Adani Group’s Kutch Copper Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chile’s state-owned copper producer Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile, or Codelco, to explore the Kaburkaala copper project in northern Chile. The agreement could link an overseas copper resource with Adani’s copper smelting complex at Mundra in Gujarat as India seeks more resilient supplies of the metal used in infrastructure, electrification and manufacturing.
The MoU was signed during LME Week 2026 in London in the presence of Kutch Copper Director Jeet Adani, Adani Natural Resources CEO Vinay Prakash and Codelco Chairman Bernardo Fontaine. The proposed exploration project is located in the Calama copper belt in Chile’s Antofagasta region, one of the world’s major copper-producing districts.
Under the proposed partnership, Adani will provide capital, technology-led exploration capabilities and large-scale project execution expertise. Codelco will contribute geological expertise and its international experience in copper exploration. The agreement sets out the key terms of cooperation for advancing the Kaburkaala project, but the supplied report does not specify an investment amount, production target, mine-development schedule or commercial output from the project.
For Adani Group, the arrangement forms part of a strategy to build an integrated and geographically diversified copper value chain. The proposed link between resources in Chile and the Mundra smelter is intended to support longer-term access to copper for downstream operations in India.
Copper is used in power networks, renewable energy projects, infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and electrification. The company said the partnership could support supply-chain resilience for sectors connected to India’s industrial and energy transition. India relies on imports to meet domestic copper demand, according to the report, with consumption supported by infrastructure development, renewable energy projects and manufacturing.
Jeet Adani said access to global copper resources was important for India’s long-term economic and industrial growth. “Critical resources, led by copper, are at the very heart of our future transformation,” he said, adding that the group viewed the arrangement as a long-term investment in India’s future and in supply-chain resilience for renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure and technology.
For Codelco, the proposed collaboration is intended to unlock value from its exploration portfolio through a public-private partnership, share project risks and accelerate the development of prospective copper assets. Bernardo Fontaine said the agreement reflected work carried out with Adani over the previous year and demonstrated Codelco’s ability to attract international partners while protecting the long-term interests of the company and the Chilean state.
The two companies have also committed to responsible exploration practices, high safety standards, environmental stewardship and long-term value creation. The proposed collaboration is expected to strengthen India-Chile cooperation in critical minerals, although the exploration agreement will need to progress through subsequent project and development stages before any copper supply from Kaburkaala can be established.
