UPDATE 1-Vedanta Posts Record EBITDA for Q1 of $794 Mln

LONDON, July 30 -- India-focused mining group Vedanta Resources Plc (VED.L: Quote) posted record first-quarter EBITDA of $794 million in the three months to end June as production of its three most profitable metals rose.

Production of saleable iron ore, its most profitable product in the quarter, jumped 31 percent from the year-earlier quarter to 6.4 million tonnes. However, output fell from the record 7.8 million tonnes in the fourth quarter.

The London-listed miner said production of refined zinc, its second most profitable metal, rose 19 percent to 165,000 tonnes. Aluminium output grew 13 percent to 141,000 tonnes.

At full-year results in May, the diversified miner said it was on track to deliver a substantial increase in production capacity across its businesses in 2011.

Vedanta defended its human rights record on Wednesday at a shareholders' meeting where some fund managers joined pressure groups to protest over its plans to build a bauxite mine in an area sacred to indigenous people.