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Glencore

OPINION: Trump’s aluminum tariffs have Glencore’s prints all over them – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – August 12, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

When President Donald Trump was elected in 2016, the U.S. primary aluminum industry was on its deathbed. Undercut by Canadian producers that relied on cheap and clean hydroelectricity to power modern smelters, and unable to compete with subsidized Chinese imports, the U.S. industry had shrunk to five plants operating below capacity.

Tariffs Mr. Trump imposed on Canadian raw aluminum imports in 2018 bought the U.S. industry some time, but not enough to fix its fundamentals. When the tariffs were lifted last year – as part of a good-faith gesture aimed at securing ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement – it was only a matter of time before U.S. aluminum producers began to clamour for their renewal.

Last week, Mr. Trump answered their pleas, proving that the most protectionist U.S. president in modern history never really intended to honour the spirit or the letter of the USMCA, which went into force barely a month ago.

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Glencore posts $2.6 billion loss, scraps dividend – by Cecilia Jamasmie  (Mining.com – August 6, 2020)

https://www.mining.com/

Miner and commodities trader giant Glencore (LON: GLEN) posted a $2.6 billion loss for the first half of the year and scrapped its dividend, as the coronavirus pandemic dented global demand and lowered prices and production at its mining division.

Despite the virus impact, the Swiss firm managed to remain profitable on an operating basis. Glencore posted $1.5 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, but booked $3.2 million in impairment charges.

The company said it was putting balance sheet strength ahead of shareholder returns, as net debt climbed 12% to $19.7 billion at the end of June.

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Calls for tariffs on Canadian aluminum come with a Glencore twist – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – July 11, 2020)

https://financialpost.com/

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement was supposed to mark a new era in trade relations between Ottawa and Washington. Instead it came into force on July 1 overshadowed by the Trump Administration’s threats to re-impose tariffs on Canadian aluminum.

While political analysts have speculated about whether the tough talk, which began last month, may have had more to do with re-election campaigning than economic policy, inside aluminum industry circles the possibility of new tariffs has raised eyebrows for other reasons.

That’s because one of the world’s largest commodities players, Switzerland-based Glencore Plc — which mines nickel, copper, zinc and thermal coal in Canada and has partnerships worth billions of dollars with some of this country’s largest pension plans — is a major investor in a Chicago-based aluminum producer closely tied to the tariff fight.

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Why Canada faces fresh U.S. aluminum tariffs – by James McCarten (Globe and Mail – July 6, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The United States is once again threatening to spark a fresh tariff war with Canada over aluminum exports, despite the debut of a renegotiated North American trade agreement that was supposed to usher in stability in the midst of an international economic crisis.

Precisely why remains a mystery to trade and industry insiders, although it’s likely the result of a convergence of disparate factors: COVID-19, international metals arbitrage, President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and US$16.3-billion worth of Russian aluminum.

“It doesn’t make sense,” said Jean Simard, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association of Canada, coming as it does with the coming into force of USMCA – the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which formally replaced NAFTA this week.

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Glencore donates $40K to United Way’s community response fund – by Darren MacDonald (CTV News Northern Ontario – June 22, 2020)

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

SUDBURY — Glencore in Sudbury has donated $40,000 to boost a special fund created by the United Way Centraide North East Ontario.

Dubbed the Local Love in a Global Crisis Community Response Fund, it now totals more than $300,000.

“We are grateful to Glencore and all of our supporters for their generosity and compassion during these uncertain times,” United Way executive director Mary Lou Hussak is quoted as saying in a news release Monday.

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Column: Tesla’s reluctant commitment to cobalt a warning to others – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – June 23, 2020)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – The unpredictable Elon Musk strikes again. Just when his electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla seemed to be pivoting away from using cobalt in its batteries, it signs a long-term supply deal for the controversial metal with Glencore.

This from the man who has vowed to eliminate cobalt from the Tesla product mix because of its financial cost and the reputational cost of a metal associated with child labour and poor safety conditions at artisanal mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s dominant producer.

Tesla’s not the first auto company to lock in future cobalt supplies with a miner. BMW did the same last year, also with Glencore as well as with the Bou-Azzer mine in Morocco.

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Glencore faces Swiss probe over alleged Congo corruption (Swiss Info – June 20, 2020)

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has opened a criminal probe into Swiss-based commodity trader and miner Glencore over alleged corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it mines copper and cobalt.

Glencore said in a statement on June 19 that the Swiss criminal investigation was for the multinational’s “failure to have the organizational measures in place to prevent alleged corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo currently under investigation by the OAG”.

The Zug-based firm, which is subject to various international inquiries, said it would cooperate with the probe, but declined to comment further.

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UPDATE 3-Coronavirus impact sees Glencore Zambian unit shut copper mines – by Chris Mfula (Reuters U.K. – April 7, 2020)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LUSAKA, April 7 (Reuters) – Glencore’s Zambian unit Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) will shutter its mines on Wednesday following disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and low copper prices, it said in a statement, after the country’s mines minister earlier criticised the closure.

“In addition to the impacts of a rapid decline in the copper price, Mopani’s situation has been further impacted by the critical disruptions to international mobility, transportation and supply chains arising from COVID-19,” the company said.

Zambia’s mines minister earlier said MCM had declared “force majeure”, a clause in contracts that allows contractual obligations to be ignored because of unavoidable circumstances.

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Glencore shutters Quebec mines; operations in Sudbury continue – by Staff (Sudbury Star – March 27, 2020)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Glencore said Thursday its Raglan nickel and Matagami zinc operations in Quebec will be on care and maintenance for the next three weeks. Nickel from Raglan is shipped to Glencore’s Sudbury operations, where it is processed. Operations in Sudbury will continue to run.

“The government of Quebec has ordered all non-essential businesses to close in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, our Raglan (nickel) and Matagami (zinc) operations in Quebec will be on care and maintenance for the next three weeks,” Glencore said in a statement. “In Ontario, the government has issued a similar decree, but mining has been designated an essential business and therefore our assets can continue to operate.”

The company said it is halting operations at its smaller mines around the world due to government restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus but added its larger operations were not materially impacted.

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King Coal Isn’t Dead Yet. Ask Glencore – by Clara Ferreira Marques (Bloomberg News – February 19, 2020)

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Thermal coal has become a byword for the resource industry’s climate crimes. From BlackRock Inc. down, fund managers are reluctant to touch a mineral that releases more carbon dioxide than any other energy source. Large miners, from BHP Group to Anglo American Plc, are trying to dump it. Coal is also — for now at least — profitable.

It’s the unpalatable truth that explains why Glencore Plc, the world’s largest exporter of the black stuff, sticks with a dying fuel. Morals aside, the details suggest Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg and his team may well be right.

Tuesday’s full-year earnings from the trader and miner bore more than a few smudges. Lower prices for commodities like copper and cobalt took a heavy toll. Coal didn’t help, with the price of benchmark Newcastle coal down by over a third in 2019.

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Glencore plans leadership shakeup this year, says CEO – by Julia Payne and Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – February 18, 2020)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore (GLEN.L) will make more changes to its front bench this year, Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg said on Tuesday, as the world’s largest commodities trader hastens a transition to a new generation of leaders.

The London-listed miner has faced mounting pressure to change its leadership after multiple corruption and bribery investigations. Falling commodity prices and a large exposure to out-of-favour coal have added to challenges facing the firm, whose shares lost a fifth of their value last year.

“We want a smooth generation change. There will be a few senior management changes coming,” Glasenberg told reporters. “Once the new generation is in place and ready to move on, then it will also be the time for me to move on.

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Tesla in Talks to Buy Glencore Cobalt for Shanghai Car Plant – by Mark Burton and Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – January 15, 2020)

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc is negotiating a long-term contract to ship cobalt to Tesla Inc.’s new electric-vehicle factory in Shanghai, according to people familiar with the matter.

A deal would help Tesla avoid a supply squeeze on the key battery metal as it pushes into the world’s largest car market, and mark a win for Glencore after a tough spell for its cobalt business.

Executives from both companies hammered out terms of the deal before an official ceremony to mark the first sales from the Shanghai plant earlier this month, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing commercial negotiations. They declined to give details about the size and value of the supply deal.

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Glencore’s Glasenberg says successor could be in place next year – by Barbara Lewis and Eric Onstad (Reuters Canada – December 3, 2019)

https://ca.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore could announce a new chief executive next year once a new management team is in place, its current boss told an investor meeting on Tuesday as the commodities giant laid out its priorities for 2020.

The mining and trading company faces a challenging year as it contends with problems on multiple fronts, from a series of mine fatalities and climate politics to a continuing U.S. Department of Justice investigation and difficulties in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Speculation about Ivan Glasenberg’s departure has intensified after he said last year that he expected to retire in between three and five years. Asked for detail on a planned management transition, Glasenberg said there was “a good crop of people” but did not offer names.

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Global cobalt mine output growth forecast to slow in 2020: Antaike (Reuters U.S. – November 6, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

YICHANG, China (Reuters) – Global cobalt mine output will increase at a slower rate next year than in 2019, providing some support for price of the chemical used in batteries for electric vehicles, research house Antaike said on Wednesday.

Cobalt production in 2020 forecast to rise by 5,000 tonnes, Antaike nickel analyst Joy Kong said. That would be a 3.5% increase to the 143,600 tonnes produced this year which would be less than the 2019 expected growth rate of 6.3%, she said.

Antaike predicts standard grade cobalt prices in 2020 at around $18 per pound, or around $40,000 a tonne, up from an average of $16 to $16.50 per pound in 2019, as private mining declines, Kong said in a presentation at the China International Nickel and Cobalt Forum in Yichang.

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The men who would be king of Glencore move into the spotlight – by Jack Farchy (Bloomberg News – October 29, 2019)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Contenders for the biggest job in commodity trading, the head of Glencore, will be on parade this week. Outgoing CEO Ivan Glasenberg wanted his successor to look “like me,” and the main aspirants do.

Glasenberg announced last December his plan to retire in the next few years, firing the starting gun on a closely watched race. The three most likely choices are Gary Nagle, Kenny Ives and Nico Paraskevas. They’re barely known outside Glencore, however, and as the global metals industry descends on London for LME Week, miners, traders and investors will be jostling to find out more.

The passage of the chief executive officer’s baton at Glencore is more than another corporate transition. The firm is the world’s largest commodity trader, dominating transactions in most industrial metals, including copper, zinc and aluminum. The CEO of the Swiss-based, London-listed company has had an outsized role in shaping the world of commodity trading since Glencore was founded by Marc Rich in 1974.

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