(Adds comments on nickel, cobalt)
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Glencore CEO Ivan
Glasenberg said on Friday that the company is talking with
carmakers and battery makers about nickel - a key component in
electric vehicle batteries which Tesla CEO Elon Musk has asked
miners to produce more of.
"A lot of the automobile guys and the battery guys are
talking to us about nickel," Glasenberg said, speaking during
the Financial Times Mining Summit. Glencore this year signed an
agreement with Tesla to supply it with cobalt from the Congo.
Glasenberg also said Glencore is running down its coal mines
and won't replace them, as part of its efforts to cut "Scope 3"
emissions - indirect emissions which mining companies are under
increasing pressure to address.
Glasenberg said the company's Scope 1 and 2 emissions
represent just 10% of its Scope 3 emissions - an indication of
how important these indirect emissions are. Glencore has
committed to a 30% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2035.
Glasenberg said the company will make an announcement on its
Scope 3 emissions on Dec. 4. "We are looking at how the market
looks. We are reviewing all our coal operations," he said.
He said his focus was on running down existing coal mines,
rather than spinning them off. "I don't see how spinning off
coal mines will help us reduce Scope 3 emissions," Glasenberg
told the summit.
Anglo American is planning to spin off its South
African coal operations.
(Reporting by Helen Reid and Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Jason
Neely)