Posted By linker 5
Posted on February 3, 2021
LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore said on Wednesday copper and cobalt production fell in 2020 after the closure of its Mutanda mine in Democratic Republic of Congo mine but said the ramp up of another mine in the country was progressing well.
The London-listed company, which also mines coal, nickel, silver and zinc, stuck to all of its production targets for 2021, after trimming coal guidance in October.
Glencore said copper production fell 8% to 1.26 million tonnes in 2020 compared to a year earlier, while cobalt production dropped 41% to 27,400 tonnes.
The miner and trader has said it will not invest further in coal production and will be running reserves down, reflecting investor pressure on the industry to reduce exposure to the polluting fuel and responding to lower demand from some regions.
Coal production in 2020 was down 24% to 106 million tonnes.
Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg said that, excluding the impact of Mutanda’s closure, 2020 copper production was in line with the previous year while cobalt was 6,200 tonnes higher due to Katanga mine ramping up.
Most of Glencore’s larger operations were not affected by closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but output was hampered at its ferrochrome operations in South Africa, oil fields in Chad and nickel mines in New Caledonia.
(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Edmund Blair)
