ICDC Copper Conference 2026
Hilton Mumbai International Airport
Mumbai
Friday, 27th
February, 2026
Organised by
INDIAN
COPPER DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
KOLKATA
Mr. Sanjiv Kumar Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Copper Ltd., could not physically inaugurate and had sent a very informative video message, which was shown during the Inaugural Session. The excerpt :
“A very good morning to all of you when I can not be in person with you today due to some exigency back at Kolkata, I am honoured to virtually inaugurate the “ICDC Copper Conference 2026”. This gathering is a vital catalyst for India’s copper sector as we align with the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. Copper is the heart beat of India’s economic growth driving our transition to clean energy and vital infrastructure. With domestic demand projected to reach nearly 10 million tonnes by 2047 a six fold increase – securing a resilient supply chain is now our strategic necessity. The path towards Viksit Bharat 2047 is paved with copper, the eternal metal that endures the test of time.
For this we have HCL’s road map and we have taken bold steps to meet the future demand.
Number one is production; we are on track to triple our ore production capacity to 12.2 million tonnes per annum in the long term. Global reach through new partnership with Chile’s CODELCO, we are aggressively securing copper assets overseas. Innovation – we are now analyzing our tailings to recover full spectrum of 24 critical minerals ensuring every gram of resource is utilized for the nation. Our self reliant India requires our collective innovation and collaboration. I urge you all to use this platform to shape the future of our industry.
I wish the Conference a grand success.
Thank you, Jai Hind, Jain Bharat.”
Mr. Sandeep Jain, Vice Chairman of ICDC Board of Management and Managing Director of Laurel Wires Ltd., welcomed the participants. He mentioned that a couple of years ago ICDC expanded its activities to areas where industry need to focus, adopt suitable technologies and take help of domain experts to improve their operations to remain competitive in the global scenario. He felt that there is a lot of opportunities and it is necessary to keep pace with the technological developments as also satisfying the requirements of Circular Economy, EPR & QCO.
Mr. B. K. Binani, Chairman, ICDC Board of Management and Managing Director, Rashtriya Metal Industries Ltd. delivered the Presidential Address during this Inaugural Session. He mentioned that ICDC completes 60 years of dedicated services to industry which include both manufacturers and users of copper & copper alloy products as also the policy making bodies like Ministry of Mines, Bureau of Indian Standards, etc. He also mentioned that in 1966, it started as Indian branch of Geneva based CIDEC, and with the objective of information dissemination. It was named Indian Copper Information Centre. After closure of CIDEC, it became registered Indian society in 1976 as a non-trading non-profit organization. The range of services provided by the Centre and its activities are being constantly updated and enlarged keeping in view the specific needs of the industries. While information dissemination and providing technical assistance continue to be one of the important activities, added emphasis is now given on providing assistance and participation in modernization, expansion and diversification projects, market research, market development and other related activities. In 1986, considering the diversified activities of the Centre, the name was changed to Indian Copper Development Centre (ICDC). The Centre has been able to sustain its growth and development over the years. He expected the Conference to provide the much needed forum to discuss various aspects of market situation, technology changes, as also end users future needs in terms of both quality and quantity.
Dr. Shreegopal Kabra, Managing Director, RR Global and Member, ICDC Board of Management, delivered a thought provoking address. He emphasized the need of developing suitable manpower like overseas competitors. He also mentioned that while GDP is growing industry should thrust on Quality and Branding, to take advantage of recent FTAs.
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The Inaugural Session concluded with the Vote of Thanks proposed by Dr. D. De Sarkar, CEO, ICDC.
During the Conference there were two Technical Sessions where the following papers were presented. The first Technical Session was chaired by Mr. Mahendra Mehta, Managing Director, Mercure Metals and Alloys Pvt. Ltd. and following presentations were made.
· The World Copper Market : Outlook and Developing Projects
by Mr. Juan Luis Rodriguez, International Copper Study Group, Portugal
· Copper Availability and Consumption Scenario in India : Strategic Role of HCL
by Mr. Sameer Verma, Mr. Yuvaraj Singh & Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Hindustan Copper Ltd., Kolkata
· New Copper Products for EVs, Electronics & the Semiconductor Industry
by Mr. Mayur Karmarkar, International Copper Association India, Mumbai
· Future of Copper in Rotating Machines
by Mr. Siddharth Desai, Hindustan Electric Motor Mfg. Co., Mumbai
Mr. S. K. Mongia of Mongia Tooltech Pvt. Ltd., chaired the Second Technical Session.
The following papers were presented during this session :
· Developments in the Continuous Casting for Low Alloyed Copper
by Mr. Mervyn Cooper, Rautomead Ltd., Dundee, U.K.
· Transparency in Integrated Process of CONTIROD Copper Rod Production
by Mr. Thomas Schatz, SMS Group GmbH, Germany
· Copper for Smart, Efficient and Sustainable Energy Management and Power Distribution System
by Mr. Keyur Tandel, Schneider Electric Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore
· Advanced Low-Frequency Technology for Melting and Heating of Metals
by Mr. Manoj Raijada, Pioneer Furnaces Pvt. Ltd., Gujarat