UPDATE 1-Sterlite declares force majeure at India copper plant

TUTICORIN, India, April 3 (Reuters) - Sterlite Industries Ltd has declared force majeure on deliveries of copper from India's largest smelter following its closure last week after locals complained about emissions, a senior company official said on Wednesday.

The company also exercised force majeure on purchases of copper concentrates, the base material used by the plant, general manager of projects D. Dhanavel told Reuters.

The smelter, which produces more than 300,000 tonnes per year - over half of India's copper output - was shut last week by local authorities at least until a hearing on April 9 into the complaints.

Force majeure is a contract clause that allows a company to miss shipments due to circumstances beyond its control.

Tamil Nadu state pollution control board detected higher than normal levels of sulphur dioxide in the area. Sterlite has said that all emissions were within stipulated limits.

"Post the closure of the plant, Sterlite Copper exercised the force majeure clause in both purchases of copper concentrate and deliveries of different forms of copper," Dhanavel said.

India's top court fined Sterlite, a unit of London-listed conglomerate Vedanta Resources PLC, 1 billion rupees ($18 million) on Tuesday in a separate case for breaking environmental laws at the same copper smelter.

The Supreme Court said in that ruling that levels of chromium, copper and lead were higher than stipulated in some of the groundwater samples collected from the area where the smelter is based in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.