New Delhi  - India's Sterlite Industries announced Saturday that it will purchase the operating assets of bankrupt US copper miner Asarco LLC for 2.6 billion dollars in cash, the largest purchase abroad by an Indian firm this year, news reports said.

Tuscon-based Asarco, formerly known as American Smelting and Refining Company, is currently the third largest copper producer in the United States. Sterlite is a subsidiary of the London-based metal and mining group Vedanta Resources.

The two companies on Saturday signed a definitive agreement in this regard, PTI news agency reported quoting from a statement issued by Sterlite.

"We are delighted to have reached agreement on this important acquisition, which is a significant milestone for our group," Sterlite Chairman Anil Agarwal said.

The agreement is subject to the approval of a US Bankruptcy Court and it will take six to seven months to complete the acquisition.

Asarco, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005 after it was sued for 1 billion dollars over environmental issues, produced 235,000 tonnes of refined copper in 2007.

However, its mines have estimated reserves of 5 million tonnes of contained copper.

Asarco operates mines, mills and a smelter in Arizona. It also has a smelter and refinery in Texas. For the year ended December 31, 2007, Asarco had reported a revenue of around 1.9 billion dollars.

"The asset acquisition is on a cash free and debt free basis. Sterlite will assume operating liabilities but not legacy liabilities for asbestos and environmental claims for ceased operations," the statement said.

Sterlite is India's top non-ferrous metals and mining firm. It has a capacity of 400,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper anode and 240,000 tpa of copper rod in its facilities in India. (dpa)