ISRO team suggests measures to restart oxygen production at Sterlite Copper

An expert team from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday visited Vedanta Ltd's copper smelter plant Sterlite Copper and suggested measures to set right the technical snag that halted oxygen production, the company said.

Oxygen production at Sterlite Copper located in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu was stopped on Friday due to a technical snag.

According to Vedanta, an expert team from ISRO came to the smelter plant to support the ongoing efforts and collaborate with the company's technical team.

"They have suggested some measures to help rectify the production snag. This has helped fastrack the repair process for which we are thankful to the local administration, who was instrumental in facilitating this cooperative effort to recommence our oxygen production," Vedanta said.


On Friday the company said a technical snag had developed in the cold box in the oxygen plant, leading to a temporary pause in production.

"The possibility of minor technical fluctuations was anticipated given that the plant has been unattended for three years," the company said in a statement.

On Thursday the company said one of its oxygen plants commenced production from May 12.


"The first tanker carrying 4.8 tons of liquid oxygen is going to Tirunelveli/Thoothukudi. We will be dispatching two oxygen tankers on a daily basis to begin with, and gradually scale this up as we expand production," Vedanta had said.

Vedanta had earlier said it has about 1,050 ton oxygen plant at Sterlite Copper and it is committed to make the entire capacity available for producing medical grade oxygen.

The company had approached the Supreme Court to allow it to protect and maintain its important assets in the smelter plant and permit it to produce 1,050 tonnes of oxygen and supply freely to nearby hospitals and to other states.


The Tamil Nadu government had ordered the closure of the copper smelter plant in 2018 following a violent protest that led to the death of 13 persons in police firing.

The 400,000 ton Sterlite copper smelter plant that has been operating in Thoothukudi for over 25 years with a cumulative investment of about Rs 3,000 crore. - IANS