DRC’s Glencore yields 61,800 tonnes of copper and 9,800 tonnes of cobalt in Q1 of 2023
Through its mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Katanga and Mutanda, Glencore produced 61,800 tonnes of copper and 9,800 tonnes of cobalt in the first quarter of 2023, up 11.15% and 11.36% respectively year-on-year annual, according to its activity report published on April 21, 2023.
The Swiss commodities giant says its overall quarterly copper production has nevertheless fallen by 5% compared to 2022, to 244,100 tonnes for all its mines.
On analysis, this drop is linked in particular to the expected lower grades of the ore extracted over the period at the Collahuasi mine (Chile), in which it has a 44% interest. It delivered 57,100 tonnes of copper on an attributable basis, compared to 65,700 tonnes in the first quarter of 2022.
“First quarter production was broadly in line with our expectations […]. The production forecast for the full year is unchanged from that presented to Glencore investors in December 2022,” said Gary Nagle, CEO of Glencore.
In 2023, the Swiss giant is targeting at least 1.04 million tonnes of copper produced and 38,000 tonnes of cobalt. Glencore produced 1.06 million tonnes of copper in 2022, including 253,400 tonnes from its two mines in the DRC, Katanga and Mutanda Mining (MUMI).
