company traded as lse ved industry metals and mining founded mumbai maharashtra india 1976 founder anil agarwal headquarters london united kingdom area served worldwide key people anil agarwal group chairman navin agarwal deputy executive chairman tom albanese chief executive officer products copper aluminum zinc lead gold iron ore pig iron metallurgical coke and oil and gas exploration revenue us 12.87 billion 2015 1 operating income us 5.009 billion 2015 1 profit us 1.799 billion 2015 1 total assets us 36.98 billion 2015 1 total equity us 1.603 billion 2015 1 number of employees 27 717 2015 1 subsidiaries sterlite industries hindustan zinc limited sesa goa bharat aluminium company malco vedanta aluminium sterlite energy australian copper mines konkola copper mines website www.vedantaresources.com vedanta resources plc is a global diversified metals and mining company with its headquarters in london united kingdom . it is the largest mining and non ferrous metals company in india and has mining operations in australia and zambia 2 and oil and gas operations in three countries . its main products are copper zinc aluminium lead iron ore and petroleum . 2 3 it is also developing commercial power stations in india in odisha 2 400 mw and punjab 1 980 mw . 4 the company is principally owned by indian billionaire anil agarwal through volcan investments a holding vehicle with a 61.7 % stake in the business . 5 vedanta is listed on the london stock exchange and is a constituent of the ftse 250 index . contents 1 history 2 operations 2.1 copper 2.2 zinc 2.3 aluminium 2.4 iron ore 2.5 oil and gas 3 criticism 3.1 environmental damage 3.2 safety concerns 3.2.1 2007 mining deaths 3.2.2 balco korba chhattisgarh 3.3 litigation 3.3.1 armenia 3.3.2 india 3.4 human rights 3.5 legal violations 4 references 5 external links history edit the company was founded in bombay now mumbai in 1976 by anil agarwal who is also its group chairman . 6 agarwal founded sterlite industries a business operating in the industrial sector in 1976 7 and then in 1986 established vedanta resources bringing together a variety of businesses owned by the agarwal family . 8 it was first listed on the london stock exchange in 2003 when it raised 876 million through an initial public offering . 9 meanwhile in 2006 it acquired sterlite gold a gold mining business . 10 it raised an additional 2bn through an adr issue in 2007 . 11 in 2008 it bought certain of the assets of asarco a copper mining business out of chapter 11 for 2.6 bn . 12 in december 2011 it announced the us 8.67 billion acquisition of cairn india a subsidiary of cairn energy heralding its foray in the oil sector . 13 operations edit copper edit sterlite industries india ltd sterlite is registered office headquartered in tuticorin tamil nadu india . sterlite has been a public listed company in india since 1988 and its equity shares are listed and traded on the nse and the bse and are also listed and traded on the nyse in the form of adss . vedanta owns 53.9 % of sterlite and has management control of the company . konkola copper mines vedanta owns 79.4 % of kcm s share capital and have management control of the company . kcm s other shareholder is zccm investment holdings plc. the government of zambia has a controlling stake in zccm investment holdings plc. copper mines of tasmania pty ltd cmt is headquartered in queenstown tasmania . sterlite owns 100.0 % of cmt and has management control of the company . zinc edit hindustan zinc ltd hzl is headquartered in udaipur in the state of rajasthan . hzl s equity shares are listed and traded on the nse and bse . sterlite owns 64.9 % of the share capital in hzl and has management control . sterlite has a call option to acquire the government of india s remaining ownership interest . aluminium edit in february 2001 government of india in a major dis investment deal approved the sale of its 51 % stake in balco to sterlite industries sil for rs .551.5 crores . 1 the government of india owns the remaining 49.0 % . incorporated in 1965 balco was a profit making public sector company which had played a crucial role in increasing the usage of aluminium over a wide spectrum of products ranging from household utensils to aerospace and defense sectors . bharat aluminium company ltd balco is headquartered at korba in the state of chhattisgarh and is a vertically integrated aluminium producer having its own captive bauxite mines captive power plants and smelter . by 2020 it aims to become a zero debt company . vedanta aluminium ltd vedanta aluminium is headquartered in jharsuguda odisha . vedanta owns 70.5 % of the share capital of vedanta aluminium and sterlite owns the remaining 29.5 % share capital of vedanta aluminium . vedanta aluminium produces ingots billets & wire rods that are sold in the markets around the world . vedanta aluminium limited val has acquired 24.5 % stake in l & t subsidiary raykal aluminium . based on achieving certain milestones vedanta aluminium will fully acquire raykal aluminium in phases . 14 vedanta is right now undertaking an ambitious expansion program . it plans to produce around 1.5 million tonnes of aluminium in the fiscal year 2016 17 from its jharsuguda and korba smelters which will make it the largest aluminium producer in india . its alumina refinery located in lanjigarh plans 15 to produce 1.5 million tonnes of alumina and depending on availability of domestic bauxite will subsequently ramp it up to 4 million tonnes per annum in the near future . 16 despite ngo sponsored activism the lanjigarh smelter has seen a lot of support from the local people who see it as an important source of employment and livelihood . 17 madras aluminium company ltd malco is headquartered in mettur india . malco s equity shares are listed and traded on the nse and bse . it owns 93.9 % of malco s share capital and has management control of the company . iron ore edit sesa goa limited sesa goa is headquartered in panaji india and its equity shares are listed and traded on the nse and bse . vedanta owns 57.1 % of sesa and has management control of the company . sesa goa limited has mining operations in goa and karnataka . sesa goa limited the flagship company of sesa group is india s largest exporter of iron ore in the private sector . for the past five decades the group has been involved in iron ore mining beneficiation and exports . over the last decade it has diversified into the manufacture of pig iron and metallurgical coke . the group operates a 280 000 tpy metallurgical coke plant and a 250 000 tpy pig iron plant . sterlite energy limited sterlite energy is headquartered in mumbai . sterlite owns 100.0 % of sterlite energy and has management control of the company . oil and gas edit vedanta has oil and gas properties in india sri lanka and south africa . in india it is a major producer of crude oil in the state of rajasthan through its subsidiary cairn india . criticism edit environmental damage edit vedanta has been criticised by human rights and activist groups including survival international amnesty international and niyamgiri surakshya samiti because of the company s operations in niyamgiri hills in orissa india that are said to threaten the lives of the dongria kondh people who populate this region . 18 the niyamgiri hills are also claimed to be an important wildlife habitat in eastern ghats of india as per a report by the wildlife institute of india 19 as well as independent reports studies carried out by civil society groups . 20 in january 2009 thousands of locals formed a human chain around the hill in protest at the plans to start bauxite mining in the area . 21 the union environment ministry in august 2010 rejected earlier clearances granted to a joint venture led by the vedanta group company sterlite industries for mining bauxite from niyamgiri hills . 22 vedanta s alumina refinery in lanjigarh was criticised by the orissa state pollution control board the statutory environmental regulation body for air pollution and water pollution in the area . according to amnesty international local people reported dust from the plant settling on clothes crops and food . vedanta officials claimed there was no dust pollution from the plant at all . 23 an environmental inspection of the plant reported water pollution by the plant including increasing the ph value of the river vamshadhara below the refinery and a high level of spm in the stack emissions . 24 in october 2009 it was reported that the british government has criticised vedanta for its treatment of the dongria kondh tribe in orissa india . 25 the company refused to co operate with the british government and with an oecd investigation . it has rejected charges of environmental damage saying it may be related to the increased use of fertiliser by farmers . 23 it was reported in august 2015 that villagers in chingola zambia can smell and taste toxic pollution leaks from the largest copper mine in africa owned by kcm . 26 safety concerns edit 2007 mining deaths edit unsafe mining operations led to 18 deaths and 1 256 injuries involving own employees and contractors in 2007 . 27 balco korba chhattisgarh edit a chimney under construction by gannon dunkerley & company at the balco smelter in korba chhattisgarh collapsed on 23 september 2009 killing at least 40 workers . 28 balco and gdcl management have been accused of negligence in the incident . 29 litigation edit armenia edit in early 2008 the armenian government began an investigation of agrc a subsidiary of vedanta resources concerning compliance with licensing and tax regulations following independent media claims that agrc submitted incorrect data in production reports relating to royalty payments and was in violation of licensing laws . agrc was also served a preliminary notice of penalties and fines to the tune of about 50 million or 80 % of its net assets . india edit in respect of bauxite mines at lanjigarh orissa public interest litigations were filed in 2004 by indian non government organisations led by the people s union for civil liberties to the supreme court sub committee regarding the potential environmental impact of the mines . the ministry of environment and forests received reports from expert organisations and has submitted its recommendations to the supreme court . the sub committee has found blatant violations of environmental regulations and grave concerns about the impact of the niyamgiri mine on both the environment and the local tribal population . the committee recommended to the court that mining in such an ecologically sensitive area should not be permitted . 30 human rights edit in february 2010 the church of england decided to disinvest from the company on ethical grounds . 31 according to the indigenous rights organisation survival international the church s decision is extremely unusual as it almost always prefers a policy of constructive engagement to disinvesting . 32 the church said we are not satisfied that vedanta has shown or is likely in future to show the level of respect for human rights and local communities that we expect and that it would be inconsistent with the church investing bodies joint ethical investment policy . the director of survival international stephen corry said the church s unprecedented and very welcome decision sends a strong signal to companies that trample on tribal peoples rights we will not bankroll your abuses . anybody that has shares in vedanta should sell them today if they care about human rights . 32 vedanta responded by expressing disappointment at the church s actions and that it is fully committed to