NEW DELHI, May 21 (Reuters) -
* Oil-to-metals conglomerate Vedanta Ltd said on Tuesday it had been declared the preferred bidder for two copper blocks in the India’s western state of Maharashtra
* The blocks require extensive exploration, Vedanta said, adding that this would start in due course
* The copper blocks have total area of 1584.9 hectares, and are located in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, the company said
* The news comes a day after Zambia said it planned to strip Vedanta-controlled Konkola Copper Mines of its mining licence for breaching deal terms
* Vedanta, which operates India’s second largest copper smelter, is in the middle of a lengthy legal battle to reopen its south Indian refinery which was shut following deadly protests last year (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan. Editing by Jane Merriman)
