI Acquisition'),
representing an imputed price of C$0.258 per underlying Sterlite Gold common
share.

Sterlite Gold's principal assets are located in Armenia and include an open pit
gold mine at Zod and a gold processing plant at Ararat. In October 2004,
Sterlite Gold announced measured and indicated resources estimated at 2.1
million ounces. Vedanta believes that the acquisition offers an attractive low
risk exposure to this commodity and provides the opportunity to deploy its
proven project development skills. Vedanta believes Zod has the potential to be
a world class mine, with existing development potential in addition to
exploration upside. The acquisition will also provide Vedanta with the expertise
to take advantage of other gold opportunities, particularly in India.

The board of directors of Sterlite Gold appointed a committee of independent
directors (the 'Sterlite Gold Independent Committee') to review the terms of the
proposed Sterlite Gold Offer. The Sterlite Gold Independent Committee retained
PricewaterhouseCoopers ('PwC') to prepare a valuation of the Sterlite Gold
common shares in compliance with Canadian securities laws, including Ontario
Securities Commission Rule 61-501 ('Rule 61-501'). PwC has advised the board of
directors of Sterlite Gold and the Sterlite Gold Independent Committee that the
offer price is within its valuation range of C$0.24 to C$0.275 per share. The
board of directors of Sterlite Gold, on the recommendation of the Sterlite Gold
Independent Committee, has unanimously approved the Sterlite Gold Offer and has
agreed to recommend that shareholders of Sterlite Gold tender their common
shares to the Sterlite Gold Offer.

The Sterlite Gold Offer will be subject to customary conditions including all
regulatory approvals having been obtained and acceptance by (i) at least 662/3%
of the total number of issued and outstanding Sterlite Gold common shares, and
(ii) not less than a majority of the total number of issued and outstanding
Sterlite Gold common shares, excluding any common shares that may not be
included as part of the minority approval of a second step transaction. Further
details will be contained in the takeover bid circular to be mailed to Sterlite
Gold common shareholders, which will also include a copy of the PwC valuation.

Vedanta and Sterlite Gold are under common control. Volcan Investments Limited
('Volcan') owns 53.76% of the ordinary shares of Vedanta and 100% of the shares
of TSI, the controlling shareholder of Sterlite Gold. The transactions
comprising the TSI Acquisition and the Sterlite Gold Offer therefore constitute
a related party transaction under the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority
and an insider bid under Canadian securities laws, including Rule 61-501.
Vedanta formed a special committee of directors who are independent of Volcan to
consider and supervise the making of the TSI Acquisition and Sterlite Gold
Offer.

Vedanta has been advised by HSBC plc, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Ernst &
Young LLP and SRK. Ernst & Young LLP has provided Vedanta with written
confirmation that the terms of the TSI Acquisition and Sterlite Gold Offer are
fair and reasonable as far as the shareholders of Vedanta are concerned.

'We are excited by this unique growth opportunity and believe the acquisition
while creating value for our shareholders will contribute significantly to the
Armenian economy.' said Mr. Kuldip Kaura, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta. 'It
will position us well to pursue other gold opportunities including those in
India.'

Citywire. Published: 08:14 Monday 12 June 2006
By: Phil Cozens, Stockmarket Correspondent

Citigroup has a buy rating and 22 for Vedanta Resources.

Vedanta Resources PLC announced a slew of projects that is expected to enable Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to nearly treble its copper production.

The projects will allow KCM, in which Vedanta holds a 51 pct stake, to raise output from 2.4 mln tonnes to 6 mln tonnes thus extending its lifespan to 2035, KCM chairman Navin Agarwal said.

'The total investment in these projects is 750 million dollars. This is the single largest investment in Zambia to date,' Agarwal said.

He said KCM has awarded contracts to several international firms to develop the untapped Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP), as well as construct a new smelter and acid plant which will be completed in 2009.

The new smelter plant will produce 250,000 tonnes of copper while an acid plant will manufacture 1,700 tonnes of acid per day, Agarwal said.

'KCM will have created the capacity within Zambia to treat all the copper concentrate that will be produced by other stand alone copper mines, thereby enabling the country to export value added finished copper rather than exporting raw material concentrate,' Agarwal said in a statement.

KCM is Zambia's largest mining company with a work force of 10,000 workers.

Vedanta Resources is a London-listed Indian mining group which bought 51 pct stake in KCM in November 2004, two years after South African mining firm Anglo American Corporation withdrew from KCM.

Reading the piece below about Xstrata making acqusitions - how about Xstrata using its war-chest to make a bid for Vedanta ???????



Nick Fletcher
Wednesday June 28, 2006
The Guardian

Mining group Xstrata lost 51p to 19.04 on talk it could embark on a big acquisition spree if it loses out in the complicated bid battle in Canada centred on Inco and Falconbridge. If Xstrata decides to walk away, it would cash in its stake in Falconbridge which is worth around $3.8bn. "Xstrata is now effectively holding a multi-billion dollar war chest and is bound to look to consolidate further investments," said analysts at Numis. "That at least puts other miners in the merger and acquisition spotlight." It picked Antofagasta, down 6p to 400p, and Lonmin, 56p lower at 26.90, as potential takeover targets.

IMHO Vedanta is the bargain-buy of the miners at the moment.

Nick Fletcher
Wednesday June 28, 2006
The Guardian

Mining group Xstrata lost 51p to 19.04 on talk it could embark on a big acquisition spree if it loses out in the complicated bid battle in Canada centred on Inco and Falconbridge. If Xstrata decides to walk away, it would cash in its stake in Falconbridge which is worth around $3.8bn. "Xstrata is now effectively holding a multi-billion dollar war chest and is bound to look to consolidate further investments," said analysts at Numis. "That at least puts other miners in the merger and acquisition spotlight." It picked Antofagasta, down 6p to 400p, and Lonmin, 56p lower at 26.90, as potential takeover targets.


-------------------------


Ummmm - very interesting. Vedanta is worth 3.7 billion whilst Xstrata is making $3.8 billion from its stake in Falconbridge and could be on the acquisition trail.

....ummmm. -very interesting.

Nothing in this life is impossible, but I would reckon that speculation to be on the far side of much less than likely

Think this is interesting because Vedanta derives more than 50% of its income from zinc.
Dai.


-----------------



29 June 2006

Zinc price to peak in Q3, then slump; lead to just slump: SG

Source: Platts

The price of zinc will top out this quarter and then slump, but lead which saw its peak last quarter is already on a down slope that will last for the next year and a half, according to Societe Generale's latest issue of Commodities Research.

Zinc's London Metal Exchange cash price averaged $1,381/mt in 2005. In the first quarter of 2006, its price averaged $2,248 then rose to $3,300 in Q2 and is forecast to average $4,100 in Q3, but from there on it's all downhill. SG predicts a Q4 2006 price of $3,050 that will fall to $2,725 in Q1 2007, $2,450 in Q2, $2,250 in Q3 and $1,975 in Q4 for a 2007 average of $2,350/mt. The LME cash price was $3,020 Wednesday.

SG describes the market as moving from a destocking period last year that cut demand growth from 7% in 2004 to 1% in 2005 into a period of 5% growth in 2006 dropping slightly to 4.5% in 2007. Global refined zinc production is expected to increase 5-5.5% this year and then jump by 6-7% in 2007 with mine production growth more than doubling to 9% in 2007 and 2008. This increase will be due to mine restarts (Lennard Shelf), expansions (Antamina) and new mines (San Cristobal). There could be a surplus from 2008 onwards, SG suggests.

Vedanta Resources invites bids to set up India nuclear power plant - report

AFX


BOMBAY (XFN-ASIA) - London-based metals and mining group Vedanta Resources Plc has invited preliminary bids for setting up a 2,400 MW nuclear power plant in India, Business Standard reported.

It said the company has invited expressions of interest from global firms and that it plans to award the contract on a build, operate and maintain basis.

...Anyone know if this is VED's 1st Nuclear venture or not please?

AFX - 05 July 2006

Vedanta Resources invites bids to set up India nuclear power plant - report


BOMBAY (XFN-ASIA) - London-based metals and mining group Vedanta Resources Plc has invited preliminary bids for setting up a 2,400 MW nuclear power plant in India, Business Standard reported.

It said the company has invited expressions of interest from global firms and that it plans to award the contract on a build, operate and maintain basis.

Old news DA, already posted.

Broker Merrill Lynch now has Vedanta rated at over 22.

That's their present rating but that will go even higher as the company continues to build and produce.

LONDON - (Dow Jones) - 6 July.

Metals and mining company Vedanta Resources PLC (VED.LN) doesn't have any plans for a nuclear power station in India, a person close to the company told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

"Vedanta has no plans to build a nuclear power station," the person said.

The comment came after a report in India's Business Standard daily said Vedanta had invited bids to build and operate a 2,400-megawatt nuclear power plant in that country.

Vedanta has previously said that its expansion projects include a 500,000 metric tons per annum aluminum smelter and a 1,215-megawatt captive power plant in Jharsuguda, Orissa, at an estimated cost of $2.1 billion.

Power is a key requirement for aluminum smelting.

Miners and Oils, both take some beating at the moment.

Mumbai, Jul 07, 2006 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX)

Sharp rise in copper and nickel prices


Copper and nickel prices rose sharply on the non-ferrous metal market here today on hectic demand in view of rise in the London Metal Exchange (LME).

Elsewhere, brass, zinc and tin also moved up on good industrial demand.

In copper, armeture rose by Rs 25 per kilo to Rs 360, utensils scrap by Rs 20 per kilo Rs 325, wirebar by Rs 22 per kilo to Rs 412, sheets cutting by Rs 20 per kilo to Rs 350, cable scrap by Rs 15 per kilo to Rs 385 and scrap heavy by Rs 15 per kilo to Rs 375.

At the LME, three-month copper prices surged to a fresh intra-day high of $7,885 per tonne and finished late kerb at $7,850 a tonne, up by $485 over previous kerb levels.

Nickel rose by Rs 40 per kilo to Rs 1220, brass utensils scrap by Rs 15 per kilo to Rs 225, brass sheets cutting by Rs 10 per kilo to Rs 255, zinc by Rs 5 per kilo to Rs 185 and tin by Rs 5 per kilo to Rs 480.

In London, nickel topped yesterday's contract high with a close at a fresh record of $23,545 per tonne.

Zinc jumped by $135 to $3,385 per tonne at late kerb. Sentiment for the metal has been bolstered by consecutive days of drawdowns in material from LME warehouses, traders said.

Bit of a day traders delight this one.

Vedanta Resources PLC
11 July 2006

Notice of Production Results


Vedanta Resources plc will announce its production results for the quarter ended
30 June 2006 on Thursday, 20 July 2006 at 7:00 a.m.

You can only buy 500 online, but can sell 5000...now i wonder what that tells us -)o

Um, sorry I'm thicko! What does that tell us?

Ah, they're short of stock?

KD.

Could be.

Bloody well hope so. They can have mine for 1,000.00.

Oops, can I say bloody?

They will have to pay a bit more for mine...but there again i aint selling yet.

Next weeks results cannot be anything other than somewhere between brilliant! and spectacular!

Traders are making it difficult to buy in bulk because they want to sell after the results causes share price to balloon.

Results are due next Thursday and will be record breaking at the very least.

14.07.2006

JP Morgan helped the mining sector today after it cast an eye over a few stocks.

......... Vedanta was kept "overweight" with a price target of 1,965p from 1,825p.

Vedanta Resources PLC
17 July 2006


July 2006

VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC (the 'Company')

Holding in Company

The Company has received notification from Barclays PLC that as at 10 July 2006
they had a notifiable interest in 19,396,816 ordinary shares, representing
approximately 6.76 per cent of the issued share capital of the Company.

Just released,

Can i take this as a buy or not anyone please?

Vedanta is an Indian company and has absolutely no involvement with the Middle East situation - nor do any of the countries involved have any kind of dispute with India. As such, the present share price may well go on to prove itself to have been one of those golden opportunities to invest in a company that goes on to show a very handsome profit in a matter of weeks.

(Vedanta gets nearly a third of company profits from zinc which, if you take a look at the graph in post 1, shows it is near an all-time high with worldwide inventories dwindling daily)

Quarterly results are due out this Thursday.

Vedanta Resources PLC
20 July 2006

Unaudited Results for the First Quarter ended 30 June 2006

Highlights
Revenues and EBITDA of $1,285.5 million and $589.1 million, respectively
Record production of aluminium and zinc
Expansion projects on schedule


Performance Summary

First quarter revenues were $1,285.5 million, up 113% compared to the
corresponding quarter last year, driven by better price realisations and an
increase in volumes. EBITDA increased to $589.1 million, up 280%. The increase
in EBITDA was partially offset by increased costs due to high input prices and
royalties which are linked to LME prices. Sales across all metals were lower
than production during the quarter due to the seasonal build up of inventory by
domestic customers. Underlying demand for all our commodities remains strong and
we expect current stocks to be liquidated during the year. Our phase 2 expansion
projects are progressing on schedule with orders for critical equipment and
packages being placed. We continue to experience challenges at KCM and measures
to address plant availability and related issues are being progressed.

Aluminium

The existing plants at BALCO and MALCO continue to operate near rated capacity,
in line with our expectations. The new Korba smelter (Plant II) produced 42,000
tonnes during the quarter as compared with 33,000 tonnes in the immediately
preceding quarter.

Revenues were $157.8 million as compared to $73.3 million in the corresponding
period last year on account of plant II metal availability and higher price
realisations. EBITDA was $66.1 million as compared to $17.7 million in the
corresponding period last year. However, as experienced by other producers,
higher prices of alumina, caustic and carbon have increased costs marginally.
There was an inventory build-up of 13,000 tonnes of metal during the quarter.

As previously announced in May, production at Plant II was temporarily affected
due to the power plant being tripped. The process of re-commissioning is well
established and good progress is being made. We expect to complete commissioning
of all pots by the end of September 2006. While production for the year is estimated
to be lower by approximately 25,000 tonnes than originally envisaged,
the financial impact for FY 2007 is marginal due to the export of additional
surplus power.

The 1-1.4 mtpa alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, Orissa is progressing well and we
expect to achieve mechanical completion by the end of the second quarter of the
current financial year. As previously stated, in respect of the bauxite mine, the
matter is still under the consideration of the Ministry of Environment and
Forests.

Engineering work for the green-field 500,000 tpa aluminium smelter and
associated 1,215 MW captive power plant in Jharsuguda, Orissa is progressing
well and orders for critical equipments have been awarded.

During the quarter, MALCO won a prestigious award from the Tata Energy Research
Institute in recognition of its environmental management practices and
innovative initiatives.


Copper - India & Australia

The Tuticorin smelter is performing at close to rated capacity and in line with
our expectations. Copper cathode production during the quarter was 57,000 tonnes
as compared to 56,000 tonnes in the corresponding quarter last year. Production
was lower than rated capacity due to a planned maintenance shutdown of 21 days
in April 2006.

Mined metal production at our Australian mines was 8,000 tonnes as per plan
during the quarter as compared with 10,000 tonnes in the corresponding quarter
last year due to the planned closure of Thalanga Copper Mines in the second
quarter of FY 2006.

Revenue was $472.7 million as compared to $234.4 million in the corresponding
prior quarter, primarily due to higher metal prices. EBITDA was $115.2 million
as compared to $33.2 million in the corresponding prior quarter, due to higher
LME prices and improved TC/RC realisation, partially offset by higher input
prices of fuel.

During the quarter, cathodes produced by the Tuticorin smelter were approved as
a brand by the LME, making us the first Indian company with 100% LME
registration on all our Indian copper brands.


Copper - Zambia

During the quarter, we produced 39,000 tonnes of copper cathode at KCM as
compared with 43,000 tonnes in the corresponding quarter last year, which was
lower than our expectations. Copper production at KCM was lower because of low
head-grade ore, lower recoveries due to a change in mineralogy and equipment
availability. This together with high input prices continues to have an
unfavourable impact on operating costs.

Revenue was $253.1 million as compared to $154.2 million in the corresponding
prior quarter, primarily due to higher metal prices. EBITDA was $126.0 million
as compared to $49.8 million in the corresponding prior quarter as higher metal
prices were partially offset by the impact of lower production volumes and
higher operating costs.

The Nkana smelter will be partially shutdown for planned routine maintenance in
August 2006.

Progress on the KDMP expansion project and the Nchanga smelter remains
satisfactory with orders for major packages such as the concentrator, shafts and
other long-lead items having been placed.


Zinc

Mined metal production was 131,000 tonnes for the quarter, an increase of 15%
over output in the corresponding quarter last year, primarily due to the
increased output from Rampura Agucha mines. Refined zinc production was 82,000
tonnes during the quarter as compared with 57,000 tonnes produced in the
corresponding quarter last year, mainly due to production from the new hydro
smelter. There was an inventory build-up of 15,000 tonnes during the quarter.

Sales during the quarter were augmented by the export of 56,000 dry metric
tonnes of surplus zinc concentrate.

Revenue was $353.6 million as compared to $120.9 million in the corresponding
quarter last year, primarily due to higher metal prices and higher volumes from
the new plant. EBITDA was $279.4 million as compared to $53.1 million in the
corresponding quarter last year, primarily due to higher prices and metal
volumes, as well as a reduction in unit operating costs mainly due to operating
efficiencies achieved at the new captive power plant which more than offset
higher royalties linked to LME prices.

During the month of July 2006, the Chanderiya pyro smelter was under shutdown
for a period of 11 days for planned routine maintenance and has now recommenced
production.

Work on the new 170,000 tpa Chanderiya Phase II hydro smelter is progressing
satisfactorily. Basic engineering and 80% of the ordering is now complete and
the plant is on course for expected completion early in 2008.

This is relevent as Vedanta gains nearly 2/3rds of profits from zinc.
Dai.






Mining Weekly - 20 July 2006

Zinc shortfall was 120 000 t in first 5 months


Zinc supply fell short of demand for the first five months of the year, because of higher consumption of the metal used to galvanize steel, the International Lead and Zinc Study Group said.

Zinc production was 120 000 tons less than demand, compared with a shortfall of 98,000 tons a year earlier, the Lisbon-based group said in a report on its Web site today. The group is funded by the governments of producing and consuming countries.

Demand rose 2,4% to 4,47-million t, the group said. Production grew 1,9% to 4,35-million t.

Independent - 21 July

Weak copper prices obscured strong results from the Indian mining group Vedanta Resources, 14p weaker at 1,302p, as the group reported a 113 per cent rise in first-quarter revenue. The heavyweight brokers Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and UBS all advised their clients to buy the shares, while Citigroup raised its price target to 2,200p.

(Reuters) - Sat Jul 22, 2006

Chile's Escondida union says contract talks fail

SANTIAGO, Chile, - Workers at Chile's Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, said on Friday contract talks with the company had failed and that they planned to vote on a strike next week barring a new offer.

"It looks like we'll strike," Union Secretary Pedro Marin told Reuters late on Friday after two days of extraordinary talks failed to result in a new offer from the company.

Workers reached the decision in a meeting late on Friday night, Marin said.

The union and managers at Escondida were in talks on Thursday and Friday to try to reach an agreement ahead of a strike vote by workers next week.

The last day for the company to improve its offer is July 25, so workers can vote on July 28 on whether to strike.

Marin said that a strike could begin on Aug. 1 unless the company requests mediation from labor authorities, in which case the sides have five days to resolve their differences.

The union, which represents more than 2,000 workers, began a slowdown this month to protest a wage increase offer that it called too small. The current contract expires on Aug. 2.

This week, the company invited workers to resume formal talks and workers and managers of Escondida met on Thursday and Friday.

"If you ask me about progress...zero," Marin said of the two days of talks.

With global copper prices surging, the Escondida union is asking for a 13 percent raise and a $30,000 net bonus per worker. The company has offered a 1.5 percent raise, a bonus and low-interest loans worth about $8,500 per worker.

28.07.06

Vedanta has been initiated as a buy by ABN Amro with a target price of 1850 pence, dealers said. The Dutch owned broker argued that despite being a pure base metals play with the associated commodity price risk and volatility, Vedanta has set forth the strongest organic growth story in the market. ABN Amro pointed out that the group is starting its Phase II expansion programme, buying back minorities and broadening its diversification. It added that it has already allocated all excess cash it expects to be generated over the next few years., which it believes is a high-risk, high-reward strategy.

Big Mining Is Big Value

By Alun Morris
July 28, 2006

I don't often buy large cap shares. I prefer to stay away from the thousand Watt arc lamps of multiple broker analysis and take my flashlight around the darker corners of the market.

However this month I bought a share in a sector that looks so cheap that I couldn't keep my grasping value hands off it any longer. I have been mulling a move on big mining since UK investing legend Jim Slater said in February that mining shares were cheap. In fact he thought the rating of this sector was one of the most serious mis-pricing of markets he had ever seen, showing high growth and low P/Es. Being fully invested I didn't buy. Besides, these huge companies have more analysts than Woody Allen, so where's my edge?



Why are big miners so cheap?

This sector is cheap for a reason. Metal prices have run up a hill that's got steeper and steeper and we don't know if there's a cliff at the end. Copper, nickel and zinc have doubled or trebled in the past year, largely due to rapid growth and construction spending in China and India. Many see it as yet another bubble with prices overshooting due to speculation. The futures market is predicting significant falls in prices next year. Demand would fall if the Chinese or Indian economies stumble..

The bull arguments are:

* The same was said about oil last year but the futures market is now predicting $70+ oil until 2011.

* New mines take six to seven years to enter production, so the recent rush to start new mines will not give a big supply boost until the end of the decade.

* Chinese growth seems to be underpinned by endless demand for ever cheaper consumer goods.

I believe that mining shares offer the same opportunity that the oil and gas sector did a year ago -- their prices considerably lag the rise in the commodities they produce.



So which is the cheapest?

An excellent Metals and Mining report from Deutsche Bank this month looked at seven UK listed shares. The table below has excitingly low ratios, especially cashflow, and uses Deutsche's estimates adjusted for Wednesday's prices:

                       2007 P/E
Anglo American      9.2
Antofagasta          7.1
BHP Billiton            8.2
Kazakhmys            6.5
Lonmin                11.4
Rio Tinto               8.4
Vedanta                7.2



see article and table in full here


Cash

Cash, cash, cash! Music to my ears. The sector has more cash than it knows how to spend, hence the very low P/CF and EV/EBITDA figures. I decided to buy Vedanta -- it has the lowest 2007 cashflow ratios and nearly the lowest P/E. These reflect forecast output growth of 48% over the next 3 years., far higher than the others at about 5% to 25%. Jim Slater likes it too -- in a talk in June his picks were BHP Billiton and Vedanta.

Be prepared for a bumpy ride. These shares will often move two or three times as much as the FTSE-100 in a day. If you can stomach this and the risk of a slump in copper prices (and the forecasts already assume some decline), Vedanta looks the cheapest of the bunch.

Is Vedanta about to be bought out????? .......Read on.



Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Oligopoly Watch: - The latest maneuvers of the new oligopolies and what they mean.

Consolidation fever in the mining industry

Mining companies have been rolling up the industry over the past few years, and the consensus is that that trend will continue until there are no possible buy reagents left. That's the conclusion of a Financial Times article ("Miners roll up their sleeves to consolidate scarce resources", 7/25/06).

The most immediate sign of the buying frenzy is in the current duel between Phelps Dodge and Xstrata to buy Canada-based Falconbridge, a bidding war that has doubled the price of that company from around $10 billion to over $20 billion.

But that's not the only deal in the works.

* Australian iron ore miner Mount Gibson just made a bid for rival Aztec, hoping to boost the company to #3 status in Australia.
* Canada's GlobeStar Mining Corporation just bought out Dominican Republic nickel mines from Everton Resources Inc.
* Canada's Stornoway Diamond Corp. has bid to buy Canada's Ashton Mining and Contact Diamond Corporation, both diamond mining companies.
* New Zealand's Oceana Gold recently acquired Australia's Climax Mining, another gold miner.
* Canada's Barrick Gold has made an offer to buy Canadian rival NovaGold.

And these are just the deals happening in the last few months, all worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars.

Because metals prices are so high, the mining companies are loaded with cash. That means that even $20 billion acquisitions are doable. Some mid-size mining firms drawing strong interest are Alumina, Newcrest, Lonmin and Vedanta. There are twenty mining companies in the world with between five and 20 billion dollars in revenue, and all bets are that there will be significantly next within a few years. And the bidding, as for Falconbridge, is likely to be strongly contested.

And, as we've seen with big oil, acquiring established sources is far more desirable than spending money on exploration. The FT article quotes a Citigroup analyst as saying: "Acquisitions and buybacks deliver better returns than the expansion of production."

Older miners are wearing out faster than new mines are discovered. Also, the increasing environmental controls and Third-World nationalism make the cost of new mines grow ever higher.

Plus some very big companies are rumored, according to the article, to be targets. Aluminum company Alcoa is one of them, as is rival Alcan. Even gold and diamond giant Anglo-American may be tempting, now that is selling off both its steel and paper operations, making a pure mining play.

Companies like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are identified as possible predators. Both are set to generate many billions in cash this year, thanks to skyrocketing iron ore prices. Even smaller deals (purchases of single mines) are significant, as bigger companies keep rolling up smaller ones.

"Is Vedanta about to be bought out????? .......Read on."

Thanks HP for the updates including the one above, my answer to your question is i don't know but it would be nice to think so.

Times Online July 31, 2006

Need to Know

Vedanta Resources, the miner, is to hold its annual meeting on Wednesday. Its first-quarter results, reported two weeks ago, showed revenue up 113 per cent to 1.3 billion.

Vedanta Resources PLC
02 August 2006

VEDANTA RESOURCES plc

RESULTS OF AGM


Wednesday 2 August 2006


At the Company's Annual General Meeting, which was held today, all the
resolutions put to shareholders were duly passed.

The results on each resolution were as follows:
Votes
Resolution Votes for Votes against withheld
---------- ---------- ------------- --------

1 To receive and adopt the audited 212,431,482 1,371,404 57,010
accounts of the Company for the
year ended 31 March 2006,
together with the Directors' 99.36 0.64 N/A
Report and the Independent
Auditors' Report.

2 To approve the Remuneration 211,175,546 1,440,140 1,244,210
Report for the year ended 31
March 2006. 99.32 0.68 N/A

3 To approve a final dividend of 213,859,897 0 0
14.3 US cents per ordinary share
in respect of the year ended 31 100.00 0.00 N/A
March 2006.

4 To re-appoint Mr Anil Agarwal, 202,003,756 11,832,209 23,931
who retires and seeks
re-appointment in accordance
with article 115 of the 94.47 5.53 N/A
Company's Articles of
Association.

5 To re-appoint Dr Shailendra 213,612,671 247,226 0
Kumar Tamotia, who retires and
seeks re-appointment in
accordance with article 115 of 99.88 0.12 N/A
the Company's Articles of
Association.

6 To re-appoint Mr Naresh Chandra, 213,636,167 222,730 1,000
who retires and seeks
re-appointment pursuant to
article 122 of the Company's 99.90 0.10 N/A
Articles of Association.

7 To re-appoint Deloitte & Touche 213,461,288 308,609 90,000
LLP as auditors of the Company
until the conclusion of the next
general meeting at which 99.86 0.14 N/A
accounts are laid before the
Company.

8 To authorise the Audit Committee 213,497,667 272,230 90,000
of the Company to determine the
Auditors' remuneration. 99.87 0.13 N/A

9 To authorise the Directors to 213,089,561 389,601 380,734
allot relevant securities up to
an aggregate nominal amount of:
(a) $3,275,956 in connection
with the $725 million 4.60%
guaranteed convertible bonds due
2026 issued by Vedanta Finance 99.82 0.18 N/A
(Jersey) Limited, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company; and
(b) (otherwise than pursuant to
sub-paragraph (a) of this
resolution) $9,558,417.

10 To authorise the Directors to 213,847,047 7,850 5,000
allot equity securities for cash
as if section 89(1) of the
Companies Act 1985 did not 100.00 0.00 N/A
apply.

11 To authorise the Directors to 213,751,362 108,535 0
make market purchases within the
meaning of section 163(3) of the
Companies Act 1985 of ordinary 99.95 0.05 N/A
shares of $0.10 each in the
capital of the Company.


Percentages show votes as a percentage of the total number of shares being voted
by proxy.

For further information, please contact:

Deepak Kumar (Company Secretary)
Vedanta Resources plc

Telephone: +44 (0) 207 659 4734



This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

7 August 2006 - Brian O'Connor, Daily Mail

Is Vedanta's rise as good as it seams?



BRITISH investors are having to get used to the fact that an investment on the London Stock Exchange may have little to do with UK plc.

A string of exotic ventures has floated here in the last three years, from copper mines in Kazakhstan to steelmakers in Russia. Some are sold only to professional investors.

But some have gone into UK share indices, where they will be indirectly held by anyone who has an index tracker fund. So it may be useful to profile some of these newcomers.

One is Vedanta, the Indian mining group founded by Anil Agarwal, 53, who started his business career in Bombay (now Mumbai) collecting scrap and selling it to cable companies.

When the telecoms boom sent demand for copper cables soaring, Agarwal went into mining the stuff, later adding aluminium and zinc. His family still owns 53.8pc of Vedanta, a stake worth 2bn.

It floated in London in December 2003, raising 500m at 390p a share. It soon ran into controversy. Brian Gilbertson, who arrived as chairman a month before the float, quit after only eight months to join a rival.

After a profit warning, the shares slid to 270p. They took some time to recover, but are now 1295p, lifting Vedanta into the Footsie 100 in June.

The boardroom doors at Vedanta revolve at a fair speed. Finance director Peter Sydney-Smith quit last year. The new chairman, Michael Fowle, and director Jean-Pierre Rodier left four months ago without explanation. Agarwal took the chair himself.

You would not have to be a professor of music to wonder if this is a one-man band, and why the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Authority waved it into the Footsie.

Vedanta sees it differently. It has four non-executive directors, a majority on its board of seven. Senior independent director is Naresh Chandra, 71, a former top civil servant and Indian ambassador to the US. The one Western board member is exbanker Euan Macdonald, 66. This is a company with nearly all its operations in India, and so, naturally, is its board.

To have a primary share listing in London, I think it should have at least two UK directors, of whom one is either chairman or senior independent director.

But the regulators do not require this, and City investors do not seem to care so long as the shares rise. And rise they certainly have - more than trebling since the float, lifting Vedanta's value to 3.7bn.

It has ridden the wave of rising metal prices, but has also set a track record of delivering projects on time and on budget - and funded from cash flow.

This year broker Citigroup estimates Vedanta's production at 455,000 tonnes of copper, 325,000 of lead and zinc, and 222,000 of aluminium. The company's own figures are higher, but what matters is the huge growth potential. Agarwal has set a target of 1m tonnes of each category.

That depends on three large projects. The trickiest is to make aluminium at Orissa, on the Bay of Bengal, where it plans to extract bauxite from a 'sacred' mountain. Protests about this prolonged Vedanta's London agm this week.

The dividend yield is a skimpy 0.9%, but if Agarwal can deliver his growth targets and prices stay high, profits could almost treble this year.

Brokers expect a rise from $934m (497m) pretax to $2.5bn (1.3bn) with earnings per share of 190p, to put the shares at only 6.8 times.

After an excellent run, Vedanta still looks cheap, though one day even the mining 'supercycle' will end.

Strike starts at Chile copper mine

By Pav Jordan Mon Aug 7, 2:05 PM ET

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Workers drew first blood in their fight with Chile's Escondida copper mine, cutting 60 percent from daily production as they walked off the job to demand a wage and benefits hike from its foreign owners.
ADVERTISEMENT

"Around 60 percent of output," is being affected by the strike, BHP Billiton spokesman Mauro Valdes told Reuters on Monday, hours after the widely anticipated walkout. Workers said the strike cut production by as much as 80 percent.

The mine, the world's largest copper mine, applied an immediate contingency plan to maintain basic output, but Valdes could not say what the effects of a prolonged strike might be.

"Minera Escondida reiterates it desire to maintain dialogue (with workers) and trusts the strike will be carried out in a responsible and legal form," the company said in a statement.

Workers at Escondida, which produces about 20 percent of Chile's copper and accounts for 2.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product, are demanding a new contract to replace a 2003 deal that was signed when copper prices were about a fifth of what they are now.

Local television showed union workers tossing rocks the size of basketballs onto the road leading to the mine in northern Chile to obstruct the potential entry of transports carrying replacement personnel.

Talks between the company and the union grew increasingly combative in recent weeks, with each accusing the other of not ceding ground in their demands.

Union President Luis Troncoso said there was no plan to halt the strike until the company improves its offer.

Workers say they have the support of other Chilean mining unions, and that their fight could influence the outcome of upcoming negotiations at Codelco, Chile's state copper miner and the world's largest producer of the red metal.

"I think we are fortifying the (national) union movement," Troncoso said.

BHP Billiton (BHP.AX), the world's largest miner, owns 57.5 percent of the open-pit mine, while No. 2 Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX) has a 30 percent stake.

While workers are demanding a large increase in salary and benefits that reflect soaring copper prices, the company seeks to protect itself from the next cyclical downturn in prices for the red metal.

Before the strike, Escondida was expected to produce close to 1.3 million tonnes of copper in 2006, about the same as it did in 2005. That is roughly 3,500 tonnes of copper a day.

Copper futures in New York opened lower Monday but prices received a slight boost as the Escondida strike started.

More than 2,000 union workers were to take part in the strike at Escondida after negotiations for a new wage contract failed even after government mediation.

Union Secretary Pedro Marin said the workers would also march in Antofagasta, the major city in the mining region, to press their demands for a better wage deal.

He expected to draw support from others who use the city as a base and work in other mines in the region.

Chile is the world's largest copper producer and host to many international miners.

Marin said the union planned to employ noisy tactics like the ones used by Chilean students in nationwide protests in June. Those strikes ended in sometimes violent clashes with police.

Nearly 1 million Chilean students took part in nationwide strikes in early June as they demanded more education funding in destructive marches in the capital Santiago.

Associated Press - 8 August 2006

Strike begins at copper mine in Chile

Workers at the world's largest privately owned copper mine in northern Chile went on strike Monday to press their demand for better pay, and by midday production was down by 60 percent, a company official reported.

Union spokesman Pedro Marin said workers were gathering at a plaza in Antofagasta, 1,600 kilometers (995 miles) north of Santiago, for a planned march.

Other miners blocked an access road to the mine with rocks and parked buses.

A union assembly was scheduled for late Monday and a vote on the company's contract proposal was likely, Marin said. The proposal was rejected by the union leadership.

The company has called its contract offer, made in government-mediated talks, final. It includes a 3 percent salary increase and one-time bonus of US$17,000 (13,200).

The workers are asking for a 13 percent wage increase and a bonus of US$21,190 (18,400).

There was no immediate comment by the company on Monday's work stoppage but it said earlier that it would implement a "contingency plan." No details of the plan were announced, but Marin said it includes hiring around 1,000 outside workers and contractors to maintain some production.

Around noon Monday, a company spokesman, Mauro Valdes, told the Santiago daily El Mercurio that production had dropped by around 60 percent.

Escondida produces around 3.6 metric tons (4 tons) a day, or around one quarter of Chile's total output. Chile is the world's largest copper exporter.

The Australian-British consortium BHP Billiton PLC owns 57.5 percent of the mine, while Rio Tinto PLC, also Australian-British, holds 30 percent, and the Mitsubishi Corp.-led Japanese consortium 10 percent.

Main markets for the mine's production include Brazil, China, France, Japan and South Korea.

Escondida miners reject BHP Billiton pay offer

Workers at the world's largest copper mine in Chile have rejected an offer from owner BHP Billiton and have said they anticipate a walk-out that could last a month.

The workers late Monday (local time) refused to vote on a proposal from the Anglo-Australian resources giant put forward on Friday, leaving the mine's production at less than half of normal.

In a meeting of nearly 2,000 workers, the miners decided the 3 per cent wage hike plus $US16,000 per-worker bonus the company offered was not enough, union spokesman Pedro Marin said.

They are seeking a 13 per cent pay increase and a $US30,000 payment per miner, he said.

The strike began Monday (local time), jeopardising 8 per cent of global copper production and spurring prices to a three-week high.

The mine's main customers are Japan, Germany, Canada, China, Sweden, Brazil, South Korea and France.

Miners say their demands reflect a tripling in global copper prices since the previous collective bargaining agreement reached three years ago.

Escondida produces on average 125,000 tonnes of copper per year, nearly 20 per cent of total production in Chile, the world's largest copper producer.

-AFP

Mineweb - 09-AUG-06 - By: Dorothy Kosich

Labor strife could impact up to 16% of copper supplies


As BHP Billiton declared force majeure Tuesday for copper concentrate delivery and suspended cathode production at the world's largest copper mine, Escondida's reduced production--if compounded by additional labor strife at other copper mines--could result in the loss of 16% of the world's copper mine production this year.


Meanwhile, Japanese and Chinese metals smelter companies said Tuesday that it's too early to determine the impact of the Escondida mine strike in Chile on copper concentrate smelting. The workers at the world's largest copper mine Tuesday predicted their walkout could last as long as a month.

Sydney-based Commodities Analyst Alan Heap of Citigroup said the "copper industry has been plagued by union disputes for months now, as minesite workers seek a greater share in their booming sector." In fact, Heap declared that he expects more of the same this month as 2,000 workers at Escondida went on strike this week and their Peruvian colleagues at Antamina want an 18% wage increase. Miners at British Columbia's Highland Valley copper mine are expecting a "generous September contract renewal,"" he added.

Managers at Falconbridge's Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile averted a strike last May with a deal that included an 8 % pay raise and $4,400 individual worker bonus payment. The FMC union, which represents the striking miners at Escondida, is asking for a 13% pay raise and a $30,000 net bonus per workers. Union Secretary Pedro Marin said Chile's copper companies will have combined profits of $19.15 billion this year. Meanwhile the copper price has risen from 67-cents when the last wage contract was negotiated in 2003 to $3.50 per pound.

Later this year, the world's largest copper miner state-owned Codelco of Chile will have salary negotiations with its own workforce. The Escondida walkout is believed to be influencing the future of the Codelco talks as the Chilean Government scrutinizes BHP's responses to the labor dispute.

Last month, Mexico's Grupo Mexico fired around 2,000 workers at its La Caridad copper mine in the Sonora State in the wake of a strike to protest the firing of a union chief, which began in March. Meanwhile, managers at the Konkola copper/cobalt mine in Zambia agreed to a 20% hike in wages in July. The mine is a joint venture between U.K.-based Vedanta Resources and the Zambian Government.

Heap said that "it's not surprising that copper's price is sensitive to this news. These strike-bound operations alone represent 2.2MTpy of copper-producing capacity or 16% of the forecast mine production in 2006." He estimated that year-to-date total contained metal production lost to strike action stands at 79k without considering loses caused by equipment failures and material shortages.

Heap said that Japan's smelters are most vulnerable to the Escondida strike since they depend on 70% of the Chilean copper mine's annual output. Escondida produces roughly 20% of Chile's total annual production. The company's products are shipped to Japan, Germany, Canada, China, Sweden, Brazil, South Korea and France.

Reuters reported that officials of both Japanese and Chinese metals smelting companies expected a prolonged strike at Escondida, but explained it was too early to determine its impact on their production. Japanese smelters are believed to hold about one month's worth of copper concentrate inventories, according to sources quoted by Reuters.

Copper is used in electrical, electronic, and other applications, as well as transportation systems, housing, commercial construction and appliances. The base metal is used in plumbing, automobile, trains and planes, and most other machinery that uses electricity or has water flowing through its engines. The average American home has at least 30 to 40 motors that rely on copper wires inside the motor.

A force majeure is a contract clause that releases a company from its contractual obligations due to an extraordinary event beyond its control.

MCX expecting three-fold jump in daily turnover


Ludhiana, Aug 09, 2006 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- Enthused by the growing participation of traders and users in metal trading, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) of India Limited is anticipating more than a three-fold increase in the per day value of trading and volume of metals traded by the end of this fiscal.

"With more and more traders and users of non-ferrous metals participating in metal trading, we expect that the daily trading and volume of metals, including copper, zinc and aluminum will increase over three times against present position by the end of this financial year," MCX, Manager (Product Knowledge Management), Ankit Singhal told PTI here.

Singhal was here to attend a seminar on metal trading.

At present, the per day turnover (single sided) of copper, zinc and aluminum in MCX stands at Rs 900 crore, Rs 150 crore and Rs 50 crore respectively. But the exchange expects daily turnover of Rs 3,000 crore in copper, Rs 400 crore in zinc and Rs 200 crore in aluminum by the end of this fiscal.

Similarly, it hopes that the per day volume size should jump to 50,000 MT in copper, 20,000 MT in zinc and 4,000 MT in aluminum.

The commodity exchange expects maximum participation in metal trading from Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

The MCX has also tied up with Comex (New York based exchange) for copper and London Metal Exchange (LME) for other metal commodities for sharing expertise and knowledge in the trading.

e t

Is this another deramp.



Interesting the share price is up 1.8% to-day and SP has crossed up thro' the 5 and 15 MA.

The market seems to be ignoring you

Seems to of had the opposite effect.

Up she blows.

I say.

I wasn't expecting this kind of rise.

Sentiment was further boosted by a series of target price increases across the sector by Goldman Sachs, affecting Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Lonmin, and Vedanta Resources, while the broker trimmed its target price for Rio Tinto.

Goldman Sachs said it believes Vedanta remains the best 'buy' idea in the sector, as the group offers 62% potential upside to its target price.

In reaction, Vedanta shares added 42p at 1,383p.

....More of that won't do It any harm.

Stan, the response has been very appreciated.

I do hope you are short on the ET,

This is relevent because Vedanta has substantial copper mining involvement in Zambia.




Dow Jones Newswires - 18 Aug 2006 - By Nicholas Bariyo

Zambia Copper Mines Hike Output Amid Escondida Shutdown


Zambian copper miners are taking advantage of high copper prices on the international market to increase copper production, seen by the government as a key driver of continued economic growth.

An ongoing strike at Chile's Escondida, the world's largest privately-owned copper mine, has caused world copper prices to rise from already increased levels.

Zambian copper mining companies are now well placed to hike output, having settled a series of damaging labor disputes, while government safeguards are in place to secure uninterrupted energy supply to key mining areas as economic growth stretches the country's energy infrastructure.

Zambia's 2006 copper output is already forecast at 600,000 metric tons compared with 440,000 tons last year, with copper and cobalt export earnings expected to reach over $2 billion compared with $1.5 million in 2005. A review of the tax regime in the mining sector is set to further increase government revenue.

"Operations in the sector are going on smoothly as companies seek to produce more copper", said an official at Zambia's Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development by telephone, noting that the Escondida unrest in Chile has contributed hugely to a renewed drive to increase production.

Late Thursday, Escondida, majority-owned by BHP Billiton (BHP), said that it was stopping production and suspending negotiations with striking workers. On the LME early Friday, three-month copper was trading at $7,475 a metric ton, up $170/ton from late Thursday, on the back of the shutdown.

Zambia has also had its share of labor disputes in the copper mining sector. Following a June labor agreement between workers at the country's leading copper producer, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and management, seen as a breakthrough in industrial relations in the country's mining industry, the official said that he now sees output rising for the remainder of the year. The KCM deal has allayed fears of a repeat of nine days of industrial action last year which cost KCM up to 7,500 metric tons of copper and resulted in the company failing to meet its 2005 output target. According to Augustine Seyuba, KCM's vice president in charge of corporate communications, the company is now on course to meet its 2006 copper output target of 200,000 metric tons.

KCM is not the only copper producer to experience labor unrest. In July there was serious unrest and shootings at Chinese-owned copper producer Chambishi Mining Plc. The unrest was resolved inside a week and production is now at normal levels, according to Albert Mando, General Secretary of Zambia's National Union of Miners and Allied Workers. The Union has since sought peaceful means to resolve issues surrounding pay and conditions, Albert said.

Still, miners at Chambishi are among the lowest paid in the sector, according to union officials, and there is lingering resentment directed at owners China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group Co. Ltd., accused by some of exploiting a weak domestic regulatory regime to offer low wages. For now, though, copper ore output is running at a normal 25,000-30,000 tons a year at Chambishi.

Meanwhile, increased production is expected from new mining operations such as the Kanshashi mine and the Mulyashi mine. A number of smaller copper mines have been hiking output since 2005. Luanshya Copper Mine, owned by Swiss-based J&W Investments, is targeting output of up to 67,500 metric tons of copper this year, up from 50,000 tons in 2005. With big mining companies like Mopani and Konkola Copper Mines all overcoming operational disruptions, output is set to grow across the board.

"The ongoing activities in (copper) mining suggest that the sector is poised to be once again one of the major contributors to the future growth of our economy," said Caleb Fundaga, Governor, Central Bank of Zambia, in a recent statement.

According to the central bank, Zambia's January-June 2006 copper output increased by 24.1% to reach 250,744 metric tons, compared with 201,993 tons in the year-earlier period, resulting from increased investment in the mining sector and higher world copper prices. Data from the central bank indicates that the country earned $1.38 billion from copper and cobalt exports in the first six months of 2006. Export receipts from copper and cobalt account for 83% of total Zambian export earnings.

According to the central bank, Zambia's economic growth is seen at 6% this year, marking the eighth consecutive year of growth, largely driven by the recovery of the mining industry after the mass privatization of copper mines in the late 1990s.

And to continue to increase production and take advantage of high copper prices, the Zambian government has committed to enable mining companies to operate without energy supply disruptions. The Energy Regulatory Board requires that oil marketing companies keep a 15-day fuel reserve amid the closure of the country's sole oil refinery, the Indeni Oil Refinery, for refurbishment. The Indeni refinery, co-owned by France's Total SA (TOT) and the Zambian government, has faced severe reliability problems due to aging equipment. It is expected to be shut down throughout August, with shortfalls of refined petroleum products made up from increased imports.

The government has also directed the state-run power utility, Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation, or ZESCO, to import power to cover a domestic shortage largely resulting from growth in the mining sector, which consumes about 60% of the country's generated power.

While ensuring that mines can continue to operate and to increase output, the government is also seeking to increase mining tax revenues. The the Ministry of Finance is in the final stages of reviewing the tax regime of the mining sector and is expected to raise the royalty paid by mining concerns to between 2.5% and 3.0%, effective 2007, up from just 0.6%, where it has been since 2000.

Copper Falls; BHP May Replace Striking Chilean Mine Workers

By Katy Watson

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices fell as supply concerns eased after BHP Billiton Ltd. said it plans to hire workers to replace striking union members at Chile's Escondida, the world's biggest source of the metal.

Prices have more than doubled in the past year, partly because of supply disruptions. The mine is running at 40 percent to 50 percent of capacity, BHP spokeswoman Alejandra Wood said. Almost 1,900 workers rejected BHP's latest wage offer. Escondida accounted for 8.5 percent of global mining output last year.

``It's bearish for prices if they are going to stump up production,'' said Sean Corrigan, chief investment strategist at Lausanne, Switzerland-based Diapason Commodities Management SA, which overseas about $5 billion in assets.

Copper futures for December delivery fell 1.15 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $3.478 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price for delivery by a specific date.

Copper for delivery in three months dropped $30, or 0.4 percent, to $7,620 a metric ton at 6:30 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Before today, prices had jumped 75 percent this year.

BHP also invited workers to agree to individual contracts. Chilean law allows strikers to negotiate separately to return to work 15 days after a strike begins. The walkout began Aug. 7.

Escondida's workers are asking for a greater slice of record profit from Melbourne-based BHP Billiton. The company will say tomorrow net income for the six months ended June 30 jumped to $6.34 billion, according to the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.


Codelco

Chile's state-owned Codelco, the world's biggest producer of the metal, will begin labor talks later this year. Analysts including John Meyer at Numis Securities in London said the Escondida strike may trigger protests.

``Mine workers are closely watching the potential for settlement at Escondida and may seek to achieve similar improvements in salary and bonus,'' Meyer said. ``BHP may be reluctant to yield to union demands on base salaries because of the knock-on effect within the industry.''

Copper inventories monitored by the LME have climbed 26 percent this month, helping to weigh down prices.

``We've seen quite a healthy build during August,'' said Nick Moore, a London-based analyst at ABN Amro Holding NV.


Demand Slowdown

Global economic growth may slow, curbing metals demand, said Stephen Briggs, an analyst at Societe Generale, one of the 11 companies trading on the floor of the LME. The metal is used in wires and pipes.

There is a ``sense growth is set to slow significantly'' in the next 12 months, he said.

German investor confidence plunged to a five-year low in August on concern rising interest rates and taxes will hamper growth in Europe's largest economy.

The ZEW Center for European Economic Research index of institutional and analyst expectations dropped to minus 5.6, the lowest since June 2001, from 15.1 in July, the institute said in Mannheim today.

Vedanta Resources PLC
23 August 2006

23rd August 2006


VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC (the 'Company')

SCHEDULE 11

NOTIFICATION OF INTERESTS OF DIRECTORS /PERSONS DISCHARGING MANGERIAL
RESPONSIBILITY AND /OR CONNECTED PERSONS

1) NAME OF COMPANY

VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC

2) NAME OF PERSON DISCHARGING MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITY

TARUN JAIN

3) Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of holding
of the shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a non-beneficial interest
or in the case of an individual holder if it is a holding of that person's
spouse or children under the age of 18 or in respect of an non-beneficial
interest.

IN RESPECT OF HOLDING OF PERSON DISCHARGING MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITY NAMED IN 2
ABOVE

4) Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the number of
shares held by each of them. (If notified)

Tarun Jain

5) Please state whether notification relates to a person(s) connected with the
Director /persons discharging managerial responsibility and /or connected
persons named in 2 above and identify the connected person(s)

N/A

6) Please state the nature of the transaction. For PEP transactions please
indicate whether general/single co PEP and if discretionary/non discretionary

GENERAL SALE AT MARKET PRICE

7) Number of shares/amount of stock acquired

N/A

8) Percentage of issued Class

N/A

9) Number of shares/amount of stock disposed

35,000

10) Percentage of issued Class

0.012%

11) Class of security

US$0.10 ORDINARY SHARES

12) Price per share

30,000 shares at 13.48 per share

5,000 shares at 14.09 per share

Well that bit of news didn't have a lot of effect on the SP so far did It?

Price around last night's closing last time I looked.

ET So much for rumours.

I think you are short. Hope so.

S Price going up again this morning.

Fred1new.

I'm also under that impression.

I'd take that as a buy then.

Going up as I type.

Strange the market didn't think the same and SP seems to be up into current trend!!!!!

This outfit's share movements are beginning to Intrigue me.

1. Yesterday when some of the other miners were up early part of the day, VED was the last to respond.

2. Today just the opposite.

I now want out of these to free up money for other opportunities when they arise but something keeps saying "not quite yet old chap".

I know the feeling Stan.

But now the price has got over the 14 mark, I'm going to stay put.

KD.

Me to...I think, trouble Is I seem to change my mind with this lot every time I give It more thought -:)

Suppose I should just stop thinking-:)

Out at last, sold the lot...needless to say It ticked up a few just after!

Profit's a profit.

Yep true enough K, by the way lots of Interesting rather large buys In the after 4.30 finish I see.

Could be a very rewarding session for all you holders tomorrow.

Good luck all.

Vedanta Resources PLC announced a slew of projects that is expected to enable Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to nearly treble its copper production.

The projects will allow KCM, in which Vedanta holds a 51 pct stake, to raise output from 2.4 mln tonnes to 6 mln tonnes thus extending its lifespan to 2035, KCM chairman Navin Agarwal said.

'The total investment in these projects is 750 million dollars. This is the single largest investment in Zambia to date,' Agarwal said.

He said KCM has awarded contracts to several international firms to develop the untapped Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP), as well as construct a new smelter and acid plant which will be completed in 2009.

The new smelter plant will produce 250,000 tonnes of copper while an acid plant will manufacture 1,700 tonnes of acid per day, Agarwal said.

'KCM will have created the capacity within Zambia to treat all the copper concentrate that will be produced by other stand alone copper mines, thereby enabling the country to export value added finished copper rather than exporting raw material concentrate,' Agarwal said in a statement.

KCM is Zambia's largest mining company with a work force of 10,000 workers.

Vedanta Resources is a London-listed Indian mining group which bought 51 pct stake in KCM in November 2004, two years after South African mining firm Anglo American Corporation withdrew from KCM.

Big Mining Is Big Value - By Alun Morris


I don't often buy large cap shares. I prefer to stay away from the thousand Watt arc lamps of multiple broker analysis and take my flashlight around the darker corners of the market.

However this month I bought a share in a sector that looks so cheap that I couldn't keep my grasping value hands off it any longer. I have been mulling a move on big mining since UK investing legend Jim Slater said in February that mining shares were cheap. In fact he thought the rating of this sector was one of the most serious mis-pricing of markets he had ever seen, showing high growth and low P/Es. Being fully invested I didn't buy. Besides, these huge companies have more analysts than Woody Allen, so where's my edge?



Why are big miners so cheap?

This sector is cheap for a reason. Metal prices have run up a hill that's got steeper and steeper and we don't know if there's a cliff at the end. Copper, nickel and zinc have doubled or trebled in the past year, largely due to rapid growth and construction spending in China and India. Many see it as yet another bubble with prices overshooting due to speculation. The futures market is predicting significant falls in prices next year. Demand would fall if the Chinese or Indian economies stumble..

The bull arguments are:

* The same was said about oil last year but the futures market is now predicting $70+ oil until 2011.

* New mines take six to seven years to enter production, so the recent rush to start new mines will not give a big supply boost until the end of the decade.

* Chinese growth seems to be underpinned by endless demand for ever cheaper consumer goods.

I believe that mining shares offer the same opportunity that the oil and gas sector did a year ago -- their prices considerably lag the rise in the commodities they produce.



So which is the cheapest?

An excellent Metals and Mining report from Deutsche Bank this month looked at seven UK listed shares. The table below has excitingly low ratios, especially cashflow, and uses Deutsche's estimates adjusted for Wednesday's prices:

                       2007 P/E
Anglo American      9.2
Antofagasta          7.1
BHP Billiton            8.2
Kazakhmys            6.5
Lonmin                11.4
Rio Tinto               8.4
Vedanta                7.2



see article and table in full here


Cash

Cash, cash, cash! Music to my ears. The sector has more cash than it knows how to spend, hence the very low P/CF and EV/EBITDA figures. I decided to buy Vedanta -- it has the lowest 2007 cashflow ratios and nearly the lowest P/E. These reflect forecast output growth of 48% over the next 3 years., far higher than the others at about 5% to 25%. Jim Slater likes it too -- in a talk in June his picks were BHP Billiton and Vedanta.

Be prepared for a bumpy ride. These shares will often move two or three times as much as the FTSE-100 in a day. If you can stomach this and the risk of a slump in copper prices (and the forecasts already assume some decline), Vedanta looks the cheapest of the bunch.

Broker Recommendations;

Deutsche reiterates buy Vedanta Resources with a 16.60 target.

Merrill says buy Vedanta Resources - rated at over 22.

Morgan Stanley has overweight on Vedanta Resources (2300p target).

Citigroup has a buy rating and 22 for Vedanta Resources.

JP Morgan - Vedanta was kept "overweight" with a price target of 1,965p.

Vedanta has been initiated as a buy by ABN Amro with a target price of 1850 pence.

Goldman Sachs said it believes Vedanta remains the best 'buy' idea in the sector, as the group offers 62% potential upside to its target price.

Sold the rest of my holding last Wednesday at 14.12 after reading the comments in Shares magazine which stated that there isn't that much movement to be expected from now on. I actually agree with that feeling - after all the stock rose from 3 to 18 pounds - then seemed to balance itself out around 14.
I believe that the high expectations of China/India demand are incorporated within the current price.
Anyone agrees?

Vedanta by any valuation is inexpensive.

The main issue or concern is the excessively large shareholding by Chairman Anil Agarwal. Institutional Investors are nervous since Agarwal still dominates all company decision and direction giving rise to other investors being at the mercy of his idiosyncratic behaviour.

There is rumour of a negotiation / deal in progress to reduce his shareholding to be taken up institutionals thus reducing the risk of strategic error, but Agarwal so far has been reluctant and has endeared himself to his Mogul image. He remains in unassailable control.

Some have already dipped in some are waiting on the sidelines. Profits have rsien by more than 10 times and so has the EPS. With a PEG of 0.11 there is no substantiation that this price has 'topped out'. The share price still has some way to go on current valuation, corporate strategy and economic demand.

A London Calling Special - January 10 2004


The good business burghers of London are bolstering a newly launched enterprise with a distinctly shady recent past. The Vedanta mining company began trading on the Stock Exchange in December, its shares deliberately priced to the middle of the market. It was Britain's second biggest public float of the year and a first for any Indian-based company. The initial response was pretty impressive. True, the key buying seemed to be by hedge funds (slightly more US-based than British) and these are as swift to offload stock as to acquire it. Although the shares were placed with some 350 institutions, just 30 of these were believed to account for 70% of the uptake.

One or two commentators expressed misgivings. First, Vedanta is ostensibly controlled by Sterlite Industries, a major Indian conglomerate which is the holding company for Anil Agarwal, an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) based in London. Last year, Agarwal tried to de-list his company from the Mumbai (Bombay) stock exchange then buy back its shares at only half the book value. The Indian authorities firmly told Agarwal where he couldn't go. Second, Agarwal was recently found guilty of unfairly sacking a former senior employee, hired to work on Sterlite's mergers and acquisitions.

Rajat Bhatia had dared express his belief that Sterlite's proposed dilution of equity in an Australian company contrary to an existing understanding, would breach Australian rules. Agarwal literally threw his digital diary at Bhatia and threatened to "destroy him", understandably prompting the startled guy to resign. The British Employment Tribunal awarded Mr Bhatia 805,000 damages - the highest amount it's ordered in the past year.

But the majority of London's brokers scarcely blinked at Mr. Bhatia's plight, nor the growing indication that Anil Agarwal might have lots more skeletons in his corporate cupboard. After all there's no better time than the Xmas silly season (with office booze flowing as freely as the Thames), to bring off a massive confidence trick. The London "Times" on December 10th quoted a London stock exchange source confirming that Vedanta's listing had succeeded "only after a 'quiet word in many ears'". One wonders how many brains between those ears were truly attentive at the time.

What London investors did baulk at, however, was a nifty trick which Vedanta pulled at the thirteenth hour: a characteristic Sterlite gambit. Shares had closed on December 5th significantly below their initial price. The "Times" thought the sharp fall "reflected concerns that shareholders would receive a smaller slice of the company than they were previously led to believe."

Vedanta then suddenly increased the size of its offering by nearly a fifth. One major finance institution accused the company and its lead bankers, JP Morgan and HSBC, of "straightforward greed". A prominent fund manager called the offering " very badly handled", claiming "it could take months for the share price to recover". One leading shareholder described the company's debut as "the worst flotation of its size since...early 2001", while an analyst at Numis Securities revealed that "a lot of the institutions are very angry at the sheer size of the new issue. It looks as if the investment banks are trying to get extra fee income".

In addition to JP Morgan and HSBC, the other jackdaws picking over Vedanta's pearls are Cazenove (ironically dumped by HSBC as its own house broker back in September); Citigroup, the world's biggest financial services company; Australia's Macquarie Bank; and India's homegrown ICICI Securities. Between them, they're expected to reap about thirteen million pounds in fees.

By mid December the new mining company had already sold more than half a billion pounds worth of new shares, giving it a market capitalisation of well over a billion and ensuring a high position in the FTSE 250 index. Agarwal and his family now control nearly 54% of Vedanta and Agarwal himself boasts it will soon become the biggest non-ferrous metals producer anywhere. (More modestly the Financial Times reckons Vedanta may fill the investment gap between the Big Global Three - BHPBilliton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American - and smaller companies which exploit a single commodity.)


Brian and the Beanstalk

It's all seemed uncannily like the Xstrata play in 2002: an obscure outfit with its golden share (or poison pill?) controlled by a private trader, bursts onto the London scene and leaps into a pole position among global miners, in a dizzyingly short space of time.

Except that Xstrata/Glencore didn't enjoy the backing of one of mining's highest-profile and most aggressive resource grabbers. This is the multi-millionaire Brian Gilbertson, architect of the biggest-ever mining merger, between Billiton and BHP in June 2001. As Vedanta's non-executive chair he receives a "modest" salary of 350,000 a year and got Vedanta shares worth around 7 million at today's prices. Mind you, he's since had to sell half these to meet his UK tax and national insurance obligations. But this will hardly bother the man who, over the past year, became the highest paid mining executive anywhere. When Brian got bounced from BHPBilliton his payoffs were valued at twenty five million pounds.

That Agarwal needs Gilbertson, and vice versa, is self-evident. The Indian magnate gets exposure on the most generous mining equity market in the world; the South African gets to stomp around the planet, gloating over the breadth of his portfolio. Both men have abrasive, over-weaning egos. Like Tweedledum and Tweedledee they will either buttress each other or eventually fall out. Foreseeing this possibility, Gilbertson has locked Agarwal into a contract which precludes his dismissal from Vedanta, at least until next July's London Annual General Meeting.

You might have assumed that the ex-CEO of BHPBilliton has been languishing in the wilderness since his unceremonious departure from the world's biggest mining company in 2002. In fact he was quickly adopted as a consultant by Lonmin, the London platinum company whose critical stake in Ashanti Goldfields gained it a comfortable pay-off from Anglo American as the latter looked like taking over Ghana's biggest private enterprise last year. During this period, Gilbertson was also building on his credibility among stockbrokers in his natal South Africa.

Indeed (and surely not by sheer coincidence), just a few days after Gilbertson's pivotal role in Vedanta was confirmed, Lonmin announced he was also to take charge of a new South African mining conglomerate dubbed Incwala. This will bring together Gilbertson's Lonmin clients with Impala Platinum and is intended to launch soon on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Incwala is a "Black Empowerment Company" pledged to give jobs and half its capital to Historically Disadvantaged Black South Africans (HDSA): those designated by the South African government as suffering grievously under apartheid. The new enterprise promises to represent not only the needs of black men but also women.

The prospect of this bluff, white, gold-digger piloting a major resource company devoted to poverty alleviation among blacks surely deserves the award of "corporate mining anomaly of the year". Gencor, formerly headed by Gilbertson, was arguably the most aggressive anti-black company in the whole of apartheid South Africa.

In 1985, Gilbertson's company was responsible for the worst mining accident in the country's history, when 177 workers died after Gencor lowered its safety standards at the Kinross mine. And, as the South African National Union of Mineworkers sought to assert basic human rights, many of the deaths and injuries suffered by trade unionists from police brutality occurred at Gencor's operations.

During the same period, the biggest attrition rates in asbestos poisoning were registered at Gencor's two subsidiaries, Gefco and Msaulit Asbes Bpk. It's only in the past year that victims and their families have secured anything approaching realistic compensation for the deaths and illnesses they suffered.


Meanwhile, Gilbertson was not too wrapped up in his South African intrigues to fail to be attracted to Anil Agarwal and India's mineral potential. The two men may not exactly be "birds of the same feather", but they're certainly cyclists on the same route. It was Agarwal who first approached Gilbertson and they apparently really got to know each while peddling (cycles) between Oxford and London.

Gilbertson has enormous kudos and credibility which, for Agarwal, is in short supply. Other mining executives (not least at BHPBilliton) may now be chafing at the bit to get into China. But the Indian subcontinent and its upwardly thrusting middle classes still have a lot to offer, a great deal to purchase - and they speak good English too. What a diversified portfolio Sterlite seems to possess: let's hear it from Gilbertson's own mouth.

"[T]o be quite honest, I had never thought of India as a resource country at all" he naively told Mineweb last month in a broadcast interview. "I went along and found to my surprise that there is actually a great deal happening the country is very rich in resources. For example, it's the sixth-largest reserve in the world of bauxite. And then it also has the fourth - or fifth - largest reserves of iron ore in the world and those two commodities are kind of like the holy grail of mining at this time, because the markets have been so strong for the past two or three years".

Gilbertson could hardly rate Sterlite/Vedanta's opportunities any higher, or the pretended pliability of Indian citizens, despite their government's "bureaucracy". Says he: "[I]t's always easier for people in the country to develop deposits, undertake the challenges. India, I guess, is reputedly a very bureaucratic country and some countries (sic) have battled for a long time to get deposits developed and have been unsuccessful."
But what excites the burly South African is the prospect of exploiting a "very highly educated" workforce which ". is paid a fraction of what Westerners would be paid, and I'm very happy to work with those wages."

Read that statement again: it comes from the most grotesquely over-imbursed mining executive on the planet.


Anil in Wonderland

So just what is Vedanta? As a holding company it's been widely regarded as the trojan horse which Anil Agarwal is using to re-capitalise Sterlite Industries and its various businesses. It could also be seen as a sort of reverse buy-out, since Vedanta will own the majority of Sterlite, even as Agarwal seeks to expand his own dominions. And what impressive enclaves these are! They encompass copper, bauxite/aluminium, zinc, lead, and gold exploits, not only across India but also in Australia, Armenia (where it operates two mines), Mexico and Russia. (Until 2000 its subsidiary Sterlite Gold Ltd, registered on the Toronto Stock Exchange, also held mineral rights in Burma).

Let the statistics tell their own tale: in 2002 Sterlite/Vedanta apparently controlled just under half (42%) of the Indian market in copper; nearly a quarter (21%) of the country's aluminium output, and a whopping 62% of its trade in zinc. Gilbertson has described Vedanta's London listing as "a ground-floor entry into the Indian economic boom". More accurately it's a subversive basement plunder of some of the country's most valuable mineral resources.

Last year Sterlite also won the bid to "develop" the Konkola Deeps, part of Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) which Anglo American relinquished when it couldn't raise the capital to modernise the operations. In the light of Sterlite's appalling history of bidding for projects or companies, then beating down the price, or reneging on its obligations, a Vedanta acquisition of KCM is a bad augury for any community and worker-based revival of Zambia's copper sector. Characteristically, Agarwal has provided no detail of how much he intends to inject into buying 51% of the Deeps. Anglo American had already done a secret deal with the Zambian government to forgo payment of proper compensation to workers and clean up the toxic site. In a recent interview with Mineweb, Agarwal appeared to be backing out of the deal at least for the near future. But who really knows?

Across the board, Agarwal and Glbertson plan to spend over $2bn "to expand current operations and drive down unit costs, and to develop a portfolio of attractive greenfield projects". But the biggest chunk of cash is reserved for Sterlite's aluminium operations in India; more than tripling capacity at Balco's smelters; boosting output from its Madras Aluminium subsidiary and building a one million tonnes a year refinery in Orissa at Lanjigarh.

Remember the name Lanjigarh: as we'll see it encapsulates one of the worst impending corporate assaults on Indigenous land and constitutional tribal rights in India - indeed anywhere in Asia.


Sterlite Express

Sterlite started life as a minor business, delivering copper cables for telecommunications companies in India. From 1988, as IT became the subcontinent's millennial mantra, so Sterlite's supreme opportunist was close behind. But Anil Agarwal was also determined to own and control the raw materials on which the boom depended, processing them for striking profit by using the cheapened labour and quiescent permitting for which his home country is (rightly or wrongly) renowned. He set a course from which he has never deviated except that, as his greed grew, so did the ambit of his ambitions and the scandals of his stock play.
By the time the Vedanta listing had been devised, Sterlite was already an estimable global player. This would not have been possible without the acquiescence to privatisation and foreign control promoted by the Indian government after 1993. And, as India is dragged deeper into the WTO whirlpool, failing to protect its homegrown products against even cheaper imports, so Agarwal has fixed his sights on export markets to an extent unprecedented in the country's history. This is not to say that Sterlite fails to "serve" its host country in some respects. Like any putative mining mogul Agarwal can point to a modest employment roster in India, while retaining some value to the land of his birth.

However this all seems like mere icing on a distinctly alien sponge, when compared with the reliance Agarwal places on exports, the manipulations - verging on chicanery - of his market manipulations within India, and the degree to which he has risked the lives of workers and filched the resources of India's indigenous peoples.

Shri Agarwal is perhaps the best example of a homegrown capitalist betraying the ideals on which his country's independence was predicated. At the same time (and, for some critics an even worse sin) he's fishing for the pearls while throwing his net far away from home, comfortably insulated against further domestic scrutiny.

If this sounds like idle rhetoric reflect on this: in the first quarter of 2003, Sterlite's sales rose 14%. Its export turnover grew threefold (by 201%) while its domestic turnover fell by nearly a quarter. The company's tax provision tumbled by 84%, to a large extent because the increase in exports enabled the company to benefit from tax breaks on export profits.

The domestic scrutinies started more than a decade ago when Sterlite tried locating a copper smelter in the state of Maharashtra. Many local people vigorously opposed the project and they won the day. In October 1994, and with Tamil Nadu state backing, Sterlite brought the smelter on-stream at Tuticorin, on India's southernmost tip.

Environmentalists accused the company of issuing the Tuticorin Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) even before all the data was in - then changing its parameters after the event. Greenpeace's Dave Santillo in 1995 declared the EIA "one of the most shoddy pieces of work I have ever seen": it omitted critical references to suspended particulates and heavy metals in the smelter discharges. Coastal protection regulations were ignored, even as the plant emitted large quantities of arsenic, sulphur dioxide, lead, cadmium, antimony and bismuth.

The unions were also hopping mad, claiming that Sterlite repeatedly violated basic safety standards at the Tuticorin plant and exploited ill-trained contract workers. Warnings of a likely disaster were ignored until, in mid 1997, the top of the rotary kiln exploded causing molten metal to shower down upon the workforce, maiming two men and reducing two others to charred bone. Finally, in 1999, following a short enforced closure, the plant was allowed to re-open, though Sterlite was instructed it must submit a new environmental management plan, particularly because the smelter lay only 25 kms from the ecologically fragile Gulf of Manna. In mid-2001 the plant secured an ISO 14001 classification.

Meanwhile, in 1998, the Securities Bureau of India (Sebi) condemned Sterlite, and two other private Indian companies, for insider trading - a decision "Frontline" columnist, Praful Bidwai, called "the greatest indictment by any statutory body yet of corporate malfeasance in the stock market". Sterlite was banned from accessing the market for two years; thirty four brokers on Bombay's Stock Exchange (BSE) were also found guilty of collusion in the scam.

Agarwal had collaborated in the share price rigging with a "promoter" called Harshad Mehta. Six years earlier, in April 1992, Mehta had been found guilty of helping himself to a cool five billion rupees from the State Bank of India, by making a receipt "vanish". This hadn't prevented him from later launching a web site to dispense stock tips and analyse market trends. Nor did it deter various newspapers from publishing his gobbets of wisdom. Mehta also offered his dubious services to companies of precarious financial standing. Among these was Sterlite.

Investigations by Sebi showed that, between April and June 1998, Sterlite's scrip price moved up 41 per cent, just before the company made a bid for the Indal Alumininum company although the actual conversion price was one the company couldn't afford.

Despite limited access to funds, Mehta had set up a large network of front companies. Known collectively as the Damayanti Group, this soon acquired a hefty chunk of Sterlite's floating stock, 30,000 shares of which were provided by Sterlite as a loan, through its associate Madras Aluminium. Faced with problems in repayment, Damayanti began "rolling over" its positions from one bourse (stock exchange) to another, transferring positions among brokers though a system of credit notes.

Since there was little money to call upon, Harshad Mehta inevitably went broke. When Sebi tried to identify the front companies and link them back to him, so his cronies fudged their answers and tried covering their tracks. Finally, by tracing telephone bills, payments to lawyers and traffic with various brokers. Sebi managed to lift the corporate veil. The bureau discovered that the companies had lent Harshad funds in order to build up his concentrated position, leading to an artificial market boom and eventual implosion of the investments. In some respects, this was an earlier, Indian, version of the "Enron scam".
The key to Mehta's market manipulations were his dealings with three Indian companies, BPL, Videocon and Sterlite. They were barred from accessing the capital market for four, three and two years respectively.


Agarwalla goes to the Balco

Sterlite's 2001 takeover of state-owned Balco (Bharat Aluminium Company) provoked one of the major political controversies of that year. (Sterlite's further acquisition of a 65.9 % controlling stake in Hindustan Zinc was less remarked upon at the time. Last week, however, a challenge was mounted in India's Supreme Court to the legality of the government's sale).

This wasn't the first time Agarwal had tried appropriating an Indian aluminium major. As we have just seen, he bid for Indal by soliciting shares from its investors but then couldn't pay. It took an order from the Delhi High Court, four years later, to force him to cough up. Indal is now owned by the Birlas, through Hindalco, and is the largest shareholder in the Utkal alumina joint venture, UAIL (of which more below)...
Of course India isn't the only nation of late to sell off one of its most profitable national minerals enterprises to the private sector. The Brazilian government did it with CVRD; Bolivia with Comibol; Peru did so wholesale under its now-disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori. First past the post in implementing this key tenet of neo-liberal orthodoxy was Britain's "Iron Lady", Margaret Thatcher. She reified her splenetic hatred of the leftwing National Mineworkers Union into policy by crippling and stripping the world's longest-surviving state-owned coal industry.

But, even among this sorry bunch of betrayals, the abject surrender of Balco - let alone to an outfit like Sterlite - stinks of unprecedented expediency and under-handedness. This hasty sale of 51% of India's third biggest aluminium company (brokered by Jardine Fleming of Hong Kong) was seen by some as a "pre budget manoeuvre" to balance the government's shaky books. There are allegations that India's rightwing central administration deliberately prevented Balco from modernising on its own terms and with its own funds. In any event, the company was grossly undervalued: according to some estimates, Sterlite secured assets worth up to ten times what it paid for them.

Another critical issue (though seemingly since lost in the shuffle) was raised at this time by the Kolkota (Calcutta)-based "Telegraph". The newspaper claimed there were documents showing that Balco produced special lightweight aluminium alloys used in India's Prithvi and Agni series of intermediate nuclear missiles and rocket components; Balco allegedly supplied the casings for India's nuclear tests of 1998. The company was "bound by a supply-and-production agreement with the Department of Defence Supplies to keep this technology secret".

The agreement (S. NO 1(3)/90/T(SI)/CPO(VG)-1645) also bound to secrecy, not only metallurgists who helped develop the alloys, but also "all scientists, engineers, other officers and technical hands who came to know about the technology, its use or manufacture." An obvious fear was that by, selling the company to Sterlite, details of the technology might be leaked to outsiders.

The most immediate putative victims of the Balco "fire sale" were members of its workforce, threatened by redundancies and loss of benefits. Seven thousand workers in the newly-formed "indigenous" state of Chhattisgarh came out on a lengthy strike and Mr A M Ansari, the working president of the Bharat Aluminium Employees Union (a member of CITU), was summarily dismissed by Sterlite's management on the pretext of his bad behaviour some three years before.

Over the longer term those who stand to suffer worst are the Adivasi (tribal) communities of Orissa, whose rights to prohibit mining on their scheduled territory under the historic 1997 Samatha ruling, have been flagrantly violated. Indeed, Agarwal told the "Times of India" in early 2001 that he had "no idea [about the Samatha judgment]".

For many decades, India's bauxite has attracted attention from the large, integrated, aluminium producers. The country hosts the fifth (or sixth) largest global reserves, nearly two thirds of which are in Orissa and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. When the central government tried to auction off the National Aluminium Company (NALCO) during 2002 and early 2003, almost every major manufacturer of the miracle metal put in a bid, or considered doing so.

Fortunately union-led opposition to yet another surrender of national patrimony, backed by various politicians and civil society organisations, has scuppered the scheme - at least for the time being. As a result, BHPBilliton's enthusiasm for sourcing alumina from India appears to have dimmed, while Rio Tinto seems somewhat jaundiced by Orissa anyway.

However, Pechiney of France already has a long involvement in India and is sure to remain; its newfound global partner, Alcan, has been there since 1944. Russian, and especially Chinese, appetites for alumina are growing at an alarming rate. China's demand is expected to double this year alone, with the increase dependent on imports. The international scramble for India's bauxite may have only just begun.
It's not surprising then that, after grabbing Balco, Sterlite didn't wait long before securing the bauxite resources around Lanjigarh in south-western Orissa. These are located just to the north of the Baphlimali concession held by Utkal Alumina International Ltd (UAIL).

The latter's exploits have already sparked an outcry around the world, not least when police murdered three community protestors at an unarmed community demonstration in Maikanch, during December 2000. Yet, so far, Balco/Sterlite's own exploits in the region have gone virtually unnoticed by the outside world. Until last year such apathy could be explained by the fact that UAIL was dominated by two high-profile global companies - Alcan of Canada and (until its belated withdrawal) Norway's premier corporate enterprise, Norsk Hydro. Now that Vedanta is based in London ignorance is no longer an excuse.

In fact Sterlite/Vedanta has gone much further than UAIL, arguably with an even more cavalier disregard for local people . Thanks to the billion or more pounds of new investment on which it can now call, Sterlite now has the wherewithal to boost Balco's throughput to a level matching (or even surpassing) its rivals.
The proposed million tonnes a year alumina plant at Lanjigarh will refine bauxite from the Nyamgiri hills (5km south of the village) which contains reserves of over 70 million tonnes. The local government in mid-2002 estimated that twelve villages would be negatively impacted by the project, sixty families would need to be "relocated" and five times as many would be adversely affected by land acquisition. According to Sterlite, 1073.4 hectares (2683.5 acres) of land is required, but the company seems to have neglected to produce an exact figure of those likely to be uprooted.

It is notoriously difficult in India (and indeed many other countries) to make accurate assessments of those who'll be "affected" by an extractive project, and to what extent. Often surveys will not include many who are dependent on the land but lack clear title to it. The project's proponents will ignore or underestimate the nature of impacts: for example, the degree to which women, especially mothers, will become further deprived; whether even more families will be shifted as the project advances; the degree to which exhaustion or pollution of water supplies and curtailment of market access increase endemic poverty. One can nonetheless be sure that figures currently cited in the Balco case are highly conservative.


Nut crackers

You'll be forgiven if you're not aware of the resistance to Balco in Orissa which predates the Sterlite takeover. Villagers successfully spiked the company's plans to trespass on another bauxite deposit, in the Sasuobohumali area of Kashipur. As an example of Gandhian satyagraha it deserves more than just a footnote to any decent history of non-violent community self-determination.

Last April the opposition to Balco in Lanjigarh was stepped up. A local leader, Lingaraj Azad now found himself under attack. The following (abridged) report, by an Indian civil liberties organisation, describes what happened.

On 2nd April 2003, Lingaraj was arrested in Lanjigarh apparently for speaking out against the Sterlite plans. Nearly 250 unarmed people, including 150 women and children, set out for Lanjigarh Police Station to ask why. But, before reaching it, they were attacked by around a hundred people with lathis (staves), cricket bats and stumps. The villagers are sure their attackers belonged to a "youth club" (Yubak Sangha) that's funded by Balco. On trying to flee the protestors were chased to Basantpada village where their assailants started attacking houses, destroying cooking utensils and food grains, breaking doors and damaging roofs. Shortly afterwards, two representatives of the affected villagers asked the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) to send in a fact- finding team - which it did.

The team visited several villages in the project area and recorded injuries visible on peoples' bodies. The inhabitants admitted that they hadn't lodged any complaint with the police since they were scared they would be beaten again; in any case they considered the police to be "hand in glove" with their attackers.
The majority of the population in the villages visited by PUCL belongs to the Kutia Kandh tribe, which depends on agriculture and the collection of forest produce. Farming is totally rain-fed and, during years of drought (as in 2003), villagers have to leave their homes in search of work, or else depend on forest gathering. (By contrast, lack of water seems of much less little concern to Vedanta/Sterlite. The company intends to construct a weir across the river Bansadhara at Bilatipadar, thus assuring a year-round supply to its alumina refinery).

Local people had first become aware of Balco's specific plans when the Kalahandi district collector served notice for acquisition of land in June 6 2002 and "invited" them to register their opinions (or complaints) about the project. Despite a woeful lack of notice (by comparison those affected by World Bank/IFC project are given an initial 90 days breathing space), nearly one thousand people reportedly assembled at the Revenue Office on June 22nd and submitted a memorandum opposing the project, for forwarding to Orissa's Chief Minister, Navin Patnaik. Close on two hundred individual protest petitions were also filed. Four days later, another gathering in Batelima was dominated by villagers calling for complete cancellation of the project.

From mid 2002 Indian government officials reportedly paid many visits to dissident villages in a largely fruitless attempt to persuade inhabitants to quit their land on promise of compensation. Towards the end of March 2003 seven residents of Turigada, arrested by police, were freed when women gheraoed (blockaded) the vehicle carrying them. Soon afterwards villagers at Basantpada were said to have snatched instruments used by a company-commissioned survey team and issued threats against its members. On April 1st, Lingaraj Azad went to Lanjigarh in an attempt to persuade pro-company residents that they should also fight the project. Instead, the villagers took him to the police station where - based on the surveyors' complaints - he was arrested, sent to court and bailed the following day.

Disturbingly Lingaraj later told the PUCL that, while in police lock-up, he overheard the officer in charge telephoning instructions to pro-Sterlite "youth club" members in Lanjigarh to "beat up men and women with cricket bats and stumps". And, indeed, this is what occurred the following day.

PUCL concluded that the police and the administration were, at best, dismissive of local peoples' fears and, at worst, complicit in attacks made upon them. "It is hard to believe that [the area] is a part of the same India that the elite continuously brags about having catapulted into twenty-first century. [It is] a tribal-dominated area, but very few welfare-schemes meant for their development, seem to have reached them. The level of awareness, particularly about their fundamental rights, is distressingly low. The condition of these people is a great reflection on the 'developmental' priorities of our governmentThe government has to share responsibility for these people's deplorable living condition. But instead, it appearshell-bent upon handing over these mineral-rich areas to the private companies like Sterlite, at the cost of total destitution of these hapless people".

"The people are terrorized, and believe (perhaps rightly) that their attackers enjoy the support of the police. This apprehension of the people is reinforced by the fact that the attackers admit in public that they have attacked the agitating villagers...Now they are scared even to enter Lanjigarh village".
The investigators conceded that "[t]here is a division within the local people about the Sterlite Project. [It] seems to have caught the imagination of some people, particularly non-tribal youths and the local elites, that it would be the harbinger for development, growth and employment in this backward region. (Kalahandi district has almost become a metaphor for backwardness and starvation deaths)[U]nless attended to in a proper way, this division might take an ethnic character in the future i.e. tribals vs. non-tribals as in some other areas of the state."

As PUCL concluded: "The government, instead of displacing people....in the name of development, should take measures to augment the local resource base - like constructing irrigation projects in the area to supplement peoples' livelihood."

Over the succeeding months, PUCL's fears were partially borne out. In June, 2003 thirty protestors, belonging to an organisation called Nyamgiri Surakshya Samiti (by then active for a year) damaged the project's foundation stone soon after it was laid by Patnaik. Three hundred Adivasis, wanting to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister, condemning the planned destruction of the Nyamgiri hills, were prevented from doing so by the police.

Shortly afterwards, Anil Agarwal - accompanied by representatives of BHPBilliton and the JP Morgan bank - urged Patnaik to "speed up" Orissa's mineral development. A representative of the Lokshakti Abhiyan movement, Prafula Samantra, confirmed that the project was a direct violation of the Samatha Judgment, prohibiting the alienation of tribal lands.

Two years earlier Agarwal had confessed ignorance of the Samata ruling. Now both he and Gilbertson have no excuse.


"We three kings of the Orient are - following the Twin Star?"

By now you may agree there's more than enough evidence to assert that, by accepting Vedanta/Sterlite so uncritically into its bosom, the London Stock Exchange has betrayed any pretence of promoting "transparency" or "corporate social responsibility".

But the LSE may also have failed to carry out its less irksome routine duty of a thorough "due diligence" study into the company's chain of ownership. This is not, of course, the same as a "chain of command" - at the top of which Agarwal and Gilberston are quite clearly perched...

It was in September 2003 that Agarwal publicly announced he intended to resurrect Sterlite as Vedanta on the LSE. The regulatory authorities delayed the launch for two months, ostensibly to investigate the new company's murky financial attributes. Unravelling the cat's cradle was - as one city broker described it last November - "a bit of a nightmare". Indeed, if the British regulators now know exactly what holding Agarwal and other Indian opportunists, have in Sterlite Industries, they're more astute than Indians who've been trying to untie the knots for quite a while. As Lex, the Financial Times' columnist, enigmatically commented in early December "[Sterlite[ has a complicated structure and a chequered corporate governance history"
At the root of this "complicated structure" is an outfit called Twin Star Holdings, located in the tax haven of Mauritius. Up until last year, this was widely assumed to be Agarwal's own holding company with a majority ownership of Sterlite Industries. In 1998 Twin Star made its first major move towards an offshore company when it agreed a major equity investment in Canada's First Dynasty Mines, founded by that illustrious mining renegade, Robert "Toxic Bob" Friedland.

Through Twin Star, Sterlite agreed to invest US$7.5 million in First Dynasty, entitling the Indian company to appoint three of its own directors and eventually ending up with about 43% of the Canadian-based company. Agarwal's main objective was to ease Sterlite into First Dynasty's Zod gold project in Armenia (fortuitously named as the "country of the year" at the 2003 World Congress on Mines and Money held in London). In February 1999, Agarwal and two of his colleagues did indeed join First Dynasty's board whose top dog was Marcus Randolph, hot foot from a stint as one of Rio Tinto's senior managers. Soon after, Twin Star's investment in First Dynasty was completed.

Little was then heard about Twin Star until 2003 when the company confirmed it held 55% of Sterlite stock, with another 7.13 per cent owned by Sterlite's Madras Aluminium Company which, it claimed, was owned 80% by Twin Star. Perhaps little remarkable there. However, in October - just as the Vedanta elephant was being paraded for its first public inspection - Twin Star announced it wanted to raise its stake in Sterlite to 75%. The Indian authorities feared that Balco and Hindustan Zinc might now pass to a new owner: such a transfer had been specifically proscribed when Sterlite took over the companies. (A separate, but related, fear was that, by going overseas to accrue new investment for Sterlite, Agarwal might reduce the Indian government's remaining interest in Balco and Hindustan Zinc to less than 26 per cent. This is the minimum equity required for India to block any board resolution).

As the Indian authorities tried coping with these dilemmas, the Finance ministry's foreign investment unit revealed that the real owner of Twin Star wasn't Agarwal after all but a Mr Vinod Shah. Yet another Non-resident Indian based in London, Shah had acquired a 100% stake in Twin Star through his holding company Volcan Investments Ltd. It wasn't clear then whether the provisions of Sebi's "Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers (SAST)" regulations had been violated and, to our knowledge, it still isn't clear.

That Anil Agarwal may not control most of Vedanta's share capital is clearly an important point at issue. But, much more worrying, is the prospect that - come rain or come shine (Agarwal or Shah) - what's left of Indian control of two major, formerly publicly-owned companies, may diminish into impotence. This must be of overwhelming concern, especially to the workers, Indigenous peoples and politicians who vociferously opposed these unwarranted sell-offs in the first place.

Alas many others - whether inside India or out of it - won't lose an ounce of sleep over these matters. In a mere ten years, between 1990 and 2000, Sterlite's turnover increased a monstrous 83-fold (sic) while its net value rose 4,000%.

For the bountiful brokers, acquisitory analysts, and indiscriminate investors of London who toasted Agarwal and Gilbertson a month ago, this seems to be the only bottom line that counts.

Markets

The Times September 26, 2006

Stock markets

Zambian fears combine with metals sell-off to hit Vedanta
By Nick Hasell
Larger capitalisation shares
A SELL-OFF in metals markets coupled with jitters ahead of Thursdays elections in copper-rich Zambia left Vedanta Resources with the worst position in a retreating FTSE 100.

With oil prices falling beneath $60 a barrel, a six-month low, gold which is commonly used as a hedge against inflation also came under pressure. So too did non-precious metals, such as copper. Weak US housing data fuelled concerns over slowing economic growth in the US a key factor in the switching by funds out of commodities and metals over the past few months.

Those conditions meant yesterdays FTSE 100 losers were dominated by the natural resources sector, either in the form of oil majors such as BP, off 10p at 563p or miners, with BHP Billiton down 34p at 853p and Xstrata 77p cheaper at 20.36.

But it was Indias Vedanta that came off worst, with this weeks presidential poll in Lusaka giving short-term investors an additional reason to shun its shares. Incumbent Levy Mwanawasa, who is seeking a second and final term, faces a challenger in the Patriotic Fronts Michael Sata, who earlier this month was predicted by opinion polls to win 52 per cent of the vote, against Mwanawasas 27 per cent. Although yesterdays final Zambian opinion poll put Mwanawasa unexpectedly back in the lead, natural resources investors have been unsettled by Mr Satas threats to raise taxes on foreign-owned mines, and limit the stakes foreign companies can hold in mining projects.

Vedanta owns 51 per cent of Konkola, Zambias largest copper producer, where it has recently invested $400 million (210 million). Vedanta faded 81p to 11.12, with the FTSE 100 down 24.0 at 5,798.3.

Mines & Communities Website

Agarwal accused of violating Armenian laws - while Vedanta continues its rampages through India - by Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to Corpwatch USA


Anil Agarwal, executive chairman of Vedanga Resources plc, was last week cited for yet another string of major violations - this time for his operations (through Sterlite Gold) in Armenia.

It could hardly be worse: the Armenian government's Ministry of Nature Protection is charging him with " violations of land allocation; uncertified laboratory work; improper control of drill samples; and underground mining termed "illegal"." The ministry also alleges that Sterlite has under-estimated gold reserves at Zod "by more than 2 times".

The news came in a story published on November 17 by Mineweb, the mining industry's leading electronic news service, based in South Africa.

In London Vedanta's PR outfit says it is their "understanding" that the operations are separately owned by Agarwal and not Vedanta. In fact the Zod gold mine was included in the inventory of assets offered to investors when Vedanta made its London float in late 2003. Four years earlier, First Dynasty - a company then controlled by the notorious Robert Friedland - had sold a major stake in Zod to Twin Star, the holding company owned by Agarwal, which also has 54% of Vedanta Resources plc. Agarwal was made chairman of the Zod gold mining company in 1999.

One of the options open to Agarwal, in order to extricate himself personally from Armenia is to arrange a fire sale of the failed gold mine and its companion operation, using Vedanta itself to make a bid.


Vedanta Undermines Indian Communities

A tribal temple on Shervaroyan Peak in the hills of Yercaud in Southern India recently developed several large cracks. Built several centuries ago, the temple has withstood colonization and independence. But of late, a new mine threatens to destroy this historic site. Vedanta, a fast-growing British company, owns a subsidiary Madras Aluminium Company Limited (MALCO) that has been strip mining this and nearby peaks for bauxite, the ore that yields aluminium used in products from throwaway soda cans to aircraft bodies.

From where he stands, K. Babu can see the deep red gashes ripped into the hillside barely 100 meters from the temple. He and other community activists charge that MALCO is a heavy weight player in the local economy and politics, and a significant contributor to environmental degradation. Theres a limit to exploitation. Nothing is sacred any more, says the president of the local youth federation. Their only botheration is to excavate more and more. Maintaining ecology is not at all an issue.

MALCOs operations in the southern Indian state of Tamilnadu span more than 60 kilometers from the mist-clad Yercaud and Kolli hills to the impressive earthen dam and reservoir on the averi River in Mettur.

On the banks of the huge reservoir, MALCO operates a smelter and a refinery complex where locally mined bauxite is converted into aluminium. A mountain of toxic red mud a by-product of aluminum production is separated from the reservoir by a flimsy embankment.

MALCO is a small cog in the giant wheel that is Vedanta Resources, a company set up by British billionaire businessman Anil Agarwal. Born in eastern India, he started out as a scrap metal merchant in Mumbai, before moving to London 30 years ago. Agarwals fortunes soared as the small Indian company he set up in 1988 rode the telecom boom, supplying copper cables to telecom companies in India.


Vedanta in India

Today, Vedanta is a vertically-integrated behemoth with an impressive international portfolio comprising copper, bauxite (aluminium), zinc, lead and gold. It has raised almost $1 billion on the London Stock Exchange and has started to snap up mines in Zambia and Australia.

In India, which remains its production base, the company runs a giant copper smelter in the coastal town of Tuticorin in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and aluminium smelters in the central and east Indian states of Chattisgarh and Orissa. According to the companys annual report, it plans to start a massive captive mine in the Niyamagiri hills of Orissa, a smelter in nearby Lanjigarh, and a refinery also in Orissa.

According to activists, the projects threaten densely forested areas that are home to tiger, Indian bison, bear, and elephant. The effected human population includes impoverished tribal communities, some of whom charge that Vedantas projects are illegal, and that the state and central governments are colluding with the company to circumvent environmental protections.

Nobody wants to take on Sterlite. They have built entire plants within their copper complex [in Tuticorin] with no permission from any of the authorities and without fear of reprisal," says Fatima Babu, a womens activist and fisher leader from Tuticorin. "The government machinery has not just tolerated Sterlites violations but facilitated it.

Faced with community opposition, Sterlite has set up a foundation to address local needs and sited seven of its 18 centers in Tuticorin, Sterlite Coppers hometown.

"We don't do anything extraordinary," S. Chaamundi, country head of the foundations child welfare program told Indias Financial Express. "But the glow in the eyes of the children when they feel that they have someone to bother about them, the shine in the face of the poor parents when they report their child also say 'sorry' and 'thank you,' like the children in the homes they work as housemaids or coolies, make us feel we are doing something worthwhile."


Telling Tales from Tuticorin

These social welfare programs have done little to blunt a long history of opposition to Vedanta or to counter evidence that it has polluted the environment, poisoned locals, and colluded with officials to bypass environmental protections.

In less than 8 years, 139 people have been injured and 13 killed by accidents or pollution from the Tuticorin smelter complex, according to documented reports and testimony from workers. [See box on Occupational Injuries and Deaths at Sterlite]

Complaints about the company began mounting in the mid-1990s, when protesters in Ratnagiri in the western state of Maharashtra cited environmental concerns to block Sterlite from building a smelter and to force the state to revoke the companys license. Shortly after, a Tamil Nadu government invitation to Sterlite to build a plant in Tuticorin sparked massive protests by residents
-- particularly fisherfolk.

But the Tamil Nadu project had the blessing of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram, who laid the foundation stone for the complex. Less than four months after applying to build the smelter, Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) granted conditional licenses to construct a 140,000 ton-a-year copper smelter and associated plants.

That license stipulated that the unit be at least 25 kilometers from the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park in order to protect the regions ecology its famed coral islands and exotic species such as dugongs, sea turtles, and pearl oysters -- from sulphur dioxide, arsenic and lead emissions.

In 1995, ignoring the TNPCBs instructions, Sterlite erected the smelter complex including a mothballed smelter scavenged from the U.S. 16 kilometers from one of the protected islands. Rather than act on the violation, the pollution board granted the company an operating license to manufacture up to 40,000 tons of blister copper.

In 1996, local resistance came to a head when fisher folk used an armada of small boats to prevent ships carrying Sterlites raw material copper concentrate from entering the Tuticorin harbour. But resistance waned after the government conceded to one of the protesters demands: to prohibit disposing the effluents at sea.

Within two years a spate of accidents and gas leaks from the factory spurred the Madras High Court to commission a report on pollution by Sterlite. NEERI a national environmental engineering laboratory faulted the company for discharging dangerous levels of pollution into the environment and recommended the companys closure. Barely three months later, the same court reversed itself, cleared Sterlite, and recommended its reopening.




Occupational Injuries and Deaths at Sterlite.

Sterlite denies that many of these incidents were caused by the company. Speaking about the July 1997 incident where women workers at a neighboring cut-flowers factory, charged that they had been exposed to toxic gas from the plant, Agarwal told the media that "The incident has nothing do with our factory and there was no leakage of any kind of gas from our plant."


Date Description of Injury/Fatality

1997 Killed: Explosion at the plant. 2 persons reduced to charred bone; 2 workers maimed. July
1997 Injured: Toxic gas leak from Sterlite. 120 people exposed. 45 (42 women and 3 men)
hospitalised.

August 1997 Exposed: Workers at nearby Tamilnadu Electricity Board substation suffer headache, coughing and choking due to smoke emanating from Sterlite.

August 1997 Killed: Two contract workers killed, one injured.

April 1998 Killed: Two employees killed, four injured.

March 1999 Injured: Sterlite Gas Leak 9 employees of All India Radio hospitalised

September 2000 Injured: Two workers sustain acid burn injuries.

November 2000 Sterlite pumps toxic effluents into village pond. Villagers detain factory employees.

July 2001 Killed: Worker trapped under Gypsum load.

August 2003 Killed: Lorry cleaner killed during loading

August 2003 Killed: Lorry cleaner killed while loading Rock Phosphate

December 2003 Killed: Welder succumbs to a fall

2003 Killed: Electrician killed. Another worker injured.

May 2004 Killed: Worker dies after fall from lorry

September 2004 Killed: Contract worker run over by crane

Source: Sterlite workers and ex-workers, 2005.
Cited in Business India, March 13, 2005

Then, weeks after the facility re-opened, nine employees of a neighboring radio station who were hospitalised, blamed a gas leak at the factory.

By September 2004, when a Monitoring Committee (SCMC) empowered by the Supreme Court visited Sterlite, the plant was churning out four times the allowed levels of pollutants, according to the Vedantas Annual Report 2004.

In the face of this record, some environmental and human rights activists are confident that local resistance will gain strength. The [anti-Sterlite] campaign is bound to pick up because of [Agarwals] arrogant expansionism, says T.S.S. Mani of Human Rights Tamilnadu Initiative, a Chennai-based voluntary organisation.


Other activists remain sceptical.

I dont know how we are going to succeed given the level of [government] collusion, Fatima Babu says. Even now, they are going ahead with illegal expansions and business as usual.

That cynicism is fueled by the fact that all the new construction in Tuticorin has occurred without the environmental clearances legally required by both the central and state governments, and that other illegal construction at the Orissa site continues.

At the time of the Supreme Court monitoring committees 2004 visit to Tuticorin, Sterlite had nearly completed construction of a 300,000 ton-per-year copper smelter, a 127,000 ton copper refinery, a power plant, and several other units. None had government approval.

Nonetheless, barely a day after the committees visit, the central government gave post-facto clearance to the already constructed plants despite the fact that Sterlite had never gotten the pollution boards consent to built them. The board approval came in April 2005 when the factory was ready for production. According to a July 2005 Supreme Court Committee report the TNPCB
claimed that it consented after the Central Ministry ordering it to do so.

Senior TNPCB officials declined to comment. Ill get into trouble if I speak to you. Please dont ask me anything, said R. Ramachandran, member secretary (acting) of the board. A faxed letter seeking clarification on the reasons for TNPCBs failure to force compliance, elicited a cryptic response from Surjeet K. Choudhary, secretary to the Tamilnadu government and temporary board chairman. Board is taking necessary action, he wrote.

Phone calls and emails to Secretary to the Union Environment Ministry Prodipto Ghosh and to public relations chief Maria Doss went unanswered.


Deforestation and Evictions

The controversies have apparently not affected the companys bottom line. The man behind Vedanta/Sterlite, Anil Agarwal, reported that attributable profits for year ending in March 2005 were up 66 percent to $120 million". This has been an exceptional period for metal prices driven by strong demand from China," as well as for "increased foreign investment and the potential [for India] to become a major regional manufacturing hub," he said in Vedantas annual report. Agarwal acknowledged that the company had benefited from the political climate. The Congress Party, elected in May 2004, "has maintained a policy of growth and liberalization" favorable to his company, he reported.

That growth is in no small part a consequence of Agarwals ability to work the system. Indias commerce minister P. Chidambaram was on the Vedanta board until his party assumed power in New Delhi last year. His replacement, 70-year old Naresh Chandra, is a former cabinet secretary and senior advisor to the prime minister of India from 1992 to 1995, and Indian ambassador to the US from 1996 to 2001.

A cartoon in Business India depicts the Vedanta/Sterlite founder squeezing himself through an hour-glass saying In India, you must have patience. Everything will come through. Many concede that the London-based billionaires understanding of Indias decision-makers is frighteningly accurate.

Ritwick Dutta, a Supreme Court lawyer who has brought Vedantas violations in Orissa to court, says that the company adopts a time-tested strategy: They dont go for small violations. They go in for massive violations, bring it to light and then get post-facto clearance after payment of an insignificant fine. In Orissa, they chopped down trees on 58 hectares, and gladly paid the fine of Rs. 30,000 or so ($650). Now, they have gone ahead and clear-felled another 1,000 hectares of forests in Chattisgarh.

On September 21, another Supreme Court monitoring committee, this time the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Forests, recommended revoking Vedanta Alumina Ltds environmental clearance for a 1 million ton aluminium refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa. The CEC found that Vedanta had falsified information, destroyed 58 hectares of forest land and begun construction without the required clearances.

The refinerys viability is dependent on mining the nearby Niyamagiri hills which are in a reserve forest. But the company failed to disclose this while seeking permission for the refinery, says Dutta. Their strategy is to quickly invest money and build the refinery and then plead with the authorities that their investment nearly Rs. 3500 crores ($780 million) would be rendered unviable if the mine is not cleared. The Lanjigarh plant is nearing completion, while the mining proposal has yet to secure approval.

Company head Agarwal brushed aside these concerns in his annual report. "There have been some public interest submissions to a Supreme Court of India sub-committee, regarding the environmental clearances for the bauxite mining and these are currently being addressed.

Some activists suspect that the ways the company is addressing the problem is not to ameliorate damage, but to work its special relationship with government officials. According to Dutta and the CEC, the situation at Orissa throws the integrity of the authorities in question.

Indeed, the CEC hints at complicity between the company, the Union Ministry of Environment and the Orissa government. In its report, the committee writes: The casual approach, the lackadaisical manner and the haste with which the entire issue of forests and environmental clearance for the alumina refinery project has been dealt with smacks of undue favour/leniency and does not inspire confidence with regard to the willingness and resolve of both the State Government and the MoEF to deal with such matters keeping in view the ultimate goal of national and public interest.

Besides the clear cutting, there is the issue of demolition of tribal villages on the land that Sterlite wanted to occupy, says Dutta. In 2004, two tribal villages were razed, and the residents were forcibly relocated to resettlement camps. Since then, two more villages have been evicted with help from the state police and company-sponsored goons, according to tribal rights activist Prafulla Samantara.

As of November 10, armed police stationed around Lanjigarh were preventing tribals and activists from congregating at the plant gate to protest the Vedanta projects illegal construction, said Samantara. Police have detained several tribal leaders and their supporters, he said, and a cordon around the village was keeping him from protest site.

The non-profit Peoples Union of Civil Liberties investigated the human rights violations reported by Lanjigarh residents and concluded: It is hard to believe that [the area] is a part of the same India that the elite continuously brags about having catapulted into twenty-first century. ...The people are terrorised, and believe (perhaps rightly) that their attackers enjoy the support of the police. This apprehension of the people is reinforced by the fact that the attackers admit in public that they have attacked the agitating villages.

Nityanand Jayaraman is a Chennai-based journalist investigating and reporting on corporations and their impact on environment and human rights.

Bloomberg - 6 October 2006

Zambia plans to raise copper-mining tax to 2,5%


Zambia's former Finance Minister Ngandu Magande said the country plans to increase the sales tax paid by copper and cobalt mining companies to 2,5 percent, Reuters reported, citing an interview with Magande.

The company currently charges them 0,6 percent, the newswire said on Thursday. Magande is expected to retain his post as finance minister after President Levy Mwanawasa, re-elected on Oct. 2, names his new cabinet, it added.

The country will also force the companies to increase the pay of qualified Zambians to match the salaries of expatriate workers, Reuters said.

Zambia plans to increase economic growth to between 7 percent and 8 percent, from current levels of 5 percent, the newswire said.

Vedanta Resources PLC
10 October 2006

Vedanta Resources plc
Production Report for the Second Quarter and
Six Months Ended 30 September 2006


Highlights


Higher aluminium, zinc and Indian copper production volumes

Full commissioning of BALCO new smelter back on track

Ongoing exploration at Hindustan Zinc increases reserves

Acquisition of Sterlite Gold Ltd completed



Performance Summary

Production volumes for aluminium, zinc and Copper - India during the six months
ended 30 September 2006 ('H1') were higher than in the corresponding six months
of the previous year due to the progressive commissioning of the new Korba II
smelter and the ramp up of the new Tuticorin and Chanderiya smelters in the
second half of the last financial year.

The de-bottlenecking project at our Tuticorin copper smelter to enhance capacity
to 400,000 tpa is progressing well and will be completed by December 2006. Our
Phase II expansion projects are progressing on schedule with orders for critical
equipment and packages placed. The alumina refinery at Lanjigarh is in the final
run up for commissioning.

Mined metal production at KCM improved as compared to the preceding two
quarters. Refined copper production was lower primarily due to a planned
shutdown of our Nkana smelter.

The inventory build up at the end of the last quarter has been largely sold down
during the current quarter.

On 30 September 2006, we completed the acquisition of 80.8% of Sterlite Gold
Ltd's shares.


Aluminium

The existing plants at BALCO and MALCO continue to operate as per plan and at
their rated capacity. The new Korba smelter produced 44,000 tonnes during this
quarter, taking its total production in H1 to 86,000 tonnes. The impact of the
tripping of the power plant in Korba in May 2006 has been overcome in a very
short span of time due to the sustained and focused work done by our team. A
total of 130 pots that were affected have now been readied and are being
commissioned progressively. As of 30 September 2006, a total of 265 pots were
commissioned and the remaining 23 pots are expected to be commissioned during
October 2006. The performance of the pot room has been improving steadily and we
expect to reach our rated capacity towards the end of this financial year.

The inventory build-up of 13,000 tonnes of metal at the end of the last quarter
has been largely sold down with higher sales during this quarter.

The 1-1.4 mtpa alumina refinery at Lanjigarh is progressing well. We are now in
the final run up for commissioning and expect to charge the bauxite by
January 2007. As previously stated, in respect of the bauxite mine permits, the
matter is still pending with the Central Ministry of Environment and Forests,
which is yet to file their response in the Indian Supreme Court.

Preparatory work for the new 500,000 tpa aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda, Orissa
is progressing well and over two-third of the orders have been awarded. The
first phase of 250,000 tpa is likely to be commissioned by the second half of
2009, as scheduled.

The World Environment Foundation, in association with the Institute of
Directors, India awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Special Commendation
Award 2006 for Environment Management to BALCO in recognition of its world-class
environment practices. BALCO also won the Greentech Environment Excellence Gold
Award 2006 for the second consecutive year. This award is instituted by the
Greentech Foundation towards outstanding environmental performance, efforts and
commitment to environmental management.


Copper - India and Australia

The copper smelter at Tuticorin performed well with cathode production at 80,000
tonnes during the quarter and 137,000 tonnes in H1. De-bottlenecking of this
smelter to improve rated capacity to 400,000 tpa is on track and we expect this
to be completed on schedule by December 2006. Mined metal production at our
Australian mine was 7,000 tonnes, marginally lower than the corresponding
quarter in FY 2006, due to the planned closure of Thalanga Copper Mines in the
second quarter of last year.

During the quarter, Sterlite's copper operations won the prestigious 'Excellent
Energy Efficient Unit' award instituted by Confederation of Indian Industry for
the sixth time in a row. The copper operations also won the 'Greentech
Environment Excellence Award' instituted by the Greentech Foundation.


Copper - Zambia

Mined metal production during this quarter of 25,000 tonnes was a substantial
improvement over the preceding two quarters and we expect to sustain this trend
in the future. Refined copper production during the quarter was 31,000 tonnes,
lower than the corresponding quarter in the previous year primarily due to the
planned shutdown of Nkana smelter, which reduced output to20,000 tonnes during
this quarter as compared to 27,000 tonnes in the corresponding previous quarter.
We also had a brief setback in the tailings leach plant as a result of a fire
which affected the plant availability and recovery of metal, which have since
been restored.

Progress on the KDMP expansion project and the Nchanga smelter remains on track,
with orders for major packages having been placed. The smelter construction
activity and the shaft sinking work have both commenced on site and are
progressing as per schedule.


Zinc

Mined metal production at HZL in H1 at 256,000 tonnes was substantially better
than 220,000 tonnes during the previous period. Production of refined zinc at
161,000 tonnes in H1 was 31% higher compared with the corresponding prior period
output of 123,000 tonnes.

Zinc inventory of 15,000 tonnes at the end of first quarter, has largely been
sold down. During the quarter we also sold surplus zinc concentrate of 90,000
dry metric tonnes.

HZL continues to expand the exploration programme focused around its mining
operations in Rajasthan. As a result of this ongoing expansion programme, the
reserves as of 31 March 2006 have now been reassessed at 53.4 million tonnes and
certified by an independent assessor, up from 48.6 million tonnes reported
earlier.

The new 170,000 tpa Chanderiya hydro smelter is progressing as per plan and all
major orders have been placed. The project activity is progressing in full swing
and the smelter is on course for expected completion early in 2008.

During the quarter, the Institute of Directors, India awarded the Golden Peacock
Award to HZL, in recognition of HZL setting new standards in training
excellence.

Whaddya reckon Dai ?

Still looks to be the outstanding value amongst the mining majors.

Ian

Need nerves of steel Ian - but there's certainly profit to be made if you can time the buys + sells right. However I feel the time is right to sell as the price of metals could very easily go well down over the next few months. Be careful!!!!

The Times - October 11, 2006

Time to get back on board the Vedanta rollercoaster ride - Tempus


VEDANTA RESOURCES has proved to be something of a rollercoaster ride for investors this year, in common with other metals and mining stocks. The Indian mining company, which entered the FTSE 100 in July, less than three years after it floated, saw its share price hit a high of 17.40 in May, only to plunge steeply with the rest of the market shortly after that. Just a month before it scaled these heights, Tempus recommended taking profits at 15.40.

With the shares trading at 12.70 yesterday, those who got out before the stock market wobbles of late May and June should have a healthy profit to consider reinvesting. But is this the right time to be returning to volatile metals stocks? After five years of strongly rising prices, metals are in transition. Commodity prices are declining, but to keep this weakness in context, metals prices are still high in historical terms.

Since it floated, Vedanta has been considered a risky metals play, largely because it is leveraged on rapid production growth of about 23 per cent a year compound and so had proposed very ambitious and costly investment plans. Phase II, which it is now starting will, total 3.1 billion (2.1 billion). There have been questions, inevitably, over whether the company could afford these.

However, as yesterdays production report for the second quarter shows, there is a steady upward trend in zinc production, a more modest upward trend in aluminium. From 2006 to 2009, Vedantas production growth will total more than 80 per cent.

As Vedanta fulfils its production promises and metals prices remain high, there are expectations of record interim profits at the end of this month. The company is also reducing inventory levels. That will help to clear up concerns that the company will have to borrow significantly to afford the second phase of its investment programme.

There are other factors that increase Vedantas attractions. Primarily, it is a play on the Indian economy, where metals demand is on the increase and growth is roughly double what it is in the West. The companys Indian assets are protected by certain tariffs, which help to keep Vedantas sub- continent cost base low.

Vedanta is not a stock for those who want a dividend, but it looks worth getting back on that rollercoaster as the train heads upward again. Buy.

newsdesk@afxnews.com - Sun, Nov 12 2006

Vedanta's Zambian jv suspends copper production


LUSAKA (AFX) - A Zambian mine, of which Vedanta Resources is a majority owner, has suspended copper production resulting in daily losses of up to 352 tonnes following the pollution of water supplies for more than 50,000 nearby residents, a state radio report said.

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) suspended production at one of its major mining assets in Zambia's copperbelt after a leaching plant developed a leak which led to poisonous silt contaminating water supplies in the area.

KCM, which has four mining locations in Zambia, suspended operations at Nchanga, the country's largest mine, resulting in daily losses of 10 bln kwacha, according to state radio.

The government ordered the immediate shutdown of the leaching plant which contaminated the water supplies in Chingola, a mining town on the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

KCM spokesman Sam Equamo told the state-run Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) that the company decided to stop operations because the copper ore needed to be processed at the leaching plant.

KCM is jointly owned by the Zambian government and Vedanta, which has a majority stake and is managing the mines.

The water utility firm in Chingola switched off the water supply to residents to prevent them from drinking contaminated water, according to local authorities in the area.

A disaster management unit of the government has dispatched tankers to provide clean water to the residents while the problem is being fixed.

LUSAKA (Mineweb.com) - 12-NOV-06

Zambias largest copper miner faces plant shutdown - By: Ronald Mwila


Zambias environmental authorities have suspended all pollution control licences for the copper-rich countrys largest miner, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) Plc. The authorities have also announced that they reserve the right to prosecute KCM directors should investigations show that they have been negligent.

KCM is owned by London-listed, Indian-controlled Vedanta Resources Plc, which is due to announce third quarter results of Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) spokesperson Justin Mukosa announced in the wake of Sunday, November 5's pollution of the country's Kafue River, on which citizens, businesses and wildlife on the Copperbelt, Lusaka and larger parts of the Central and Southern provinces depend for water, that the cancellation arose from the ECZ's concern about the miner's apparent disregard for the environment.

The pollution control licences allow KCM to discharge effluent into the aquatic environment, chiefly in the Copperbelt town of Chingola.

The latest episode comes barely four months after a similar development. Both instances forced the water utility in the area, Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company, to suspend operations, thereby triggering water shortages in the town.

This time around, Benard Chiwala-managing director of Nkana Water and Sewerage Company, which services the town of Kitwe, where KCM also operates, has told reporters that the company would not be allowed to abstract water from the Kafue River until cobalt and manganese levels revert to acceptable minimums that can enable utilities to treat the water to standards recommended by the World Health organisation (WHO).

Mukosa indicated ECZ's dismay at the continued pollution from KCM's Nchanga operations, chiefly the tailings leach plant (TLP), and the company's lack of a proper environmental maintenance and replacement plan.

"The ECZ has decided to suspend all pollution control licenses to discharge effluent into the aquatic environment incidental to the Tailings Leach Plant until such time that the ECZ is satisfied with a KCM remedial and clean operations," he said.

"The ECZ reserves the right to prosecute KCM management or Directors in their individual capacity if upon investigations, they are deemed to have been negligent in carrying out their duties to prevent and control pollution thereby threatening human life and the environment."

Mukosa noted that continued pollution was evidenced by recent numerous tailings pipe bursts and the heavy siltations of rivers and streams around Chingola town. "This is a clear indication of poor social corporate responsibility by KCM management in their environmental management," he charged.

"ECZ therefore cannot allow such a situation to continue and have had no choice but to direct KCM to close down the tailings leach plant and put its house in order." Mukosa said ECZ had inspected the company's Tailings Leach Plant and the Pollution Control Dam with the primary purpose of assessing the impacts of the pollution and establish the extent of the problem.

He said it was established that a burst pipeline discharged tailings of low pH into the aquatic environment.

"It is believed that this pipeline has not been adequately managed and failure by KCM to source or stock adequate lime for such emergencies[is also evident]," Mukosa said adding that one of the affected communities, Hippo Pool Village, had experienced polluted (bitter) water since November 5, 2006.

"In addition, the poor environmental standards being employed by KCM have caused the Chingola stream bridge to be threatened due to sediments that have silted the stream leaving only about 5cm below the bridge. This threatens the stability of the bridge and in the event of a storm, the bridge could be washed away cutting off Chililabombwe from the rest of the country."

Minewebs efforts to get KCM management to comment have persistently failed, with the company's spokesperson not answering his phone.

Telegraph.co.uk - 17/11/2006

Vedanta slumps on energy move - By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard


India's metal giant Vedanta Resources has rattled the markets with plans to plunge into the subcontinent's power sector, aiming to raise fresh funds through share dilution for a $1.9bn (1bn) coal-fired plant in the east Indian state Orissa.

The move is a bet that India's voracious need for electricity could prove a bonanza, but it may equally be an astute switch away from base metals just as the four-year commodity begins to look long in the tooth.

Chairman Anil Agarwal: said that Vedanta are perfectly
placed to venture into India's energy sector

The share price slumped 7pc to 12.88 on the London Stock Exchange, though it is still up fourfold over the past two years.

Analysts said the "jury was out" on whether this diversification was a good strategy since most investors see Vedanta as a metals play rather than a play on India's fast-growing but highly unbalanced economy - a vastly different calculus. Cazenove said the venture was an "exciting move", well tailored for a group with Indian know-how.

India's economy has been growing at the breakneck speed of 8pc to 10pc a year but its rising steel, car, and manufacturing industries are now running into a brick wall. The national electricity grid is a patchwork of half-connected islets run by bankrupt state boards, with rationing by 12pc at peak times.
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The government is rushing through plans for four giant power stations as part of a $320bn infrastructure drive over the next six years. The finance ministry estimates that power shortages alone are costing the country 10pc in lost GDP growth.

Vedanta's new plans came as it announced a fourfold increase in profits to $1.17bn in the six months to September, driven by rocketing zinc, aluminium and copper prices.

The group produced a record 256,000 tonnes from its Indian mines and smelters, accounting for over half of total profits. After lagging copper in the early phase of the metals rally, zinc has almost tripled this year as worldwide stocks collapsed to barely 11 days' supply.

Chairman Anil Agarwal said Mumbai-based Vedanta was perfectly placed to venture into India's energy sector through its stakes in the local aluminium smelting industry. He said the company had already showed "expertise in developing power assets".

The new funds are to be raised through an ADR share issue in New York. It will have the effect of lowering Vedanta's Sterlite holding from 76pc to 60pc.

Silly question.

Is VED not in the ftse100?

Anyone?

Is that chart showing a classic breakout of the ascending triangle with good volume. I think the sp is going to break the all time next week.

i would concur .... chart pattern looks very promising, though i am not convinced i shall be tempted

Hi Cynic
Are you going to wait see what happens next week before being tempted. However I must say the results this week was pretty impressive. Although I have noticed that some sells from the board of the company have been made today, makes you wondered whether today rise was engineered?

Cynic I have just realised its symmetrical triangle formation not ascending triangle

Someone in the rival website reckons there is rumour going that Kaz may bid??? Surely this would have been picked up the press.
http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail/?display=discussion&code=cotn%3AVED.L&threshold=0&it=le&pageno=1

I read somewhere last week that the chairman had said something like "I would be sympathetic to a bid".

Could be an interesting week for the SP.

Stan this link refers to it i think
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/05/17/cnveda17.xml

Are you holding?

1St Quarter Results are out and look more than good for VED.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200707260701518980A

Starts with:

Revenue of $1.85 billion against $1.3 billion in corresponding prior quarter

Was thinking of a short term "Divi play" with this one but my feeling today is that the takeover froth may reduce this week (which I guess is about 2) so will have a further think until I have to make a decision. Also I'm very aware of some Market moving news this week.

Down 5% at the moment (other miners down 1% Average) anyone know why? Volume a bit more than their average as well. Also what looks to be a good update released this morning.

ved removed from merrill lynch "europe 1" list.

Yes I saw that, didn't say why did they )-:

Relative bad day for miners I believe.

Just limiting exposure to mining stocks.

Opened a long on this one and hoping for a short term profit.

Base metals all on the rise so should help the situation.

http://www.kitcometals.com/

nickel and copper both moving up.

Copper Rises in London on Speculation China Will Purchase Metal
Email | Print | A A A

By Claudia Carpenter

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in London, erasing this weeks loss, on speculation that Chinas State Reserve Bureau, the countrys stockpiling agency, will purchase the metal amid signs it started buying aluminum.

Aluminum inventory in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 18 percent in the past week, the largest decline since April 2007, figures from the exchange today showed. China will build emergency stockpiles of copper and other items to guard against potential supply disruptions, the Ministry of Land and Resources said two days ago.

There was a massive draw in Shanghai aluminum stockpiles and theres some market speculation that might be due to State Reserve buying, said Gayle Berry, an analyst at Barclays Capital in London. If theyre doing it for aluminum, certainly it makes it even more probable well see it for copper.

Copper for delivery in three months jumped $125, or 3.9 percent, to $3,320 a metric ton as of 12:51 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange, for a weekly rise of 2.8 percent. Aluminum fell $1.50 to $1,553.50 a ton, erasing an earlier gain.

The three-month copper contract is up 8.1 percent this year compared with a 1.2 percent increase in the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Index of 26 commodities.

On the LME, copper inventories jumped 5,875 tons to 363,575 tons, the most since Jan. 30, 2004, the exchange said in its daily warehouse report. Copper for March delivery rose 3.5 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $1.514 a pound.

Index Changes

Copper is also benefiting from purchases by index funds as commodity indexes are rebalanced, William Adams, an analyst at BaseMetals.com, wrote in a report today. Changes start today for the Dow Jones AIG Commodity Indexes.

Aluminum will account for 6.99 percent of the index under the new weightings, New York-traded copper 7.3 percent, zinc 3.1 percent and nickel 2.88 percent, Dow Jones-AIG said in August. At the close yesterday, aluminum made up 6.4 percent, copper 4.74 percent, zinc 2.15 percent and nickel 1.64 percent, according to information on the Dow Jones-AIG Web site.

Nickel dropped $145 to $11,400 a ton and zinc increased $14 to $1,249 a ton. Lead gained $35 to $1,184 a ton and tin fell $100 to $11,300 a ton. Lead and tin arent in the Dow Jones-AIG barometers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net or ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 9, 2009 08:05 EST

i'd leave miners well alone until 2011

Bought this 24/03/09 for 651 sold last week at 1301 waited for it to drop to buy back in but it rose to 1366 this morning dont understand as mining stock has been poor for this week

That's better -):

Excellent trade though from 651 to 1301. Not quite sure what's going on with market at the moment, so your not alone there.

Wish I had hung on a bit longer close today 1539

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200906120700107804T.html

Market not impressed down over 7%.

Down today but still at 1606

Below 16 quid now.. a certain director falling over himself to get in I bet -):

Got to be a good buy now @ 1418 looks very oversold.

FTSE just dipped below 5000 another bloodbath Tuesday

I wonder if this is the turning point for VED? Miners out of favour atm, but VED seems to have a very diverse portfolio of metals & minerals, so not totally dependent on copper (and therefore recent weakness in copper price).
Divi dec & july.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources has reported revenue of US$6,553m for the half year to end of September which represents a 43% increase on 2010 numbers.

The company also reported EBITDA of US$1.7 billion, up 27% and underlying EPS of 68 cents, down 35%, due to lower attributable profit from subsidiaries.

Vedanta pointed to a strong free cash flow of US$746 million up 67% and announced an interim dividend of 20 US cents per share.

Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources plc commented on the year: "Vedanta has delivered strong production growth, successfully integrated the Zinc International assets acquired from Anglo American and acquired over 1 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves and resources in Liberia.

Vedanta, with its significant exposure to fast growing economies and its strong organic investment programme, supplemented by select acquisitions, is well placed and remains confident about the future.

MUMBAI/SYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) India-focused British miner Vedanta Resources is considering a bid for New Hope Corp, the $5 billion Australian coal miner that has put itself up for auction, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Vedanta, controlled by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has held discussions with banks and is expected to appoint advisors soon, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
We are yet to begin formal talks, one source told Reuters.
Spokesmen for Vedanta and New Hope were not immediately available for comment.
New Hope is among the last few major coal companies left in resource-rich Australia after a flurry of recent takeovers consolidated the industry.

Proposed Acquisition of a Controlling Stake in Cairn India Limited ("Cairn India")
Vedanta Resources plc ("Vedanta") announces that is has now satisfied the conditions under the Sale and Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Cairn India (the "Transaction"). Vedanta and Cairn Energy PLC are working towards the closing of the Transaction and a further announcement will be made in due course.

Cairn India announces commencement of production at Bhagyam

Vedanta Resources plc's subsidiary, Cairn India Limited ("Cairn India") today announced that ONGC and Cairn India (Rajasthan Joint Venture) have commenced production from the Bhagyam Field in Rajasthan. The full text of the release issued by Cairn India is set out below.

19 January 2012

Rajasthan Joint Venture starts oil production in Bhagyam
ONGC and Cairn (Rajasthan Joint Venture) have commenced production from the Bhagyam Field in Rajasthan. Bhagyam is the second largest of 25 discoveries made so far by Cairn in the Barmer Basin in Block RJ-ON-90/1.

The Bhagyam reservoir and facilities will entail a gradual and safe ramp up to reach the currently approved plateau rate of 40,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). The commissioning of Bhagyam is a key milestone towards achieving the target production rate of 175,000 bopd by end FY 2011-12.

The Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya (MBA) fields have gross recoverable oil reserves and resources of approximately one billion barrels. The Rajasthan Joint Venture will contribute more than 20 percent of current domestic crude production when they reach the currently approved plateau rate of 175,000 bopd.

Thoughts from Simon Griffin of Shares Mag:
"A new Year rally above both the 50-day moving average and a steep bear trend line looks decisive and should set indian mining giant Vedanta Resources (VED) on the way to fresh substantial gains. shares in the FTSE 100 constituent performed exceptionally well as markets began to recapture their poise in early 2009, as they racked up a 650% increase to reach £29.35, exceeding even the high posted in early 2008. That meteoric progress gave way to a period characterised by sideways ranging between £18.30 and £25.50. At the height of last summer support from the lower level finally gave way and renewed weakness took Vedanta down to 933p and the 78.6% retracement of the preceding rise from 384p. That crashing fall wiped two-thirds off the firm’s market cap. support from the fibonacci indicator held and then just last week vedanta started to head higher once more as it confi rmed a move above its 50-day average earlier in the month by breaking above the steeper of two downtrend defi ning trend lines on the daily log scale chart.
Bulls will now look for the shares to reach £12.80 and then head for a test of the shallower bear trend line at £13.60. Beyond that would come £14.10, a site of congestion and strong resistance last autumn that will shortly coincide with the declining 200-day average. This mark also sits just above the 23.6% retracement of the fall from £29.34. farther out, a more impressive rise could result from a sustained rally and a case for a recovery to test evident support and resistance close to £20.80 can be made. only a slip back below £10.60 would question the chart’s bullish leaning."

StockMarketWire.com
Resources giant Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) saw profits dip in the third quarter despite announced record output of silver and lead.

The India-focused miner said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $848.4 million for the third quarter, including $131 million from its majority stake in Cairn India, acquired last year.

Zambia, the focus of market attention as Vedanta's listed subsidiaries have already reported, posted results well below market expectations, hit by a drop in production, weaker copper prices and a provision for higher power costs.

The Zambian copper operations posted core earnings of $67.7 million, compared to $134.4 million a year ago.

Aluminium was also badly hit by lower market prices and by the depreciation of the Indian rupee, which forced mark-to-market losses on foreign currency loans. Core profit sank to $3.6 million for the division from $76.3 million a year earlier.

Over the nine months to the end of December, the group's core profit rose 14 percent to $2.6 billion.

Output up but profits down, Miners up in general though so VED go up with them. Over 2% so far.

As per post #186, £20.80 now looking a good possibility.

Media Speculation Regarding Group Structure
Vedanta Resources plc notes media speculation regarding a potential group restructuring. Vedanta's stated strategy is to simplify and consolidate its corporate structure. Management reviews options to deliver this strategy on an ongoing basis and will update the market as appropriate.

Credit Suisse believes that a major restructuring within the businesses of miner Vedanta Resources would be a "strong positive" and continues to see significant upside in the stock.

Credit Suisse said that "if the reports are correct and a merger is successful it would not change group consolidated debt levels but we estimate would reduce debt levels at holdco by c.$2.4bn assuming the merger is structured as a sale of VED’s 55% Sesa Goa stake to Sterlite."

Be that as it may, the broker has maintained its neutral rating and 1,400p target price for the stock, saying that it remains "cautious in the near term due to high debt levels, margin squeeze in power aluminium and power and regulatory risks to the company's iron ore operations."

Telegraph - 25 Feb:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/9105834/Vedanta-plans-9bn-merger.html

Notice of Production Results for Q4 and full year ended 31 March 2012
Vedanta Resources plc will announce its production results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 March 2012, on Tuesday, 10 April 2012 at 7:00 a.m. UK time (11:30 a.m. India time).

Following the release, a conference call will be held on the same day at 9:00 a.m. UK time (1:30 p.m. India time), where senior management will discuss the results.

Production Release for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended 31 March 2012
Q4 Highlights

· Record quarterly production of Lead, Silver, Alumina and Power

· Commissioned the 3rd 600 MW Unit of the 2,400 MW Jharsuguda power plant and synchronized the 4th Unit

· Commenced oil production at Bhagyam, the second largest field in the Rajasthan block

· Vedanta Group Consolidation and Simplification announced, expected to complete in CY 2012

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4345632

Notice of Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2012
Vedanta Resources plc will announce its results for the full year ended 31 March 2012 on Thursday, 17 May 2012 at 7:00 AM, London Time.

Following the release, a conference call will be held for investors and analysts on the same day at 9:00 AM London time where senior management will discuss the company's results and answer questions from participants.

StockMarketWire.com
Resources giant Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) will announce its production results for the first quarter ended 30 June 2012, on Tuesday, 31 July 2012 at 7:00 a.m. UK time.

Ex-divi 15th Aug '12 (0.35¢)

Miners out of favour recently but a nice divi of 21.77p to come next Tues.

Vedanta Resources frequently appears on lists of the cheapest large-cap shares around. They have become less cheap recently. In the last month, the shares have risen 13.5%. This means that the shares today trade at 7.8 times the consensus eps (earnings per share) forecast for 2013.

Unlike many companies in the resources sector, Vedanta has significant operations in both metals and energy. At the end of 2011, Vedanta acquired a majority stake in Cairn India at a cost of $8.7bn. This brought the famous Rajasthan oil fields into Vedanta's portfolio.

Around one third of Vedanta revenues come from copper. Zinc is 23% and iron ore is 12%; the balance is aluminium and power. Following the Cairn India acquisition, oil and gas will play a bigger role within the company.

Given how diversified Vedanta is, it is a surprise to see that the shares are so volatile. Vedanta has been paying a dividend for the last eight years. The payout has been rising since 2010, and another two years of dividend growth are expected

Interesting overall assessment that D/C, interesting.

Is interesting your word of the day Stan, seen it in another post. :-))

You mean "reprotational".. Yes its a cracker isn't it? -):

lol

Back to VED. The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd. Have added just over 17,000 shares today.

Trading update listed for today and tomorrow on here.. It's tomorrow!

MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Boss at mining giant Vedanta Resources spends £64m on stock


By Joanne Hart, Financial Mail On Sunday

PUBLISHED:22:41, 2 March 2013| UPDATED:22:41, 2 March 2013-

Early last month, Indian entrepreneur Anil Agarwal spent more than £64million buying shares in Vedanta Resources, the oil and mining group where he is executive chairman.


The purchases were a clear sign of his commitment, but should less well- heeled investors buy the shares?


Agarwal founded Vedanta in 1976, floated it in London in 2003 at 390p and has been a keen buyer of stock since. So much so that he owns shares worth £2billion, equivalent to almost 65 per cent of the company.

Waiting game: Anil Agarwal hopes to simplify Vedanta's structure

Despite his enthusiasm, the FTSE 100 company’s shares have had a rough ride in recent years, falling from almost 3000p in April 2010 to 1169p, reflecting concerns about the outlook for commodities and worries about Vedanta’s complex structure.


Like many large natural resources groups, it dabbles in mining all round the world and has a huge oil and gas division to boot. Some of its assets are part owned by local governments or other private enterprises.

The company structure is difficult to understand and many investors prefer not to bother. But Agarwal has applied for permission to simplify it and is waiting for the Indian courts to approve his plans. Bureaucracy is notoriously slow in India, but even pessimists expect an approval in the first half of this year.


Meanwhile, the business has several fundamental advantages. It has a diverse range of interests and its costs are among the lowest in the industry.


This is not a stock for the cautious but supporters believe the price could hit 1500p this year. Adventurous investors prepared to take a long-term view could do worse than follow in Agarwal’s footsteps


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-2287144/MIDAS-SHARE-TIPS-Boss-mining-giant-Vedanta-Resources-spends-64m-stock.html#ixzz2MSuHETiw
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Final Year Results http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4595888

Black Rock go above 5% http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4617431

GIC Private Limited (Formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd) go below 3%

Q1 Production Update http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4641713

Bought at 1120p but wanted it a bit cheaper - VED seems to be holding up in a weak market today.

Hope to get out with a small profit, in a small time ?

What do you think ?

i'ld say the 5-year chart looks very nasty, though i see no NEW good reason why the markets should be so soggy today

Thanks Cynic for your comment - true this one has been hammered over the past five years, like most mines and banks.

I believe that the Indian rupee weakness may work in VED favour, plus they may make some savings on a recent internal structure reorganisation, and the price is lower than of late. Brokers comments also are generally positive, showing good % target increases.

It seems to me to be a strong Company in fair shape. I am not expecting fireworks, but hopeful of this large group giving me a small profit over the next few days.

it certainly won't go belly up and i confess that i too have been disappointed with the performance of the big mining houses of late, even with the clear upturn in world economies ..... copper, nickel and iron ore should have risen, and thus the shares of these miners, but unless i am much mistaken - could check easily enough on Kitco - this just hasn't been the case so far .... surely, in due course, these overhanging physical stocks must disappear and then perhaps we'll see fireworks

Cynic -

Have a look at website .. indexmundi.com ... iron ore has picked up over last two months and other metals seem not to be falling or too weak.
This web site seems to monthly historic so not so useful, but is presently my guide.

I do not know anything about Kitco ... I'll shall have a look at it.

GIC Private Limited
(Formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd) go below 3%

Vedanta H1 revenue down 17%, pretax profit slumps 76%!

Merrill's Lynch note:
"We upgrade Vedanta to BUY, price objective of GBp1050, about 30% upside potential. We see VED trading on about 0.75x NPV, towards the bottom end of the typical trading range for diversified miners. We think that shares have de-rated of late on recent concerns on India’s current account deficit, weakening currency and emerging market worries in general. That said, we do see a series of potential positive catalysts on the horizon and also consider the potential for metal prices & premiums to go the “right way” for Vedanta. INR (Rupee) weakness is a tailwind for US$ equivalent costs. We also note share purchases by Volcan investments, the holdco for the Agarwal family which controls Vedanta. Volcan recently bought around 1.1 mil shares (about US$14 mn worth) taking total shareholding in VED to 68.7%.
Key catalysts: 1) Potential buy-in of government stake sales in subsidiaries HZL and Balco, 2) Resumption of iron ore mining and shipments, 3) commissioning of unproductive capital in the group’s aluminium and power business. These catalysts aren’t without their risks, of course. The stake buy-in has been “pending” since we launched coverage of VED in 2005. While the sale of iron ore inventories in Goa looks likely to go ahead near term, “due process” in terms of the court deliberation on iron ore quotas could be more drawn out.
Vedanta’s key products are oil (Cairn India), copper (Konkola), Zinc (Hindustan Zinc) and Aluminium and Power (VAL / Balco). As discussed in our 2014 year-ahead note, we see the potential for copper restocking post the Chinese New Year (i.e. now) leading to higher prices. For aluminium, LME premiums have climbed reflecting tight physical markets. Zinc could be next, in our view. We think that premiums could give an extra boost to Vedanta’s earnings power. For oil, production is broadly according to guidance but we consider that policy in India could evolve positively on concerns on the current account where some 40-50% of imports are oil related."

Looks like at last we have the break up out of the range.

mining stocks are doing strange things at the moment and are even more volatile than usual

my fave remains BLT, though i (foolishly with hindsight) banked a respectable profit on friday

i need to check it out, but i have on fairly good authority that stainless steel prices have gained significantly over the last couple of weeks
i'm not sure whether that is just in $ terms (it's weak) or truly so through increasing demand

A lot of Bullish talk on miners in the US Cyners over last week or so. CNBC is a good online site to follow.

When miners start to go blue we should also be buying banks. The 2 go hand in hand.

Hold Barclays.

Got shot of all my small stuff.

VED rising dtrongly today. Is this a result of the new
government in India? Other miners have not risen that much.

it's been on a fantastic run since early May = + nearly 25%
young sticky highlighted them, and didn't even think of following ...... i wonder if the boy still holds them

Yes indeed I do. If you remember I brought them to the attention of the thread on the Chart thread at the same time I also highlited TED which as also made me a small fortune. Still holding both but have a tight stop as they are approaching slight resistance.

Fingers crossed.

well done old bean cos i recollect you've had a couple of "beasts" too

Yep AAL just the one but I was out very sharpish. DOM recommended by you is my only dog at the moment. KAS looks like its the next miner that could do well.

Dont touch ANTO chinese stocks of copper are very very heavy. Using copper as collateral in china on credit notes and the material is being stock piled.

Shame really because if the World Recover is for real copper is usually the biggest winner or should I say the first sign that global growth is on the move.

oh .... thought i heard a quick weep from you that you had done some VERY serious damage over a 2 week period - though i really would not wish that on you, not even remotely :-)

just because i suggested DOM, it didn't mean you had to follow :-)
it's actually a surprisingly volatile stock and i would want to eat its product, but it's a very good company nevertheless ..... i very much like RTN in that sector too, for similar reasons

KAZ i traded briefly and successfully and have never followed ANTO .... of the miners, i still like BLT, not just because it always sounds a good idea at lunchtime, but because it has a very wide portfoluio

Serious damage.....nah was just a winge at this boring sideways market and yep Im responsible for my own buy re- DOM. Think itl come good any way.

RAT is presently making me some serious money and RR. plus CPI were Ive been given the nod a big contract is on the way are ones im looking at.

Further to my observations on the mining sector bullish breakout yesterday Ive found VED as a WATCH candidate.

VED, miners showing much promise at the moment. As a support line at 1000p which as been hit and bounced off 5 times



what I posted earlier on the 20th of August below......


Further to my observations on the mining sector bullish breakout yesterday Ive found VED as a WATCH candidate.

VED

UPGRADE UPGRADE UPGRADE UPGRADE UPGRADE UPGRADE

03 Sep 2014 Vedanta Resources... VED Deutsche Bank Buy 1,097.50 1,060.00 1,250.00 1,250.00 Upgrades

SP TARGET 1250p

Barclays note today:

"Highlights from the release
· Oil & gas: production fell 11% QoQ (-7% YoY) at Rajasthan, reflecting the planned 10-day maintenance shutdown at the Mangala Processing Terminal as highlighted in the Q1 release.

· HZL production recovered from a weak first quarter (+28% QoQ but -8% YoY) and should continue to improve in H2. Zinc International was weak due to unplanned maintenance activities at Skorpion and lower grades at Lisheen.

· Copper Zambia: Konkola continues to be impacted by low equipment availability and shaft interruptions while Nchanga operations were impacted by lower grades and temporary power restriction in September. Integrated production fell 4% QoQ (-25% YoY). The operation is implementing various interventions to improve the overall operating performance and these are progressing well.

· Aluminium: production increased 9% QoQ (+11% YoY) while alumina production operated above 90% of capacity (-3% QoQ, +95% YoY). The company noted low coal availability which has impacted power purchases at Korba and expect these issues to continue. 84 pots at Korba-II were started but ramp-up to full capacity awaits final regulatory approvals for the 1200MW power plant to be commissioned. Start-up at the 1.25mtpa Jharsuguda plant has also commenced. The company awaits further government action to deal with the coal block that was cancelled in September 2014.

· Iron ore production and sales were up QoQ, but the Karnataka operations were halted in August 2014 to await forest clearance and mining lease renewal, which is expected in Q3. The company still expects to recover to the cap rate of 2.29mt by year-end. Goa mining is expected to commence in Q4-15.

· Power: power sales increased 9% YoY but was lower QoQ (-22% QoQ) as the PLF dropped to 38% from 45% in Q1.
We remain cautious on Vedanta due to expensive near-term valuation multiples, high debt, M&A risk, ongoing operational difficulties across the business and misleading cash flow multiples (e.g. over half of attributable FCF is generated by HZL). The investment case continues to be a long-dated turnaround story waiting to happen, in our view, with significant ‘latent capacity’ across many areas of the business. However, we believe due to operational and regulatory constraints, this is unlikely to be unleashed in the short term. Given still-high gearing and expensive valuation (e.g. trading on CY15 PERs of 17.1x and 55.4x on spot) we believe investors can afford to wait.
We remain Underweight."

This one looks like it's on the up lately.

Definitely one of the few miners to have rallied, though they are so diversified that they are not really just a miner any more.
From their website:
"Vedanta's consistent efforts over the last 30 years have contributed to the successful establishment of its capabilities across four continents. Through various subsidiaries, its foothold spans across India, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Liberia, Ireland and Australia. Vedanta holds primary interests in copper, zinc, silver, aluminium, oil & gas, iron ore and power segments."
The group making up Vedanta "Sesa Sterlite Limited, BALCO, MEL, Konkola Copper Mines, Copper Mines of Tasmania, Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Talwandi Sabo Power, Cairn India, Zinc International."

Cairn India Limited (CIL), one of the leading independent exploration and production companies in the world, is pleased to announce its guidance.

In continuation of our communication at the end of Q3FY15 and in light of the current oil price environment, Cairn is taking a proactive approach to capital allocation and shareholder returns. The Company will be undertaking projects that are economically viable at current oil prices. Additionally management focus is on re-engineering projects and re-negotiating contracts to improve project economics.

With close to USD 1.1 billion of capex invested in FY15, the Company is revising the capex for FY16 from the projected USD 1.2 billion to USD 500 million, while deferring the rest. The Company will remain agile to make investments to enhance volumes. Despite the partial deferment of capex, the volumes will yet see growth in the coming fiscal.

The Company has received Management Committee approval for the Raag Deep Gas Project.

As always, the focus will be on free cash flow after capex and dividend payout.

Mr. Mayank Ashar, Managing Director and CEO of Cairn India commented:
"We would like to give confidence to our shareholders that we are more focused than ever to drive operational efficiencies in the current crude price environment. Our cash rich balance sheet and best-in-class cost profile provide a solid foundation to operate our high margin core fields. This gives us the optionality to be selective about growth projects in these challenging times."

Deutsche Bank note:
"Cairn India announced late last week that the income tax department has slapped a ~USD3.2 billion demand for not withholding tax from Cairn Energy UK. This comprises roughly 50% in tax not withheld and the balance 50% in interest and penalty. Cairn Energy itself was served with a ~USD1.6 billion tax notice few days back. Cairn Energy seems to be seeking refuge under the India-UK tax treaty, while Cairn India will likely have to fight it in the India courts. Recollect that the Cairn Energy issue is not completely new as the case was first opened early last year and just the assessment has been completed now. The demand relates to capital gains made by the UK entity when it transferred the India assets to Cairn India in 2006-07 before the latter's IPO. Cairn Energy had supposedly invested around USD350 million in the India business and the transfer was done at over USD4 billion, leading to capital gains of almost USD4 billion (per Bloomberg).

The above puts India squarely back in the eyes of global investors who have been hoping the new government will be keeping its promise to be more business friendly. Coincidentally, when the notice was served on Cairn Energy, India's finance minister was in UK to drum up interest for investments in India. However, his excuse has been that the case was first brought by the old government and hence beyond the new government's purview. Note that many other MNCs are/have been involved with tax cases in the country - Vodafone, Shell, Microsoft, IBM, etc. More importantly, Vodafone was successful last year when the Mumbai High Court ruled in its favor in one of the cases.

We are clearly no tax experts, but it seems a little odd that the same USD1.6 billion is being claimed from both the entities - Cairn India and Cairn Energy. We assume that if Cairn Energy manages to get reprieve under the tax treaty, it should automatically free Cairn India from its obligations. Also, the liability is ultimately Cairn Energy's, if any. We understand that Cairn India was perhaps responsible for withholding the tax and should be liable for a penalty in the worst case scenario, though to make it liable for the tax might be a bit of a stretch in our view. In any case, we don't expect a resolution any time soon and this might be an overhang on Vedanta for years to come. Unfortunately, this comes right after allegations on Cairn India for stealing official documents (still ongoing) and in the middle of weak oil prices. Moreover, till the tax dispute is resolved, Cairn Energy won't be allowed to sell its remaining 10% stake in Cairn India. The silver lining has been Cairn India cutting its FY'16 capex from USD1.2 billion to USD500 million and deferring the rest.

We are downgrading Vedanta 2018s (100.5/101, 9.2% mid ytm) from Buy to Hold. Our end belief on the company's ability to successfully refinance its debt maturities hasn't changed. But since our upgrade in mid-Feb, other than the negative headlines discussed above, oil has dropped almost USD10 per barrel, and bond technicals could get challenging again. Our long term view on oil has always been cautious (even after the rally from 40s to 60s), however we were not expecting it to start dropping again so soon and so quickly. We have also last week changed our broader tactical call on Asia HY from constructive to neutral. Having said this, we think the 2018s and 2019s look cheapest on the curve, with 2016s being quite tight at ~7% ytm, and the long end being very flat with 2021s and 2023s at just over 10%. Relative to straight bonds, the CBs continue to offer better value. Key downside risks include an escalation of any/all the issues above and oil price going back to the lows. Key upside risks include further simplification of the group structure. Otherwise, we continue to like Greenko and Rolta in the belly of India HY with 9-10% yields."

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta reported Q4 oil and gas production at a normalised level, but noted FY output was lower due to the planned maintenance shutdown in Q2.

Average daily gross operated production for Q4 2015 was 215,553 boepd, down 4% on the 224,429 boepd a year earlier. Average daily gross operated production for FY 2015 was 211,671 boepd, down 3% from 218,651 boepd.

"This was largely on account of planned maintenance activity at Mangala Processing Terminal at Rajasthan, higher than expected water cut at Bhagyam in Rajasthan and suspension of gas sales at Ravva for around three months," the company said.

"Some of the losses were partially offset by higher production at Cambay and better performance of the Mangala field in Rajasthan. In the Rajasthan block, the Aishwariya field crossed a production of 30,000 boepd in the third quarter."

CEO Tom Albanese said:
"We continue to focus on the execution of our defined strategy and, despite volatile commodity markets, we remain confident in our diversified business model.

"In particular, record levels of production in Zinc and Aluminium over the year underpin our confidence in achieving greater operational performance and enhancing production across our well-invested and low-cost asset base, and from the start-up of new capacities."

Highlights:
· Record quarterly and full year production of mined metal at Zinc India

· Q4 and full year production at Zinc International impacted by unplanned interruptions

· Commenced iron ore production at Karnataka, final approvals awaited at Goa; record annual production of Pig Iron

· Continued strong production in Q4 at Copper India leading to record annual copper cathode production

· Higher quarterly production at Copper Zambia but full year production lower due to shaft interruptions; Shaft # 1 of Konkola Deep mine back on line in Q4

· Record quarterly and full year Aluminium production, new Jharsuguda-II and Korba-II smelters ramping up well

· Record quarterly and full year production at Lanjigarh Alumina refinery

Vedanta Resources Plc.
Vedanta Limited announces Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended 31 March 2015.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5026218

Deutsche Bank reiterates buy on Vedanta Resources, target raised from 740p to 800p.

Credit Suisse reiterates neutral on Vedanta Resources, target raised from 500p to 690p.

Ex-divi 9th July 2015 (25.8p)

Response to press speculation 9 June 2015
Vedanta Resources Plc ("Vedanta", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") and Vedanta Limited note the recent press speculation regarding the potential merger of Cairn India Limited ("CIL") and Vedanta Limited.

Vedanta is committed to maintaining its premium listing on the London Stock Exchange. Vedanta will make appropriate disclosures as and when required.

Regulatory Considerations
Should a transaction with CIL proceed, it could potentially be considered a reverse takeover, under Listing Rule L.R. 5.6.4 (1). In addition, in line with the Group's stated strategy to continue to simplify the Group structure, the Group continues to evaluate a transaction with the Government of India ("GoI") in relation to their minority stakes in Hindustan Zinc Limited ("HZL") and Bharat Aluminium Company ("BALCO").

If any of these transactions were to occur, they will in aggregate, as well as potentially the individual transactions between Vedanta Limited and each of HZL and Cairn India on a standalone basis, be considered reverse takeovers, under Listing Rule L.R. 5.6.4 (1).

Since Vedanta currently discloses detailed financial as well as operational information on each of Cairn India and HZL, as well as certain financial and operational information on BALCO, in its Annual Reports and periodic reporting (see references below), the directors of Vedanta consider that the publicly available information, specifically the publicly available information referenced in this announcement, contains sufficient information about the businesses to be potentially acquired, to provide a properly informed basis for assessing its financial position.

Credit Suisse note:
"This would be a major positive for VED by improving cash fungibility and reducing the debt burden at the Holdcos. Note: only minority shareholders can vote on any proposed deal and Cairn Energy and LIC are the major shareholders of Cairn India.
■ Restructuring goals: We think management's ultimate goal is to collapse all of the existing listings (Cairn India, Zinc India and Vedanta Ltd) in the Indian subsidiaries into one single listing under Vedanta Ltd and to also retain the Vedanta Resources Plc listing in London which provides financing and access to international markets and houses the international mining assets (KCM).
■ Balance sheet navigation through FY16: We expect the company to remain within its key debt covenants; however, the company has greater than $5bn of refinancing requirements in FY16/17 and without a simplification in the group structure, the high levels of debt at the holdcos will remain an ongoing issue.
■ Valuation: Our TP of £6.90 is based on a divisional SOTP methodology using an average 6x FY17E EV/EBITDA multiple.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Ltd and Cairn India Ltd plan to merge. Minority shareholders in Cairn India will receive one Vedanta share and one redeemable preference share in Vedanta for each Cairn India share they hold.

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal said:
"The merger of Cairn India and Vedanta Limited consolidates our position as India's leading diversified natural resources champion, uniquely positioned to support India's economic growth.

"The independent Directors, at both Vedanta Limited and Cairn India, unanimously recommend the proposed combination. This marks a significant step towards achieving our stated long term vision of a simplified group structure with alignment of interests between all shareholders for the creation of long term sustainable value."

Cairn India Mayank Ashar commented:
"The merger with Vedanta Limited will generate additional value for our shareholders and de-risks Cairn India by providing access to a portfolio of diversified Tier-I, low cost, long-life assets, to deliver significant near term growth.

"Our Rajasthan fields continue to remain our core asset. The financial strength of the enlarged group will ensure greater access to capital to further Indian oil & gas development."

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MERGER:
· Implied premium of 7.3% to the previous close.

· Strategy remains unchanged, with continued focus on delivering attractive growth, sustainable development and long-term value for all shareholders.

· Commitment to growth and to sustain strong dividend distribution.

· Completion expected in first quarter CY 2016

STRATEGIC RATIONALE
· Diversified Tier-I portfolio de-risks earnings volatility and drives stable cash flows through the cycle.

· Improved ability to allocate capital to the highest return projects across the portfolio.

· Greater financial flexibility to sustain strong dividend distribution.

· Cost savings and potential re-rating to benefit all shareholders. The Transaction will contribute to further the streamlining of internal processes and improved productivity, beyond the previously announced $1.3 billion.

· Stronger balance sheet will allow for the overall cost of capital to be reduced.

· Consistent with stated corporate strategy to simplify the Group structure.

· Offers long term sustainable value enhancement for all shareholders.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta has announced that for its first quarter ended 30 June 2015 revenues were 4% lower than in the same period last year.

A 44% decline in crude oil prices was largely offset by higher revenues from Copper India.

EBITDA was lower by 29% due to the steep fall in crude oil prices and aluminium premia. It was also impacted by one-time expense related to a provision for Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

Tom Albanese, Vedanta's chief executive officer, said: "In Q1 we saw continued volatility in commodity prices, but zinc has held up quite well in view of its strong fundamentals and is now the largest contributor to our EBITDA.

"We continue to focus on improving efficiency, costs, and enhancing production across our well-invested asset base. We have broken ground at the Gamsberg zinc project in South Africa and remain on track to re-start iron ore production at Goa following the monsoons.

"Our diversified business model supported by strong operating strengths and structurally low cost assets will enable robust long term returns to stakeholders."

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources has released to the market its latest production update.

Tom Albanese, its chief executive officer, Vedanta Resources, said: "In Q1 we saw continued volatility in commodity prices, but zinc has held up quite well in view of its strong fundamentals and is now the largest contributor to our EBITDA.

"We continue to focus on improving efficiency, costs, and enhancing production across our well-invested asset base. We have broken ground at the Gamsberg Zinc project in South Africa, improved production at Konkola mines in Zambia and remain on track to re-start iron ore production at Goa following the monsoons.

"Our diversified business model supported by strong operating strengths and structurally low cost assets will enable robust long term returns to stakeholders."

Were you in for the div harry, I bottled out for fear of it dropping and not being able to get out at a profit.

Yes I am, in a smallish way. Happy to hold here and will add when funds become available. This is really a long term investment for me, so not looking for fast profits (which is just as well!!). At some point the miners will turn around and start the slow cycle of higher commodity prices and lower overheads, so as long as they continue to pay a good div, I am happy to hold. Of course if they can't maintain the divi........then.......hmmmmmmmmmm

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Ltd has received the relevant consent, license and approvals to commence the iron-ore mining operations in the State of Goa for some of its leases.

The Company is likely to recommence operations from August 10, 2015 at its biggest mine at Codli in Sanguem taluka in Goa. Further the company has been granted approval for total extraction of 5.5 million metric tons of which Codli is 3.1 million metric tons.

Till date, five mining plans and schemes for Company's mines have been cleared by Indian Bureau of Mines and we are awaiting clearance of further 15 plans. Over the balance monsoon period we anticipate receiving these approvals and expect a full scale resumption post monsoon.

Even as India and in particular miners from Goa look to regain lost markets, Iron ore markets/prices are weak and the international trade environment remains challenging. We continue to work with central and state government to improve competitiveness of Indian exports.

Prior to the suspension of mining in 2012, India was the third largest exporter of Iron Ore and Vedanta Ltd was the largest Indian exporter of low grade Ores.

Mining operations in Karnataka resumed in February 2015.

Has done terrifically well from the 400p base and now through the 200DMA.

agreed harry, hope you are in? no funds available for me.,.

Yes I am still in, though with a small stake. Can't keep my eye on it all day now as out and about for the next month or so. Having to move money into mostly income stocks. One day the miners will be back in fashion, though not yet it seems.

Vedanta down about 12.4% today !
WOW I understand they are diversified with aluminium, iron ore, oil and probably
coal and many other things.

Glencore, is one of the largest companies in the world maybe about tenth largest
or thereabouts, also diversified miner / trader is down to multi year lows, probably
partly because they bought Extrata ( copper mining ).

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources has confirmed that it will announce its production results for the quarter and half year ended 30 September 2015, on Friday, 9 October 2015 at 7:00 a.m. UK time.

Up 17%?????? Presumably someone has had a preview of the results due?

It's all miners HARRY , gone crazy !

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta said oil and gas production were up 6% in Q2, and that H1 output was in line with guidance. Average daily total gross operated oil and gas production in Q2 was 214,247 boepd.

CEO Tom Albanese:
"Our diversified asset portfolio has delivered a strong operating performance during the quarter, including record production from our tier-1 Zinc mines and lower costs at Copper-Zambia.

"We are continuing to drive efficiency improvements and optimise opex and capex across the business. While the near-term market outlook is challenging, we believe we have the right mix of commodities to benefit from future demand in India and globally."

The company continued:

"In light of the current market conditions, we are focused on optimising our opex and capex, increasing free cash flow and reducing net debt.

"During the quarter, several initiatives and programmes to generate cash savings, including a reduction of working capital, have been implemented across our businesses.

"These initiatives have resulted in an improved cost performance and lower net debt at the end of the quarter. Net debt at the end of the quarter is expected to be below US$ 8bn and we are confident of meeting our covenants at Vedanta Resources plc as at 30 September 2015."

Q2 Highlights:

· Oil & Gas: Q2 production up 6% and H1 production in line with guidance; Rajasthan production 3% higher at 168,126 boepd; Ravva and Cambay production 19% higher at 37,236 boepd

· Zinc-India: Strong mined and refined metal production; integrated silver production up 64%

· Aluminium: Stable volumes from existing smelters; cost reduction initiatives in progress; further pots at Jharsuguda-II smelter to ramp up in Q3

· Iron Ore: Mining operations recommenced at Goa

· Copper-India: Stable operations at 94% capacity utilisation

· Copper-Zambia: 12% higher mined metal production; lower cost of production

· Power: Unit-1 of Talwandi Sabo achieved 86% availability

· Continued optimisation of opex and capex to maximise free cash flow and reduce net debt.

Up nearly 13% at the moment no less.

Notice of FY2016 Interim Results

Vedanta Resources plc will announce its results for the half year ended 30 September 2015, on Wednesday, 4 November 2015 at 7:00 a.m. UK time (12:30 p.m. India time).

Following the release, a conference call will be held on the same day at 9:00 a.m. UK time (2:30 p.m. India time), where senior management will discuss the results.

20 October2015
Vedanta Resources plc
Clarification on media speculation.

Vedanta notes the recent media speculation about senior management changes. Vedanta strongly denies this speculation which is completely baseless and would like to state that Tom Albanese will continue to drive the Vedanta business and serve as the Group CEO.
Ms. Cynthia Carroll, who joined the group in September 2015, will advise the Chairman's office on matters of strategic importance to the company.

Record production from zinc mines at Vedanta:

StockMarketWire.com

Vedanta Limited has announced that in the second quarter ended 30 September 2015 its EBITDA improved by by 2%.

Tom Albanese, chief executive officer, Vedanta, said: "Our diversified asset portfolio has delivered a strong operating performance, including record production from our tier-1 Zinc mines, resulting in strong free cash flows during the quarter.

"We are continuing to drive efficiency improvements and optimise opex and capex across the business, taking measured steps to reduce net debt and maximise free cash flow. While the near-term market outlook is challenging, we believe we have the right mix of low cost assets fuelled with new technologies to benefit from future demand in India and globally."

At 10:26am: (LON:VED) Vedanta Resources PLC share price was -12.5p at 485.9p


Story provided by StockMarketWire.com.

SP down 2.4% so far.

.

Vedanta cuts dividend http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5145865

Summary of above RNS:

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta has posted an H1 pretax profit of USD243.7m, down from USD639.6m. Revenue was USD5.7bn, from USD6.5bn. It said there would be no interim dividend due to current market volatility, but promised to review the matter at year's end.

Chairman Anil Agarwal commented:
"We have delivered a sound financial performance over the past six months and maximised free cash flow, while facing challenging commodity markets.

"This accomplishment is attributable to cost optimisation across our diversified asset portfolio. As India's only diversified natural resources company, Vedanta's exposure to meeting the country's future resources demands enhances our growth opportunities, in addition to our global prospects.

"I am confident that our talented team of professionals, who are committed to a sustainable future, will ensure that Vedanta continues to create significant value for all shareholders and benefit communities wherever we operate."

Financial Highlights:
* Revenue of US$5.7 billion and EBITDA(1) of US$1.3 billion, 12% and 39% lower than H1 FY2015 respectively, primarily due to lower commodity prices

* EBITDA margin (adjusted)(2) of 30% (H1 FY2015 : 43%)

* Underlying (Loss)/Earnings Per Share(3) of (57.6) US cents (H1 FY2015: 9.4 US cents)

* Basic (Loss)/Earnings Per Share of (117.7) US cents (H1 FY2015: (4.7) US cents), primarily due to lower commodity prices

* Free cash flow after growth capex of US$1.3 billion (H1 FY2015:US$0.2 billion)

* Gross debt reduced by US$0.2 billion to US$16.5 billion (US$0.7 billion over 1 year)

* Net debt reduced by US$0.9 billion to US$7.5 billion (US$1.5 billion over 1 year)

Business Highlights:
* Strong mined and refined metal production at Zinc India; integrated silver production increased 50%

* Oil & Gas: Q2 production up 6% on Q2 FY2015; H1 FY2016 production in line with guidance

* Aluminium: stable volumes from existing smelters with cost reduction initiatives in progress; further pots at Jharsuguda-II smelter to commence ramp-up in Q3 FY2016

* Copper India: stable operations with 96% capacity utilisation

* Iron Ore: approvals received for all major mines at Goa, and mining recommenced at 2 mines; export duty reduced from 30% to 10% for less than 58% Fe iron ore, effective from 1 June 2015

* Power: TSPL first unit achieved 71% availability during H1 FY2016; 86% in Q2 FY2016

Credit Suisse today reaffirms its underperform investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and cut its price target to 230p (from 430p).

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta has issued subsidiary Vedanta Limited's Q3 and nine-month results.

HIGHLIGHTS
* Q3 FY2016 Revenues at Rs. 14,801 crore

* Robust EBITDA of Rs. 3,212 crore and 26% EBITDA margin, despite weak commodity prices

* Attributable PAT at Rs. 18 crore, primarily driven by lower oil and metal prices

* Generated free cash flow at Rs. 609 crore before growth capex

* Actively managing balance sheet, with a focus on optimising opex and capex to maximize free cash flow; refinancing and terming out maturing debt; and simplifying the group structure; Strong financial position with total cash & cash equivalents of Rs. 50,685 crore and undrawn committed facilities of c. Rs. 4,800 crore

* Zinc-India: Strong refined metal production; record refined silver production of 116 tonnes

* Oil & Gas: Stable Q3 production with 19 kbopd contribution from Mangala EOR; Rajasthan water flood operating costs continue to improve

* Aluminium: Record metal production; 7% lower cost of production q-o-q driven by cost optimisation initiatives; received approval for conversion of 3 units of 2,400 MW Jharsuguda IPP to CPP

* Copper-India: 89% utilisation, affected by floods and unplanned shutdowns

* Power: Second 660 MW unit of 1,980 MW Talwandi Sabo commissioned; 85% availability for both units

* Iron ore: Stable operations in Karnataka; slower ramp up in Goa due to transportation issues.

ANTO may be less volatile but it's certainly a much more solid company, and also of course majors in copper - keystone for the direction of other hard commodities

attached is also interesting, comparing ANTO (blue), KAZ (red) and VED (green) over the last year
currently nothing to choose between them

Very strong bounce on all of the miners over the last few days. I don't think anything has materially changed in the market, so expect the rally to fizzle out, but it just goes to show how well the sp can recover once demand for commodities increases.

Deutsche Bank today reaffirms its sell investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and cut its price target to 185p (from 200p).

Looking at the VED chart amongst others, it's tempting to think that the commodity cycle has turned, as suggested by GLEN CEO yesterday.

of the 3 players above, VED is very much the laggard, with KAZ roaring through on the rails

It's difficult to judge whether this is the turning point or just a trading bounce / value trap. AAL is also steaming away, but looking overbought, imo. The other problem is knowing which companies are crippled by debt and unable to meet their covenants, thus unable to pay a divi, which are ripe for a t/o bid and which are going to survive.

i have heard that copper is the key to watch for base metal price recovery
both ANTO and KAZ major in this element, but i don't know about VED

Copper not exactly flying though is it ,that's why i don't quite get KAZ ,i'm not complaining though .

Any idea how to post a live copper chart here or on the KAZ page? I can find the data but not sure how to post from another website.

i'm a dinosaur with the brain of a brachiosaurus

http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/base/spot-copper-5y-Large.gif

http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/base/spot-copper-1y-Large.gif

good start, but better over a short(er) period :-)

aha ...... try this link
http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/copper/

Come on cynic learn how to post a link to a website , i thought i was bad ,i'm a proper dinosaur when it comes to tech .

try this
http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/copper/

http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/copper/

Up another 20% today!!! Opinion on Bloomberg seems to think that this is a momentum surge and not supported by fundamental change in the commodity market.

A few Miners on my W/L up today as well, some double figure increases like Ved.

What do you reckon Stan.....the start of the upturn in the commodity cycle or just a trading bounce? Have been watching this sector intently for a few months and the entry point isn't far away, imo.

Don't know to be honest Harry, I'm resisting individual stocks and most sectors Insurance aside and just index trading for now.

But doesn't it make you wish you were in with the rise over the last few days.

It certainly does BB but there again I just don't trust this rise for some reason I can't explain so not getting very tempted, are you in these?

No but wishing I was for a quick quid.

I know, up again today I see.

I wonder if there will be a lot of profit taking sometime this month to complete the profit/loss for the tax year. Am expecting / hoping for a reversal soon. Sp seems to be running out of steam, imo.

Not bad time to get in HarryCat

bullshit!
now is NOT the time to be going long of base metal stocks

The copper price is dropping and opinion seems to suggest that the recent price movement in commodity stocks has got ahead of the market, so am happy to wait awhile. My opinion is that investors in these big market cap miners need to look at least medium term for a decent return on investment, so I suppose it doesn't really matter if you catch the absolute bottom of the cycle. My guess is that VED will go sub 300p, so will certainly be looking to add somewhere between 250 - 300p. Likewise maybe AAL, BLT, RIO, LMI, APC, ANTO etc.
A great deal of credence was given to the article by the CEO of GLEN that the commodity cycle was near to the bottom, so am ready with cash !!!

Deutsche Bank today upgrades its investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) to hold (from sell) and raised its price target to 260p (from 185p).

Jefferies International today reaffirms its underperform investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 200p (from 150p).

Credit Suisse today reaffirms its underperform investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 250p (from 230p).

4th Quarter update http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5288831

Looks quite positive ...

FTSE 250 metals and mining company Vedanta Resources reported record annual production of aluminium, electricity, silver and Copper India cathodes in its fourth quarter production release on Monday morning.

The firm also revealed stable oil and gas production from Rajasthan for the quarter, mined metal production in line with guidance at Zinc India, strong production volumes for its Zinc International businesses, and continued strong production for the year at Copper Zambia.

"We are continuing to optimise production across our portfolio to generate maximum value in a low commodity price environment and remaining focussed on reducing costs to protect margins," said Vedanta Resources CEO Tom Albanese.

Good time to pile in on Vedanta... sp moving up

.

Incredible turnaround in the sp.

Not been following mining stocks, are the others up as well?

Most have been rising over the last 4 months. Brokers now think that they are overvalued, but who knows? Mining stocks are mostly cyclical, so just depends on whether you think the bottom has been and gone.

StockMarketWire.com
After-tax profits at Hindustan Zinc - a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources - were virtually flat at Rs8,167Crore in the year to the end of March (2015: Rs8,178Crore).

Revenues were 8% lower at Rs10,158Crore despite record annual integrated zinc, lead and silver production - up 5%, 33% and 58% respectively.

Mined metal production in line with guidance, marginally higher than FY 2015.

Net zinc metal cost per MT before royalty was Rs. 52,646 ($804), which is 8% lower in dollar terms and marginally lower in rupee terms due to higher volumes of integrated production, better smelter efficiencies, lower coal & commodity costs, partly offset by lower average grades due to change in mining mix and higher mine development. Looking at the recent commodity price downturn, the company has re-negotiated several contracts to optimize costs and expect this to translate into significant savings in FY 2017.

Ever since Fred gave me the tip-off about Ved. more then 10 or so years ago they have never let me down, The fact they seem to have quite a wide variety of metals mined and also some nuclear interest if I'm not mistaken gives them quite a spread of interests.

They are also based in India which like China are an emerging consumer economy, they pay a dividend as well.

Appointment of Non-Executive Director
Vedanta Resources Plc ("Vedanta") today announces that Mr Ravi Rajagopal has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director with effect from 1st July 2016. He will also be a member of the Audit Committee.

Mr. Ravi Rajagopal joined Diageo plc in 1997, where he worked in various roles until 2015. He was the Global Head of Business Development of Diageo plc from July 2010. His other roles included CFO for Europe and Group Financial Controller. Prior to joining Diageo plc, Mr. Ravi Rajagopal worked with ITC India (a BAT plc subsidiary in India) where he also held a variety of senior positions both in finance and general management. He is also a Non-Executive Director of United Spirits Limited, India.

Mr Euan Macdonald has decided to step down from the Board following the conclusion of the Company's 2016 Annual General Meeting having served as a Non-Executive Director for eleven years.

Mr Aman Mehta has agreed to continue for a further one year on the request of the Board following a recommendation from the Nomination Committee. The Nomination Committee will continue reviewing the composition and membership of the Board.

Preliminary Results for the Year Ended 31 March 2016
Financial Highlights
n Revenue of US$10.7 billion and EBITDA(1) of US$2.3 billion, lower than FY2015 primarily due to lower commodity prices (FY2015 Revenue: US$12.9 billion, FY2015 EBITDA: US$3.7 billion)
* Adjusted EBITDA margin(2) of 28% (FY2015: 38%), driven by low commodity prices
* Free cash flow(3) of US$1.7 billion, up 63% (FY2015 US$1.0 billion), driven by optimisation of operational, capital expenditure and working capital initiatives
* Net debt reduced by US$1.1 billion and gross debt reduced by US$0.4 billion during the year
* Underlying (loss) per share(4) of (131.9) US cents (FY2015: (14.2) US cents)
* Basic loss per share of (665.8) US cents primarily due to a non-cash impairment of US$3.3 billion (net of tax) and lower EBITDA, reflecting lower commodity prices
* Covenant modifications on bank loans at Vedanta Resources plc secured until the period ending 30 September 2018 and complied with as on 31 March 2016
* S&P downgraded issuer credit rating from 'BB' to 'B' and Moody's downgraded its corporate family rating from 'Ba1' to 'B2' due to weak commodity prices
- S&P subsequently revised the outlook to 'Stable' in April 2016

* Hindustan Zinc Limited announced its highest ever special dividend in Q4 (c. US$1.8 billion including dividend distribution tax)
* Final dividend of 30 US cents per share
* Simplification of the group structure continues to be a priority
Business Highlights
* Record production of zinc, lead and silver at Zinc - India; aluminium, power and copper cathodes at Copper - India
* Commenced ramp-up of capacities at Aluminium, Power and Iron Ore divisions
* Entire power portfolio of 9,000 MW now operational
* Successful implementation of Mangala Enhanced Oil Recovery Program
* Recommenced production at Goa iron ore operations, achieved exit run rate production of 0.8 million tonnes per month
* Strong cost performance, with lower cost of production across all businesses; cost savings of c.US$325 million delivered in the year

Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc, commented: "Vedanta demonstrated resilience this year, delivering healthy EBITDA margin, strong free cash flow and lower gross & net debt in a volatile commodities market. We achieved record production in zinc, lead, silver at Zinc India; Aluminium, Power and Copper cathodes. There is a huge opportunity for Vedanta to support India's future resources demand, which we are well placed to seize with our combination of low cost and well-invested assets. We look to the future with cautious optimism."

rose (red) coloured specs .... 10 year chart shows a pretty sad performance

Barclays note today:
"· Vedanta reported EBITDA of $2336m, 2% ahead of our estimate and +4% vs. consensus. EBITDA declined –18% HoH in H2 and was down –38% YoY for the FY. Underlying PAT pre-minorities was -$29m vs. our estimate of +$1m. Due to the volatile minority line, underlying EPS was -$1.32 vs. our -$0.59 estimate and 19% below consensus (-$1.1). Surprisingly the company reinstated a final dividend of 30c/sh ($83m).

· Net debt: Importantly this fell to $7.329bn at March-16 vs. $7.5bn at Sept-15 and our estimate of $7.526bn. The drivers of the reduction were working capital inflow of $136m in H2, building on the inflow of $1030m in H1, plus significantly lower capex (H1: $651m, H2: $310m). However, ~50% of the $826m debtor/creditor inflow for the FY is expected to reverse in FY17. ND/EBITDA as a result was 3.14x LTM basis, vs. 2.58x reported in September. Using H2 EBITDA annualized, ND/EBITDA was 3.49x. The group’s covenants have been raised to 4x until March-17, declining to 2.75x by March-19. The company has $3.8bn maturing this year (2.5x market cap), of which $1.5bn is at PLC ($0.9bn already repaid by VEDL) and $2.3bn at the subsidiaries (yet to be refinanced).

· Guidance changes: Key elements pre-announced via subs reporting – see summary table below. Highlights include FY17 capex at Cairn cut to $100m (vs. $500m) but with production expected to remain broadly flat. Gamsberg FY17 capex $200m (vs. previously $60-100m). Zinc India $300m, opex stable (higher in H1) and marginally higher production. Ali/Power $400m. Overall FY17 growth capex expected at $1.0bn in line with prior $1bn.

· Impairments: As reported by the subs, Vedanta PLC reported a total impairment of $5.2bn pre-tax, including oil & gas assets and goodwill ($4.9bn), with the balance iron ore in Liberia and others.

· Key new number is KCM: with ~100% of EBITDA already released via the subs reporting, KCM (EBITDA –ve) is the only new operational data in the release. FY16 EBITDA was -$18m vs. our estimated -$30m. FY cash cost $1.975/lb vs. in H1 $2.10/lb. Q3 was $1.75/lb and Q4 $1.95/lb – the increase is due to power tariffs.

· Valuation not supportive: Spot PERs 303x and 20.7x 2016-17E, spot EV/EBITDA 7.5x and 6.5x 2016-17E, attributable FCF yield -6.9% and +13.0%.

Indian-based mining group Vedanta Resources has taken the “prudent” move to cut its dividend by more than half, as low commodity prices and a vast impairment in its oil and gas business pushed it to a loss.

The FTSE 250 company, which specialises in zinc but also produces copper and iron ore as well as oil and gas, cut its final dividend to 30 cents a share from 63 cents last year.

Vedanta reported a pre-tax loss of $4.98bn (£3.45bn) for the year to March 31. This was an improvement on the previous year, when it fell to a $5.6bn loss. Revenue fell from $12.88bn to $10.74bn.

Barclays note:
"Vedanta is turning a corner of sorts. Its maturity profile now looks manageable, and we expect net debt/EBITDA to decline in FY17 albeit due to EBITDA rising rather than net debt declining. The company’s principal commodity exposures, zinc and oil (56% of FY17 EBITDA), should offer some potential for upside. Some valuation metrics are starting to look interesting too with EV/EBITDA at 6.2x and 4.5x in CY16-17 while FCF/EV is 5% and 11%, respectively. That said, there is limited downside protection to the equity should commodity prices fall, on our estimates. Our spot NPV and SOTP both indicate negative equity values, in line with Vedanta’s negative book value just reported for March-16. Hence, we remain UW for now.
Refi remains a risk but now more manageable: Vedanta remains dependent on bank/bond markets to continue its refinancing program. While it has been successful so far, there are signs it is becoming trickier. The company has resorted to paying $1.8bn dividends from HZL in April (in the process losing $844m in withholding tax and minority payments) and factoring working capital (creditor days now 255). However, maturities over the next three years now stand at $10.9bn compared with cash and undrawn facilities of $10bn and cumulative FCF of $3.6bn post minorities.
Net debt likely to rise in FY17 but ratios coming down: We struggle to see how net debt will come down in FY17 in the absence of higher commodity prices, given the $844m HZL outflow, PLC dividend of $83m, higher capex and ~$400m working capital outflow as per guidance. However, due to higher oil and zinc prices plus some modest volume growth driving EBITDA up, we see net debt/EBITDA declining to 2.8x in FY17 (from 3.1x in FY16), well within the revised covenants of 4x. That gives some scope, if required, to add a cash top-up beyond the $117m current offer to the Cairn minorities.
Investment case needs higher prices for key commodities: Ultimately Vedanta needs higher prices to see its equity re-rate – our NPV is negative on spot, as is the company’s March-16 book value and SOTP (Figure 32). We think higher prices are likely for its two principal commodities zinc and oil (captured in our forecasts). However, until the company takes more meaningful steps to reduce debt, eliminate structural complexity and unlock ‘latent capacity’, the stock remains too risky for us so we retain our UW rating."

Goldman Sachs today initiates coverage of Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) with a neutral investment rating and price target of 400p.

We initiate on Vedanta with a Neutral rating and a 12-month price target of 400p. Vedanta has a portfolio of attractive assets (zinc/power/oil). However, the key challenge remains significant debt pressure – exacerbated by recent lower commodity prices. The company has c.US$1.3 bn/year of maturities over the next 4 years – for which we estimate FCF generation and cash at subsidiaries is sufficient. However, if commodity prices slide further or if the company faces issues in upstreaming cash from its subsidiaries (particularly Cairn and Hindustan Zinc) it could entail fund raising and as such hamper the investment case.

Citigroup note today:
"A difficult equity story to sell
Group structure complexity and high leverage still dominate Vedanta’s investment case and equally act as deterrents to a number of investors. We see four things that could turn the dial for Vedanta (group structure simplification, deleverage, KCM delivery and integrated aluminium business), but the road to delivery of all of these looks long and bumpy. Following a period of restriction, we resume coverage at Neutral/High Risk with a £4.40 TP.

It can’t ever be that simple
A big minority line from Vedanta Ltd will always remain even if the group manages to buy all other minorities. Moreover, investors with a global mandate have an option to avoid the holding company debt/discount and KCM/Zambia risk, meaning that the group risks competing for capital/investors with its own subsidiaries. Moreover, valuation disconnects between the holding and subsidiary companies can increase the vulnerability of the higher-rated name as investors try to tap into arbitrage opportunities.

What changes with Cairn merger?
Due to completion timing uncertainty, dominant minority shareholding and reversal of the bid premium, we don’t factor the proposed Cairn India merger into our base case. We estimate a merger on current terms would reduce VED’s earnings and NPV by a double-digit % as the gain from higher effective ownership of Cairn India (from 37.7% to 50.1%) would be more than offset by lower effective ownership of all other businesses under VED Ltd as Plc’s stake would be diluted to 50.1% (from 62.9% currently) under current merger terms.

Key changes to our model
We update our model for the FY16 results and also incorporate Citi’s current commodity and fx estimates. Significantly lower commodity prices since our last publication have resulted in double-digit downgrades to our EPS estimates from FY18 onwards while our FY17 EPS estimate has turned to a negative 52.6c from +48.4c previously due to a lower base. Our NPV has, however, declined only marginally to £16.2/share from £16.7/share due to roll-forward. Our price target (based on NPV and EV/EBITDA valuation methods) declines to £4.40/share from £5.50/share, primarily on significantly lower EBITDA."

Credit Suisse today reaffirms its underperform investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 300p (from 250p).

Deutsche Bank today upgrades its investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) to buy (from hold) and raised its price target to 615p (from 375p).

Credit Suisse today reaffirms its underperform investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 330p (from 300p).

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta's Q1 EBITDA has dived 45% to $119.2m, from $219.4m, with revenue down 32% to $281.5m, from $413.0m.

"We have made good progress on the ramp up of capacities at our Aluminium, Power and Iron Ore businesses during the quarter," said CEO Tom Albanese.

"These would be significant contributors to earnings as the year progresses. Zinc-India was impacted by lower mined metal production as per the mine plan, and the second half is expected to be substantially higher.

"We are making good progress towards optimising costs at Copper-Zambia. We are focused on generating stronger free cash flow and de-levering the balance sheet, in line with our strategic priorities.

"Another of these priorities, the simplification of the group structure, is also on track following the recent announcement of the revised and final terms for the Vedanta Ltd-Cairn India merger."

HIGHLIGHTS:
- Oil and Gas: production stable; contribution from Mangala EOR, world's largest polymer EOR program, increased to 42kboepd

- Rajasthan water flood opex at $4.4/boe, blended cost at $6.4/boe

- Silver production up 20% y-o-y

- Lower mined metal production as per plan, H2 production expected to be substantially higher than H1

- Maintained first decile cost of production

- Copper Zambia: Konkola underground production up 2% y-o-y due to improved equipment availability; overall cost of production 8% lower

- Aluminium: Exit production run-rate of 1.1mtpa

- Ramp-up of first line of 1.25mt Jharsuguda-II smelter completed, second line commenced in July; 325kt BALCO-II smelter nearing completion

- Iron ore: Production at Goa ramped up; produced 40% of allocated annual capacity at Goa in Q1

- TSPL: Two units operated at 72% availability, third unit to be capitalized in Q2

- BALCO: Second 300 MW IPP unit capitalized

Jefferies International today reaffirms its underperform investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 400p (from 350p).

Consolidated Results for the Second Quarter ended 30 September 2016
Mumbai, India: Vedanta Limited today announced its unaudited consolidated results under Ind AS for the second financial quarter (Q2) ended 30 September 2016.

Financial Highlights
· Revenues of Rs. 15,666 crore, up 9% q-o-q
· EBITDA of Rs. 4,640 crore up by 31% q-o-q, driven by strong operating performance and higher commodity prices
· Robust EBITDA margin1 of 39% vs. 32% in the previous quarter
· Attributable PAT at Rs. 1,252 crore, 17% higher y-o-y and 104% higher q-o-q
· Delivered cumulative cost and marketing savings of $ 421 mn over the last eighteen months
· Free cash flow post growth capex of Rs. 2,613 crore driven by operating performance and working capital initiatives
· Net debt reduced by Rs. 2,259 crore
· Strong financial position with total cash and liquid investments of Rs. 54,833 crore
· Contribution of c. Rs. 13,000 crore to the Indian Exchequer during H1 FY2017, in the form of taxes, duties, royalties and profit petroleum
· Interim dividend of Rs. 1.75 per share

Operational Highlights
· Aluminium: Smelters continue to ramp-up, production run-rate of 1.1mtpa (excluding trial run) and 1.2mtpa (including trial run)
· Power: TSPL 3rd unit of 660MW capitalized; plant availability at 77%
· Zinc India: Mined metal production up 51% q-o-q, H2 expected to be significantly higher than H1 as per the mine plans
· O&G: Strong production at Rajasthan, Mangala EOR 24% higher q-o-q; blended cost down 10% q-o-q
· Iron ore: Mining and shipments from Goa resumed post monsoon

1. Excludes custom smelting at Copper India and Zinc India operations

Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Limited, said: "We have made significant operational progress this quarter, with an increase in production from Zinc India quarter-on- quarter, good operating performance at our Oil & Gas business, the TSPL Power business now fully operational and Aluminium continuing to ramp-up. During the quarter, as a result of our improved operating performance and working capital initiatives, we maximised free cash flow. We have substantially reduced our debt and remain focused on strengthening our balance sheet, including by refinancing debt maturities. Simplifying the group structure continues to be a priority, and the Cairn India - Vedanta Limited merger remains on track for completion in Q1 CY2017, supported by the shareholders of both companies."

Nice chart Harry.

The recent notes seem at odds.

24 Oct Barclays Capital Underweight 709.00 460.00 460.00 Reiterates
14 Oct Jefferies International Underperform 709.00 400.00 500.00 Reiterates
14 Oct Credit Suisse Neutral 709.00 330.00 330.00 Upgrades
11 Oct Deutsche Bank Buy 709.00 670.00 670.00 Reiterates

Nearly all of the miners have done well (doubled or trebled) since Jan 2016 and almost none of the brokers have been confident enough to classify them as a buy and even if a few have, they have set TP well below the actual sp.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources has booked H1 revenue of $4.9bn and EBITDA of $1.2bn, down respectively 15% and 4% on the year mostly due to lower commodity prices and lower volumes at Zinc India in line with mine plans.

"Vedanta Resources continues to deliver on all fronts, achieving robust operational and financial performance in the first half of the financial year," said chairman Anil Agarwal in a statement.

"We ramped-up production as planned at our Aluminium, Power and Iron Ore businesses. We continue our relentless focus on cost optimisation, generating strong free cash flow and de-levering our balance sheet.

"During H1, we received approval from all sets of shareholders for the merger of Cairn India with Vedanta Limited. This is a significant step towards simplifying the group, and creating long-term shareholder value, in line with our strategic priorities.

"Vedanta's exposure to India means we are well-positioned to benefit from world's fastest growing economy."

HIGHLIGHTS:
- Highest EBITDA margin (excluding custom Smelting)(2) in the last two years of 33% compared to 30% last year, driven by lower costs

- Higher operating Profit of US$720 million (H1 FY2016: US$578 million)

- Underlying Loss Per Share(3) of 18.8 US cents (H1 FY2016: loss of 57.6 US cents) and Basic Loss Per Share of 23.2 US cents (H1 FY2016: loss of 117.7 US cents), reflecting benefits of cost optimisation

- Positive free cash flow after growth capex(4) of US$166 million

- Gross debt reduced by US$118 million over one year

- Net debt increased to US$8.2 billion, due to special dividend payment by Hindustan Zinc Limited in April 2016

- Positive credit rating movements: Moody's upgraded corporate family rating from B2 to B1 and S&P revised outlook from Stable to Positive

- Interim dividend of US cents 20 per share

- Vedanta Ltd-Cairn India merger approved by shareholders; expected to complete in Q1 CY2017.

Jefferies International today upgrades its investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) to hold (from underperform) and raised its price target to 800p (from 500p)

Waiting for a pull back to 50dma

Credit Suisse today downgrades its investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) to underperform (from neutral) and raised its price target to 670p (from 600p)

Deutsche Bank today reaffirms its hold investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 905p (from 900p)

Credit Suisse today (07/12/16) reaffirms its underperform investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 750p (from 670p).

Jefferies International today (20/12/16) reaffirms its hold investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 950p (from 800p).

Q3 Highlights
Operations
· Zinc India:
§ Mined metal production up 44% q-o-q in line with mine plan
§ Integrated metal production increased q-o-q: zinc 38%, lead 26% and silver 10%
§ Environment clearances received for expansion of Zawar and Sindesar Khurd mines
· Aluminium:
§ Continued ramp up of Jharsuguda-II and BALCO-II smelters; third line of the 1.25 mtpa Jharsuguda-II smelter commenced ramp up in December 2016
§ Supply of coal has commenced from the 6mtpa coal linkages secured earlier this year
· Power:
§ 1,980MW TSPL plant fully operational with 77% plant availability
· Oil & Gas:
Rajasthan production impacted by planned shutdown; strong performance from Mangala EOR with production level of 55,000 barrels per day despite shutdown
· Iron Ore:
§ Expected to achieve annual mining cap at Karnataka and Goa in the current month; received additional mining allocation in Goa for FY 2017
Corporate

· Vedanta Limited - Cairn India merger approved by all sets of shareholders; expected to complete by Q1 CY2017

Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Limited, said: "We have made substantial operational progress during the quarter with the enhancement of production from Zinc India and the ramp up of our Aluminium capacities. The 1,980 MW TSPL power plant continues to operate at a high availability of 77%. In our Oil and Gas business, the EOR program at the Mangala oil field in Rajasthan continued to yield positive results. We are very excited about our Gamsberg Zinc project in South Africa where pre-stripping is well underway and first ore is expected in mid CY2018. We will continue our sustained focus on costs alongside rising capacity utilizations thus driving free cash flow growth."

Mumbai, India: Vedanta Limited today announced its unaudited consolidated results under Ind AS for the third quarter (Q3) ended 31 December 2016.

Financial Highlights
· Revenues of Rs. 19,320 crore, up 23% q-o-q
· EBITDA of Rs. 6,002 crore, up 29% q-o-q and up 83% y-o-y
· Robust EBITDA margins1 of 39%, reflecting benefits from higher commodity prices and volume ramp-up
· Attributable PAT at Rs. 1,866 crore, up 4.5 times y-o-y and 49% higher q-o-q
· Delivered cumulative cost and marketing savings of $545 mn over the last 7 quarters, ahead of plan to deliver $1.3 bn in four years
· Free cash flow of Rs. 1,801 crore, driven by strong operating performance
· Gross debt reduction of Rs. 1,828 crore and net debt reduction of Rs. 447 crore during the quarter
· Strong financial position with total cash and liquid investments of Rs. 53,452 crore

Operational Highlights
· Zinc India: Mined metal production up 44% q-o-q in line with mine plans; environment clearances received for expansion of Zawar and Sindesar Khurd mines
· Aluminium: Smelters continue to ramp-up; third line of the 1.25 mtpa Jharsuguda-II smelter commenced ramp up in December 2016
· Power: 1,980MW TSPL plant availability at 77%
· Oil & Gas: Mangala EOR production at 55 kboepd; Rajasthan production impacted by planned shutdown
· Iron ore: Achieved annual mining production cap in January; received additional mining allocation in Goa for FY2017
1. Excludes custom smelting at Copper India and Zinc India operations

Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Limited, said: "Volume ramp-up and cost efficiencies across our operations, aided by higher commodity prices, have significantly driven up EBITDA y-o-y. Our financial position remains robust and we continue to strengthen our balance sheet by maximising free cash flow and reducing debt. With our focus on simplifying the group structure, the Vedanta Limited and Cairn India merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of CY 2017."

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources has improved its Q3 revenue and EBITDA, but on a nine-month basis these were lower. The company also noted lower production in both the three- and nine-month periods.

Revenue for Q3 was $318.7m, up 4% from $307.8m, with EBITDA at $158.2m, up 66% from $95.5m. These gains reflected the benefits of higher commodity prices and production volumes.

However, on a nine-month basis, revenue was $904.6m, down 15% from $1.06bn, while EBITDA was $432.1m, down 8% from $469.2m.

For Q3 FY 2017, average gross production across assets was lower at 181,818 boepd, from 202,668 boepd, primarily due to planned maintenance shutdown in Rajasthan and natural decline in offshore assets.

In the nine months to Dec. 31, 2016, average gross production across assets was 191,674 boepd, down 7% from 205,909 boepd.

CEO Tom Albanese said the company had achieved substantial operational progress during the quarter with ramp up of it Aluminium, Power and Iron Ore capacities.

"We are very excited about our Gamsberg Zinc project in South Africa where first ore is expected in mid-2018. At KCM, we are committed to the turnaround of this asset and continue to work towards it," he said.

Vedanta's rising capacity utilizations and the continued focus on costs, alongside stronger commodity prices, enabled it to deliver 79% higher EBITDA and strong free cash flow, he said.

"In line with our stated financial strategy to extend near-term maturities and optimise the balance sheet, we successfully issued a $1bn USD bond in January 2017 to proactively refinance part of our 2018 and 2019 bond maturities.

"We are pleased with the strong demand these bonds received, with support from all major markets."

National Company Law Tribunal approves merger of Cairn India Limited with Vedanta Limited

The National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench ("Tribunal"), has today approved the Scheme of Arrangement between Vedanta Limited and Cairn India Limited, and their respective shareholders and creditors ("Scheme"). The certified copy of the order is awaited from the Tribunal.

Update on Vedanta Limited - Cairn India merger
The Company has now received all the required approvals in relation to the Scheme of Arrangement between Vedanta Limited and Cairn India Limited, and their respective shareholders and creditors ("Scheme"), save and except the approval of Reserve Bank of India for issuance of Redeemable Preference Shares to the Non-resident shareholders of Cairn India Limited.

The Scheme will be made effective and record date for issue of the Company shares pursuant to the Scheme, would be set upon receipt of the said approval of Reserve Bank of India.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources said it has achieved strong results in ramping up output at its zinc, aluminium, power and iron ore businesses, in line with the company's strategic priority.

"In particular, record production levels at Hindustan Zinc are well-timed in these strong commodity markets. We remain committed to the turnaround of KCM," said CEO Tom ALbanese.

He added that the merger of Vedanta Ltd and Cairn India was set for completion in due course.

"In addition, we have carried out a number of proactive measures to strengthen the balance sheet, while maintaining our commitment to prudent cost management, to deliver strong returns for all stakeholders."

OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS:

Oil & Gas:
- Successful ramp up from Mangala EOR with production level of 56,000 boepd in Q4

Zinc India:
- Record annual production of mined metal at 907,000 tonnes of zinc and lead

- Record annual production of refined silver at 14.55 million ounces

Zinc International:
- Highest quarterly production at Black Mountain in 4 years

- Mobilisation on Skorpion Pit layback has commenced in April

- Gamsberg project on track to commence production in mid CY 2018

Copper India:
- Record annual and quarterly copper cathode production

Aluminium:
- Record aluminium production in Q4

Power:
- Record power production in Q4

- 1,980 MW TSPL plant: high availability at 85% in Q4

Iron ore:
- Achieved 2.6 million tonnes of the additional production capacity granted in Goa

Copper Zambia
- Lower integrated production due to lower equipment availability; strong custom production

Why is Vedanta dropping? 765p now.

this could be an interesting technical play
for some reason that is not at all apparent, sp has dropped from 1100 (all time high) in mid february to 765 at close today
at 765, sp is just touching (rising) 200 dma

will i be buying?
very doubtful, not least because base metal stocks have been performing poorly of late
nevertheless, for those of stronger nerves - brave gamblers!- this could be worth a dabble

All of the main mining stocks on the LSE seem to have peaked and are threatening to break down through the 200 DMA. Many dropped today around 3-5%. (RIO, ANTO, BLT, AAL etc)
In addition: "Miners were among the casualties as copper prices dropped sharply by 2.7% to $5,599 per tonne.
This hit some of the world's biggest miners including Rio Tinto (RIO), Anglo American (AAL) and BHP Billiton (BLT) by up to 4% on the implication they would make less money from selling the conductive metal."

SALES PER ACTIVITY (Data as of 31/03/2006)

Copper: 60%
Zinc: 24%
Aluminium: 12%
Others: 4%

I would need to see the updated % on the above.

Hmmmmm.....lots of downside to come, imo.

Jefferies International Hold 715.50 950.00 850.00 Reiterates

£8.50 is a joke... £5.00 more likely.

I agree.....then back up to 850p?!!!!

Heading down to the 500p level pretty quickly.

signs of life.

Moving higher today with buyers returning.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta has boosted its FY EBITDA and revenue, and enters FY 2018 in a stronger financial position.

"We delivered a strong set of results this year and took important steps towards achieving our strategic objectives," said chairman Anil Agarwal in a statement.

The company's revenue rose 7% to $11.5bn, driven by firmer commodity prices and volume ramp-up. EBITDA increased 37% to $3.2bn.

"We reached record production levels across several of our businesses and I am confident of continued successful ramp ups from our world-class assets," he said.

"An important milestone for us this year was the completion of the merger of Vedanta Limited and Cairn India, and our simplified group structure will support strong shareholder returns," said Agarwal.

"We remain committed to a consistent strategy and de-levering the balance sheet, and look ahead to FY 2018 in a stronger financial position and with more confidence than ever."

Continuing his reference to FY 2018, Agarwal said he was optimistic that the improvement in commodity markets experienced this year might continue for the foreseeable future.

"Prices in copper, aluminium, zinc, iron ore, oil and gas have all shown a strong recovery last year, so we approach FY 2018 with a cautious optimism and a continuing discipline in our capital allocation," he said.

"Meanwhile, we will continue to contribute to India's exciting growth trajectory, working with the Indian Government, our employees and communities to make a difference."

Jefferies International today downgrades its investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) to underperform (from hold) and cut its price target to 500p (from 700p).

got a 26p div coming up soon.

Cryps this one's tumbled since end of Feb, hope you got in after most of the fall for that divi BB.

Div.26.92p on 20th July.
No I'm not in at mo....... wondering if
There will be a div cut before date.

Yes plenty of divi cuts looming I suspect.

Well BB no divi cut in the event and taken my eye off this one as it rises to Ex divi day damn it!

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources has confirmed that the Company intends to announce its production results for the quarter ended 30 June on 26 July 2017.

CHAIRMAN'S INTRODUCTION
During the financial year 2016 the company remained focused in challenging market conditions.
It is therefore a pleasure for me to report that financial year 2017 was a story of price recovery and exciting potential. Since founding the company, I have always said that our focus is on building a diversified natural resources company that creates wealth to ultimately support economic progress for communities.

We are now the sixth largest, and fastest growing, diversified resources company in the world. And with a strong operational performance and supportive market environment, I am proud to report we continue to deliver encouraging numbers. Since our IPO in 2003, we have returned over US$2 billion to all shareholders and generated a total shareholder return of over 130%.

During the year, Cairn India merged with Vedanta Limited, further simplifying the Group structure. With commodity markets turning positive, I look to the future with confidence due to our portfolio of world class, low cost assets.

India and Africa, our key markets, present an exceptional potential for further growth. Vedanta offers a unique opportunity to invest in India's growth story. Whilst other companies look to China or the rest of Asia, we have a unique advantage that we sell the majority of our production within India. Being the fastest growing economy in the world, it is an exciting place to be. Honourable Prime Minister Modi has spearheaded significant economic reforms. Steady progress is being made and India is fast becoming the prime investment destination. The 'Make in India' programme is set to drive domestic growth by encouraging the development of the manufacturing industry, increasing demand for metals and energy. Vedanta Limited is one of the largest taxpayers in India, contributing around US$6 billion in FY2017 to the exchequer, including dividends from subsidiary Hindustan Zinc, to the Government.

We also have a long-standing presence in Africa, where we have invested approximately US$4 billion since 2004. I was pleased to accompany India's Prime Minister on a visit to South Africa last year as part of his business delegation and it was very encouraging to see the progress and opportunities in their country.

Safety and sustainability continue to be a personal priority, as they are across the Group. We are making good progress in our journey towards Zero Harm, Zero Waste and Zero Discharge. We have not yet achieved 'zero harm' but we will continue pushing and we will not be satisfied until we attain it. We will continue working with the same spirit and enthusiasm to realise our ultimate goal.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our day. Last year, Prime Minister Modi committed India to COP 21. We too take our responsibility to society seriously and will continue contributing to the communities in which we operate. This year we invested a total of US$18 million on social projects, benefitting over 2 million people.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources said revenue and EBITDA were significantly higher year-on-year, driven by higher commodity prices and volumes.

Gross debt (excluding Zinc India temporary borrowing) was reduced by $1.3bn in Q1 FY2018, further reduction of $385m post June 30 2017.

Proactive refinancing of $1.84bn announced in August at Vedanta Resources through a combination of bond and bank debt; extends average debt maturity by 1.5 years, lowers the average cost of borrowing and results in no significant debt maturities until December 2018.

CEO Tom Albanese said: "We have made a positive start to the year with both revenue and EBITDA significantly up year on year.

"In particular, our Zinc and Oil & Gas businesses have delivered a strong quarter.

"Vedanta is a world leader in zinc, and zinc prices have strengthened since the quarter end on continued global supply deficits.

"The Gamsberg zinc project remains on course to commence production in mid-CY2018.

"We remain committed to improvements at Copper-Zambia, while our continued ramp-up in the Aluminium business has helped us exit the quarter with a strong production run rate of 1.4 mtpa.

"Our recent comprehensive refinancing exercise of $1.84bn further helps to optimise our balance sheet and create value for all our stakeholders."

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources boosted production of various metals, including aluminum, copper and zinc in its fiscal second quarter.

At the company's Zinc India operations, refined zinc-lead metal production rose 27% on-year to 230kt. Refined silver production rose a record 31% to 4.5mn ounces.

Copper production in Zambia rose by 21% compared to the previous quarter, while aluminium production increased by 36% on-year to 401,000 tonnes.

"During the quarter, our Zinc, Copper India and Aluminium businesses have delivered a strong production performance," chief executive Kuldip Kaura said.

"We have also commenced our growth journey on both the exploration and development front in our Oil & Gas business."

"We are continuing to realise operational efficiencies across our diversified portfolio and to benefit from a supportive market environment."

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) and raised its price target to 650p (from 600p).

Q2 Results http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5728432

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources swung to profit in the first-half after production volumes and commodity prices rose.

Net profit before one-off items of $21m compared to a loss of $64m in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue rose by 39% to $6.8b, boosting Ebitda by 37%. The group's Ebitda margin expanded to 34%, from 33%.

The miner declared an interim dividend of 24c per share, up from 20c.

"Our performance in the half year underlines that Vedanta's consistent strategy is delivering results," chairman Anil Agarwal said.

"We are seeing the benefits of growth at Zinc and Aluminium, and the benefits of strong operating performance overall, alongside higher commodities prices."

Notice of Production Results for Q3 FY2018
Vedanta Resources plc will announce its production results for the Third quarter ended
31 December 2017, on Friday, 2 February 2018 at 7:00 a.m. UK time (12:30 p.m. India time).

Following the release, a conference call will be held on the same day at 9:00 a.m. UK time (2:30 p.m. India time), where senior management will discuss the results.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources said it boosted earnings in its fiscal third quarter by 21% on-year, as production volumes and commodity prices both rose.

Ebitda for the three months through December rose to $1.07bn on the back of a 34% Ebitda margin, the company said.

'We are looking forward to a strong fourth quarter, which will enable us to end the year with healthy cash generation,' chief executive Kuldip Kaura said.

'With the continued strength in the commodity markets, combined with Vedanta's attractive commodity mix and exposure to Indian growth, we will deliver superior shareholder returns, while maintaining a strong balance sheet.'

Closure of mining leases in the State of Goa
Hon'ble Supreme Court of India vide judgement dated February 07, 2018 have directed to stop all mining operations in the state of Goa with effect from March 16, 2018.

Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed that the mining lease holders who have been granted the second renewal are given time to manage their affairs and may continue their mining operations till March 15, 2018. However, they are directed to stop all mining operations with effect from March 16, 2018 until fresh mining leases and fresh environmental clearances are granted.

The Company's (VED) mines in the state of Goa will be impacted consequent to the judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Company is assessing the financial and operational impact of the said judgement.

StockMarketWire.com
India-focused Vedanta Resources shares soared after chairman Anil Agarwal's family trust Volcan Investments agreed to buy the rest of the miner it didn't already own, valuing it at £2.33bn.

The all-cash deal was priced at 825p per share, represented a 27.6% premium to the closing price of 647p pence per Vedanta share on 29 June.

Volcan currently held about 66.5% of Vedanta's shares.

Agarwal said a London listing had served the Indian company well.

'However, given the subsequent growth of our underlying businesses and the maturity of the Indian capital markets, together with related feedback from our shareholders and other stakeholders, we have concluded that a separate London listing is no longer necessary to achieve the Vedanta Group's strategic objectives,' he said.

'In taking this important step towards greater group simplification, we wanted to ensure that the independent shareholders of Vedanta Resources Plc were provided with the opportunity to exit on attractive terms, and I believe this possible offer will deliver on that objective.'

are they looking at leaving the lse..... harry

Volcan Investments is a Bahamas based holding company, so it's my understanding that holders of VED will get 825p per share and then the LSE listing will disappear.
According to the brokers, they will remain on the Indian Stock Exchange.

StockMarketWire.com
Vedanta Resources said a closing date for a buyout offer for the miner by Volcan Investments, backed by its chairman Anil Agarwal, had been set for the end of August.

Offer document containing the full terms and conditions of the bid were being posted to shareholders today, the company said.