JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The copper equivalent production of diversified mining company Glencore rose 5% year-on-year in the six months to June 30 with the integration of the Elk Valley Resources steelmaking coal volumes, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed diversified mining company reported on Wednesday, July 30.

Steelmaking coal production of 15.7-million tonnes comprises mainly the Elk Valley Resources business in Canada, which produced 12.7-million tonnes in the first half of this year while Australian steelmaking coal production of three-million tonnes was 12% lower owing to the temporary suspension of Oaky Creek following a water inrush.

Energy coal production of 48.3-million tonnes was broadly in line with last year’s half-year, reflecting stronger Australian production.

Own sourced zinc production was 12% higher at 465 200 t, reflecting higher zinc grades at Antamina and higher production at McArthur River production.

Primarily owing to lower head grades and recoveries associated with planned mining sequencing, Glencore’s own-sourced 343 900 t copper production was 26% below last year’s corresponding half-year period with own-sourced cobalt production a 19%-higher 18 900 t, mainly reflecting higher cobalt grades and volumes at Mutanda, the company’s large-scale copper and cobalt producer in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Attributable ferrochrome production of 433 000 t was 28% below last year’s first half, reflecting pressure on smelting conversion margins, which led to the decision to suspend operations at South Africa’s Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters, until market conditions improve. Operations at the Lion smelter are currently temporarily suspended, undergoing scheduled annual maintenance and planned rebuilds.

Adjusting for 5 000 t of Koniambo production prior to its transition to care and maintenance, own sourced nickel production was 7% lower at 36 600 t owing to maintenance downtime at Murrin Murrin.

Glencore CEO Gary Nagle reported more progress in optimising the business and positioning for further value-accretive growth. 

“A comprehensive review of our industrial asset portfolio during the period recognised opportunities to streamline our industrial operating structure, to optimise departmental management and reporting, and to support enhanced technical excellence and operational focus,” Nagle stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

The review also identified $1-billion of cost savings opportunities across Glencore’s various operating structures. These are expected to be delivered fully by the end of 2026.

The second half of this year is already generating cost savings resulting from these initiatives and further details will be provided in Glencore’s half-year results presentation on August 6.

“Recent business reviews also confirmed our confidence in delivering our full-year production guidance, with the ranges now tightened to reflect performance to date.

“We remain focused on delivering safe reliable production and achieving value-accretive growth across our industrial asset portfolio in the coming years,” Nagle added.

The through-the-cycle long-term marketing adjusted earnings before interest and tax guidance range has been uplifted to $2.3-billion to $3.5-billion a year from the previous $2.2-billion to $3.2-billion, representing a mid-point increase of 16% from $2.5-billion to $2.9-billion.