Miner and trader Glencore on Friday lowered its full-year copper guidance, partly owing to reduced output from its Katanga open-pit mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Total copper production fell by 15% to 510,200 tonnes in the first half of this year, but battery material cobalt output increased 40% to 20,700 tonnes. Cobalt is mainly produced as a by-product of copper in the DRC.
Geotechnical problems at the Katanga’s mine led the London-listed miner to guide towards output of 1.06 million tonnes for the year, down from 1.11 million tonnes previously.
