India Copper Market
Journey of Indian Copper in last decade
- 2015: MMDR Act introduces transparent mineral block auctions.
- 2018–20: Two CL copper blocks auctioned; HCL ICC and Vedanta Tuticorin plants closed.
- 2021: Adani starts 0.5 MTPA refinery (plus 0.5 MTPA by 2029).
- 2022: Vedanta wins CL block; Govt lists 30 critical minerals.
- 2023: QCO for 9 copper standards notified; two more CL blocks auctioned.
- 2024: Concentrate BCD cut to zero; Reverse Charge Mechanism applied to scrap.
- 2025: Customs duty removed on waste & scrap of critical minerals including copper.
India’s Copper Smelting Capacity
- Domestic mining: 2% of India’s copper supply.
- Supply mix: 29% processing imports, 38% recycling, 31% direct imports.
- Net cathode: 0.844 MT (0.509 MT domestic, 0.335 MT imports).
- Scrap to melting: ~0.66 MT (0.368 MT domestic, 0.291 MT imports).
- Net semis to end-use: 1.72 MT (1.503 MT domestic, 0.22 MT imports).
- Key refiners: Hindalco (Birla Copper), Adani, Vedanta.
Copper & the Circular Economy — In Brief
- Copper is fully recyclable with no loss of quality; recycled copper matches primary copper.
- About 32% of global copper use comes from recycling; roughly 40% of in-use copper is recycled content.
- India’s recycling share is near 1%, indicating large headroom for growth.
- Circular flow: factory/consumer scrap → collection → remelting → semis → end use → return, lowering carbon and costs.