Vedanta injects $400m into South Africa operation

India-focused natural resources company Vedanta Resources announced an expansion of its footprint into Africa on Friday.

The FTSE 250 firm already has a long-standing presence in Africa, having invested more than $4bn in its operations on the continent since 2004. Vedanta said it has now kickstarted its Gamsberg Zinc Project at Black Mountain Mining with a capital investment of $400m.

It currently mines copper in Zambia, produces zinc and lead concentrate at Black Mountain Mining in South Africa, and zinc metal at Skorpion Zinc in Namibia.

Gamsberg, which is in the Northern Cape, holds one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc sulphide deposits with around 160Mt of defined ore resources, the company said.

“The true scale of business opportunities in Africa has not yet been explored, particularly in South Africa's rich natural resources sector,” said chairman Anil Agarwal.

Agarwal said Vedanta remained committed to expanding its African operations and will continue to invest in the greenfield project at Gamsberg.

“We already have a significant presence in South Africa and are well placed to help realise the vision of our Prime Minister of shared growth between India and South Africa in the future.”