SURFACE

Mutanda to re-start by year end, says Glencore

The DRC's new mines minister, met with representatives from the Swiss company on Monday

 Copper cathodes at Glencore's Mutanda operation in the DRC

Copper cathodes at Glencore's Mutanda operation in the DRC

Antoinette N'Samba Kalambayi, the DRC's new mines minister, met with representatives from the Swiss company on Monday to discuss the restart, the ministry said in a statement sent to reporters.

The closure of the mine in November 2019 took about 20% of the world's cobalt supply offline.

At the time, Glencore said a combination of low cobalt prices, the DRC's new mining code and corporate taxes made the operation commercially unviable.

The rise in cobalt prices since then suggests Glencore's strategy has paid off.

The LME cobalt price now stands at just under US$45,000/t, up about 50% from August 2019, when Glencore took the decision to idle Mutanda.

 

However, after hitting a high in March, cobalt prices have softened in recent months.

The average cobalt sulphate price fell 6.8% in China in May, following on from a 12.9% drop in April, while cobalt battery metal and cobalt hydroxide prices lost 7.4% and 10% respectively according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

Benchmark said even with Mutanda back online, the cobalt market was expected to experience marginal deficits and stock drawdowns from 2023.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions