Vedanta plans $317m coal power plant as Zambia presses for faster investment

Vedanta Resources' Zambian unit, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), is planning a $317 million, 300MW coal-fired power plant in southern Zambia, to be built in two phases, as the company seeks to secure reliable electricity for its ageing but deep and increasingly power-hungry copper operations. The move comes as Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has personally urged Vedanta to accelerate power-generation investment, meeting with the company's head of strategy and growth, Pushpender Singla, in September 2026 to press the point.

KCM currently produces around 140,000 tonnes of copper a year, and Vedanta has set an intermediate target of 300,000 tonnes by 2031, with a longer-term ambition of 500,000 tonnes annually. Reaching those targets will require KCM to mine deeper and expand smelting capacity, both of which substantially increase electricity demand — a particular challenge given Zambia's heavy reliance on drought-exposed hydropower.

Among the wettest mines on Earth

Konkola is regarded as one of the wettest mines anywhere in the world, requiring continuous pumping to prevent flooding, which makes reliable power a precondition for production rather than simply an input cost. Vedanta has invested more than $3 billion in KCM since 2004 and committed a further $1 billion after regaining management control of the operation in July 2024, while separately restructuring its copper business through a new US-domiciled entity, CopperTech Metals, which is pursuing a US listing and a further $1.5 billion capital raise partly aimed at modernising Konkola's operations.

Government impatience with the pace of delivery

Hichilema's direct intervention suggests the Zambian government is not fully convinced that either the financing or the power supply needed for KCM's expansion will materialise on the timeline Vedanta has set out. KCM's net sales rose sharply to $1.33 billion for the year to March 2026, from $398 million previously, evidence of a turnaround under Vedanta's renewed management — but converting that operational recovery into the higher production volumes Zambia wants will depend on whether the coal plant, and Vedanta's broader capital commitments, are actually delivered on schedule.

Sources

• Billionaires Africa: Zambia presses billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta to fund power for its copper mine, 11 Sept 2026
• Mining News Zambia: Vedanta Moves to Lock in Power with 300 MW Coal Plant in Zambia, 18 Jun 2026

Photo: Nchanga copper mine near Chingola, Zambia, part of Vedanta's Konkola Copper Mines operations. BlueSalo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.