MUMBAI, August 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Vedanta Limited announces that the third 660 MW unit of its Talwandi Sabo Power Plant in Punjab has been put to commercial production on 24^th August 2016 and will be capitalized in September 2016.

Jharsuguda-II and BALCO-II smelter ramp-up update

The commissioning of pots at the first line of the 1.25mtpa Jharsuguda-II Aluminium smelter was completed in end July 2016.The first line was impacted by a pot failure incident due to a power shut down in early August, post which 168 pots were taken out of production. The impacted pots are currently being repaired and relined. The commissioning of the second line commenced in July 2016 with 65 pots commissioned till date, and this line will ramp up in the next 3-6 months. We plan to start commissioning of pots at the third line of the smelter in September 2016, well ahead of our earlier schedule of Q4 FY2017.

The 325kt BALCO-II smelter was successfully commissioned with all 336 pots operational in August, and are expected to be capitalized by October 2016.

The current run-rate of Aluminium production is c.1 mtpa, and the overall FY2017 volume guidance remains unchanged at 1.2mn tonnes.

Coal linkage secured through auctions for captive power plants

The auction of coal linkages for captive power plants were conducted by Coal India Limited in August 2016 and we have secured 6.09 million tonnes per annum in this auction for our captive power plants, that supplies power to our Aluminium smelters at Jharsuguda and Balco. The tenor of the linkage is 5 years with an option to extend this further. The premium paid was INR 96 per tonne, which is c. 10% over the Coal India linkage price for captive power plants. This will contribute to the long-term security of coal requirement at a competitive price.

For further information, please contact:

Communications

Roma Balwani                                                                                 Tel: +91 22 6646 1000
President – Group Communications, Sustainability& CSR                   gc@vedanta.co.in  

Investor Relations

Ashwin Bajaj                                                                                   Tel: +91 22 6646 1531
Director – Investor Relations                                                             vedantaltd.ir@vedanta.co.in 

   Vishesh Pachnanda
   Manager – Investor Relations

   Sunila Martis
   Manager – Investor Relations

About Vedanta Limited (Formerly SesaSterlite Ltd.)

Vedanta Limited is a diversified natural resources company, whose business primarily involves producing oil & gas, zinc - lead - silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power. The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia, Ireland, Liberia and Sri Lanka.

Vedanta Limited, formerly SesaSterlite Limited is the Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc, a London-listed company. Governance and Sustainable Development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety and environment and on enhancing the lives of local communities. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more information please log on to www.vedantalimited.com

Vedanta Limited
(Formerly known as SesaSterlite Limited)
Vedanta, 75, Nehru Road,
Vile Parle (East), Mumbai - 400 099
www.vedantalimited.com

Registered Office:
SesaGhor, 20 EDC Complex,
Patto, Panaji (Goa) - 403 001
CIN: L13209GA1965PLC000044

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should" or "will." Forward–looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different that those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Vedanta Limited