Indian mining company Vedanta Ltd. plans to increase investment in Saudi Arabia and begin copper and gold mining in the west of the country in six to eight months. Vedanta officially received the license along with other international companies including China's Zijin Mining Group and Australian steel magnate Gina Reingart's Hancock Prospecting.
Vedanta has built a value chain - from mining to processing - in metals "in India, so we know what to do and how to do it," said the chief executive of a copper-nickel company in India and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Punit Khurana. “We are now ready to do this for Saudi Arabia as well,” he added.
Vedanta plans to sign an exploration and development contract for its first mine in the Jebel Saeed belt by mid-January, Khurana said.
The Indian company has already announced a $2 billion investment in building copper processing plants in Saudi Arabia.
Chinese company Zijin also plans to step up exploration through partnerships with local companies and reported to Bloomberg that afterCopper and gold mining in Saudi Arabia may begin in five years.
