CHRIS Griffith has confirmed his resignation from Vedanta, the Indian company where he was appointed about two years ago to lead its base metals division.
“I can confirm I have resigned from Vedanta,” he said in a WhatsApp message earlier on Thursday. He declined to provide details.
Bloomberg News first reported Griffith’s departure. Citing people familiar, the newswire said Griffith had expressed his desire to leave the company “a while back”.
His departure comes amid a report by Viceory Research which shorted the debt held by Vedanta saying it was “an unappreciated risk”.
Sentiment about Vedanta had been weighed down by its debt burden, the result of an acquisition spree that includes stakes in Bharat Aluminium Co. and Hindustan Zinc Ltd, said Bloomberg News.
Vedanta dismissed the report as “a malicious combination of selective misinformation and baseless allegations,” and said it had not been contacted by the short seller. “We remain focused on the business and growth, and request everyone to avoid speculation and unsubstantiated allegations,” a spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
When he was appointed in September 2023, Griffith was given responsibility over Vedanta’s international zinc business in South Africa and Namibia, its iron ore business in Liberia, and its copper portfolio, including Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Zambia, Fujairah, UAE and Sterlite Copper in India.
He targeted restoring Vedanta’s loss-making Konkola Copper Mines to profitability which would include building up its production from 70,000 tons a year to 300,000t/year by 2031. Some $1.3bn was required to complete this project.
“We do not underestimate that it not just going to be a walk in the park to turn around an asset that has been run by the government or a provisional liquidator for the past five years,” Griffith said at the time.
Prior to Vedanta, Griffith was CEO of Gold Fields and Anglo American Platinum. He was also previously CEO of Kumba Iron Ore.
