Vedanta’s Coal Push Stalls: Viceroy Report Flags Five Years of Delays across 3 Mines

Moneylife Digital Team 11 September 2025

Economy & Nation

A fresh report by US short-seller Viceroy Research LLC has accused Vedanta Ltd (VEDL) of failing to deliver on its coal autonomy strategy, with three major coal blocks, Radhikapur (West), Kuraloi (A North) and Ghogharpalli & Dip Extension, still stuck in early-stage permitting, years after allocation.

The report, "Vedanta – 5 Years, 3 Coal Mines, 0 Progress", argues that, despite repeated commitments to cut external coal dependence and reduce costs, Vedanta’s captive coal projects remain 'paper assets'. Collectively, the blocks are expected to supply more than 30mn (million) tonnes per annum of coal, but none has moved beyond preliminary approvals.

Viceroy Research contends that delays mirror Vedanta’s stalled Sijimali bauxite mine, leaving the company exposed at both ends of its aluminium value chain. “These aren’t technical failures, they’re execution failures,” the report says, alleging that Vedanta has repeatedly misrepresented timelines to investors and regulators.

Allocated in December 2020, the Radhikapur (West) block was intended to feed Vedanta’s Jharsuguda smelter. By 2022, the management claimed it would be operational in the second half (H2) of FY22-23. Instead, five years later, no forest clearance has been secured, compensatory afforestation land remains unresolved and no site-level work has begun. The Union ministry of coal even issued a show-cause notice in June 2024, warning of penalties for non-performance.

Kuraloi (A North), one of Vedanta’s largest coal assets with estimated reserves of 399mn tonnes, was promised to be operational 'within two years' in 2021. As of May 2025, the mine has no lease execution, with forest clearances pending and land acquisition incomplete.

While the project is more advanced than Radhikapur, Viceroy Research estimates it remains at least 12–18 months away from production, far beyond the management’s guidance of the third quarter (Q3) of FY25-26.

The Ghogharpalli & Dip Extension block, allocated in March 2023, remains at the very beginning of the regulatory process. As of May 2025, the project has neither forest clearance nor environmental clearance and land acquisition has yet to start. Despite this, Vedanta has guided investors to expect first coal by Q4 FY25-26 — a timeline Viceroy calls 'not credible'.

Viceroy’s report highlights a pattern where Vedanta’s management repeatedly forecast near-term production in quarterly earnings calls, even as filings with the ministry of coal showed little progress. “Management continuously misrepresented Radhikapur to investors as a turn-key asset instead of a stalled permit file,” it says.

The findings come at a sensitive time for Vedanta Resources Ltd, the parent entity which is under pressure to deleverage and refinance debt. Delays in coal and bauxite projects directly impact cost reduction strategies and energy security for Vedanta’s aluminium operations.

Viceroy Research concluded that Vedanta’s execution failures undermine operational credibility and investor trust, urging regulators and stakeholders to scrutinise its disclosures more closely.

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