Shares of Vedanta Ltd. (nse: vedl) fell more than 12% on Monday after the Indian oil and metal company sold a copper smelter that was closed for four years after 13 protesters died on suspicion of police fire.
The Mumbai based India's largest mining company said that potential buyers must submit a letter of intent before July 4.
In may2018, Vedanta was ordered to close its 400000 ton / year copper smelter in Tamil Nadu, southern India. The decision came after a week of fierce protests against the company's plans to expand its plant capacity, which locals accused of polluting their air and water.
The round of protests that ended with 13 deaths was condemned by the working group of United Nations human rights experts, saying that "the police used excessive and disproportionate lethal force".
Vedanta, controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, has filed numerous court proceedings to restart the smelter operated by its subsidiary Sterlite copper.
The case is now before the Supreme Court of the country, which has not yet set a date for hearing the case.
The closure of the Vedanta smelter reduced India's copper production by nearly half and made the country a net importer of metals.
According to the government statement, in the first two years of shutdown, the import volume of refined copper more than tripled to 151964 tons in the fiscal year ending march2020, while the export volume decreased by 90% to 36959 tons.
Post time: Jun-21-2022