Swiss mining group Glencore has said that production across its key energy transition stable of metals was lower for 2023 and warned that 2024 could bring the same.
Copper production fell five per cent to 1.01 million metric tonnes (mmt) in 2023 and is expected to come in even lower this year, with a yield of around 950,000 – 1mmt.
The company said this primarily reflects disposals of its Cobar copper mine and various South American zinc operations.
Approximately 97,600 tons of nickel came through last year, missing October guidance which chief executive Gary Nagle said was as a result of third party production issues. A drop of between 7-7,000 tons is expected this year
Cobalt production stood at 41,300 tons in 2023 and the company expects this to be between 35,000 and 40,000 tons this year.
Coal is expected to remain steady at the guidance mid-point range of 110mmt.
The London-listed miner kept its expectation for 2023 profits from its trading division to come in at $3.5bn, above its long-term guidance range between $2.2 billion and $3.2 billion.
Shares were picking up energy in early trading this morning, up 0.5 per cent just after 8 AM.
Glencore stole the M&A show for the commodities market late last year, announcing the £5.64bn ($6.93bn) spend on 77 per cent of Canadian miner Teck Resources’ steelmaking coal business.
More recently, it has stayed relatively quiet as Houthi rebel attacks have disrupted cargo journeys through the Red Sea but the company has failed to comment publically on how it plans to navigate the disruptions moving forward.
The attacks have directly affected some of its primary competitors including Singaporean commodity giant Trafigura which became the headline story last week for scenes of a fire blazing onboard after it was hit by a Houthi missile.
The company will report full-year earnings for 2023 on 20th February.
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