Vedanta Resources Limited has categorically dismissed recent media reports suggesting it was planning to sell its stake in Vedanta Limited, Vedanta Aluminium or any other company within the Vedanta Group. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the parent company said there was currently no such plan. As reported by PTI, a company spokesperson stated: "Vedanta Resources Limited denies the recent media speculation regarding a purported sale of its shareholding in Vedanta Limited, Vedanta Aluminium, or any other Vedanta group company, and confirms that there is currently no such plan." The clarification comes amid the group's ongoing restructuring and deleveraging efforts, with the company's focus remaining on expanding businesses and unlocking value for shareholders through the proposed demerger of Vedanta Limited into five separate companies. According to PTI, the company said it remains focused on growth and value creation, driven by its planned demerger into five focused businesses, an ambitious growth capex pipeline, deleveraging and shareholder returns.
The restructuring plan is aimed at creating focused businesses across aluminium, oil and gas, steel and ferrous materials, power and the remaining Vedanta Limited operations. According to PTI, Vedanta Resources said its focus continues to be on expanding its businesses and unlocking value for shareholders through this proposed demerger. The company remains focused on its growth capital expenditure plans, reducing debt and delivering returns to shareholders as part of its strategy to build "five Vedantas" as part of its long-term transformation strategy. The restructuring is part of the group's broader technology-led expansion under its Vedanta 2.0 strategy, which includes increasing its presence in critical minerals and the clean-energy value chain. As per PTI, the company outlined an ambitious growth roadmap with each vertical having the potential to become a $100 billion opportunity over time.
Vedanta Ltd has commissioned India's first high-speed hydrostatic portable rig for mineral exploration, deploying the equipment at two projects in Chhattisgarh targeting gold and critical minerals including nickel, chromium and platinum group elements. According to the company's statement, the rig is designed for exploration in inaccessible and difficult terrains and can undertake drilling up to 1,000 metres, compared with the typical 300-400 metre range of conventional drilling equipment. This enhanced capability allows for deeper exploration without losing precious time in inter-location movement, significantly improving operational efficiency in the exploration process. The hydrostatic system uses pressurised fluid to drive drilling operations, while the portable configuration is specifically designed for use in remote and difficult terrain, reducing time spent moving equipment between sites.
The company has secured 10 critical mineral blocks across commodities including gold, manganese, copper, nickel-chromium-PGE, tungsten, graphite, vanadium, rare earth elements and potash. Exploration is already underway across five of these blocks, while the company has also been declared the successful bidder for the Punnam manganese block in Andhra Pradesh. The scale of this portfolio is particularly significant because critical-mineral development is a long process - a successful auction does not guarantee a mine, as companies must first prove the size, grade, geometry and economic viability of a deposit through deep drilling. The equipment has been deployed at sites in Chhattisgarh, including targets for nickel, chromium, platinum-group elements and gold, with the most significant outcome expected to be the data produced rather than the rig itself.
The portable rig deployment is strategically positioned against a backdrop of surging global demand for critical minerals. According to ETManufacturing, global demand for critical minerals used in clean-energy technologies is expected to nearly triple by 2030 under the International Energy Agency's Net Zero Emissions Scenario and quadruple by 2040, reaching close to 40 million tonnes annually. This has increased efforts globally to diversify critical mineral supply chains and reduce dependence on individual sources. The timing reflects a wider shift in global supply chains, as copper and nickel are vital to electrification, data centres, artificial-intelligence infrastructure and electric mobility, while graphite is used in lithium-ion battery anodes and rare earth elements are needed in technologies such as electric motors, wind turbines and electronics. The company cited government estimates that around 80 per cent of India's mineral resources remain unexplored, highlighting the significant potential for domestic resource development.
