Vedanta Resources : Contractor Employee protests at Konkola Copper Mines

Press Release

22nd August 2014

Contractor Employee protests at Konkola Copper Mines

In response to media reports published on the 21st of August 2014 regarding a demonstration involving persons employed by contractors of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) on the 20th of August 2014, KCM would like to inform its stakeholders of the following facts:
• The wage-related demonstrations were carried out by individuals working for companies contracted by KCM at the Nchanga Underground Mine. They are not directly employed by KCM.
• KCM has not defaulted and is not in arrears to any of the 23 contractor firms working at
Nchanga Underground Mine.
• KCM adheres strictly to Zambian law and ensures that payments made to contractors for their employees are above the minimum wage. It is the obligation and responsibility of contractor firms to then pay their employees on time.
KCM respects the sanctity of contracts it signs with contractors and individuals employed by the company. The company is disturbed by inaccurate media reports suggesting that the demonstrations were as a result of KCM arrears to contractors or KCM paying its contractors salaries below the minimum wage. This is not the case.
KCM is currently engaged in discussions with contractors working at Nchanga Underground
Mine to bring finality to this matter.

About Konkola Copper Mines Plc.

Konkola Copper Mines Plc, (KCM), one of Africa's largest integrated copper producers, is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc. a London listed global diversified natural resources company. KCM's operations include open pit and underground mines, several concentrators, a state-of-the-art smelter, and a refinery. The company is also developing the flagship Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP) in Chililabombwe, where the deepest mining shaft has been sunk and commissioned in Zambia. It also operates the Nampundwe pyrite mine, about 50 kilometres south west of the capital Lusaka.

KCM's primary products are Copper, Cobalt, Pyrite & Acids. KCM is one of Zambia's largest private sector employer with about 16,000 permanent and contractor employees.

About Vedanta Resources Plc

Vedanta Resources plc ("Vedanta") is a London listed diversified global resources major. The group produces Aluminium, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Iron ore, Power, and Oil and Gas. Vedanta has world-class assets in India, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Ireland, Liberia, Australia and Sri Lanka and a strong organic growth pipeline of projects.
With an empowered talent pool globally, Vedanta places strong emphasis on partnering with all its stakeholders based on the core values of entrepreneurship, excellence, trust, inclusiveness and growth. For more information, please visit: www.vedantaresources.com

For further information, please contact:

Group Communications

Roma Balwani

President- Group Communications, Sustainability & CSR Tel: +912266461000
gc@vedanta.co.in

Manager- PR and Communications

Konkola Copper Mines

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as

"expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should" or "will."

Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behavior of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different that those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.

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