Glencore: Gold, silver, copper and zinc output slide as operational issues hit production
Glencore has revealed a downturn in production across major commodities in its full year report, with output in copper, lead, gold, silver and zinc all below last year’s totals.
The commodities specialist argued results were in line with revised guidance published last October, however chief executive Gary Nagle recognised it has displayed a “mixed performance” this year – with coal, cobalt, nickel and ferrochrome production rising over the 12 month window.
The company’s own sourced copper production was 12 per cent lower than 2021, which Glencore attributed to the operational difficulties and sales.
This included the offloading of copper mine Ernest Henry last January, ongoing geotechnical constraints at Katanga, planned mining sequence changes in Collahuasi and a lower contribution from Mount Isa.
Zinc production was 16 per cent lower than 2021, reflecting the disposal of South America operations, the closure of the Matagami, receding volumes from Mount Isa and Lady Loretta approaching its end of mine life.
By contrast, cobalt production was 40 per cent higher than 2021 following Mutanda’s restart in the fourth quarter of the year before last.
Nickel production was around five per cent higher, reflecting Murrin Murrin’s scheduled major maintenance shut in the prior year and Koniambo running two production lines for the majority of 2022 – which was partially offset by lower production in Canada and Norway due to strike action.
Nagle said: “Overall, 2022 production volumes were in line with our revised guidance from October 2022, with final quarter sequential production increases delivered across most of our key commodities, including copper, zinc, nickel and coal. During the year, however, we saw a mixed overall production performance.
Glencore trades publicly on the FTSE 100 of the London Stock Exchange.
The company’s shares were down 0.44 per cent in early morning trading following the results – at 538.8p per share.
