JSW secures Hindustan Copper mines in Jharkhand in strategic move into non-ferrous metals

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group has added copper to its metals business, marking its entry into the non-ferrous metals industry and opening up doors to a vast range of consumer applications, including electronics, telecommunications and healthcare. The company has won a bid to secure two copper mines in Jharkhand from state-owned Hindustan Copper, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

The company won the bid against Hindalco Industries with a competitive revenue-sharing offer, the people cited above said. Under the agreement, JSW will develop the mines, handle capital expenditure, and manage operations. In turn, Hindustan Copper will provide technical support and receive a percentage of the revenue generated from the mines.

“The idea is to venture into non-ferrous metals because copper will be in huge demand, be it from EVs (electric vehicles), the renewable grid, construction, home appliances, everything needs copper," one of the people cited above said. “Today, India is a net importer. This is a critical start." Also read | Macquarie, JSW Group, Actis line up to buy O2 Power in $1-billion deal This person added that having captive copper production will also aid JSW create backward integration with its EV and battery manufacturing plans, where copper is a major raw material, “so the move is highly synergistic".

Until its own copper smelter is operational, JSW plans to sell ore in the open market for both domestic buyers and exports. The newly acquired mines will be managed by SouthWest Mining, a JSW subsidiary that operates multiple mining projects. According to the people cited above, the two mines are pre-MPPA (mining plan and project