Chingola, 10 April 2018: Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a member of the Vedanta Resources Group, joined Zambians today to welcome the Honourable President of India, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind to the country.

India’s President is scheduled to meet with His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu in Lusaka and on Wednesday address an India-Zambia Business Forum.

Speaking on the eve of the visit, Vedanta Resources Chairman, Mr. Anil Agarwal, said: “This is the first time in 29 years that an Indian President has visited Zambia to celebrate the deep ties that exist between our two nations and promote closer collaboration between Indian and Zambian companies. I remain convinced that closer collaboration can lead to more sustainable development for both our nations.’’

Vedanta’s Chairman went on to say: ‘’There is a strong cultural affinity between Indians and Zambians. We both share a common capacity to do more with less; to find simple solutions to complex problems. It’s this ingenuity that first attracted me to Zambia in 2002; which led to Vedanta’s investment in KCM, and which I think can be leveraged to promote inclusive growth in both our nations.’’

Steven Din, CEO of KCM shared the Vedanta Chairman’s enthusiasm, saying: ‘‘On a daily basis at KCM we employ the best of both Indian and Zambian know-how and technology to equip our business – a proudly Zambian business – for success in the 21st Century. Our world-class smelter at Nchanga is a fine example of World Class Flash Technology run by Zambians who were trained at Vedanta’s Tuticorin smelter in India.

“Nor is our work confined to the factory gates: within our communities today, we are deploying the same skills and know how to build capacity among small businesses in our supply chain. Our goal is simple but ambitious – to release the potential of Zambian entrepreneurs to transform the Copperbelt into a resilient and dynamic economic hub,’’ Mr Din added.

Since 2004, KCM has benefited from more than US$3 billion of new investment from Vedanta, making it one of the country’s leading investors. These funds have been used to upgrade existing mines, build new state of the art processing plants and strengthen KCM’s value chain. KCM’s ‘life of mine’ has increased by more than 30 years during this period. In March 2017, Mr Agarwal announced a further commitment of $1bn to ramp up production at KCM and launched a Path to Growth strategy to increase production by more than 400% over the next five years, without compromising the environment, safety or quality.