FT4 Feb 2020 07:53
Glencore said the turnround plan for its African copper business was on track, as its appointed the former chief executive of a Chinese mining company to its board.
The Swiss-based miner and commodity trader has been grappling with a string of issues in the DRC and Zambia, which contributed to a drop in profits last year.
These have included a smelter refurbishment in Zambia and the decision to mothball its Mutanda mine
In a production update released on Tuesday, Glencore said its African copper business produced 369,900 tonnes of copper in 2019, down 10 per cent on the previous year, but in line with market forecasts.
At Katanga, its prized copper and cobalt mine in the DRC, copper production hit 65,000 tonnes in the final quarter of 2019, with cobalt output reaching 6,200 tonnes.
Glencore left its full year production guidance for copper unchanged.
Alongside the production update, Glencore named Kalidas Madhavpeddi, the former chief executive of China Molybdenum International, as a non-executive director.
The appointment of Mr Madhavpeddi, who left China Moly in 2018 after a decade at the helm, adds more mining experience to Glencore’s board.
China Moly is the majority owner of a Tenke, a huge copper-cobalt mine in the DRC.
“His experience includes substantial involvement in operations and business dealings with both Phelps Dodge and China Moly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We look forward to benefiting from his experience and insights,” said Glencore chairman Tony Hayward.
The other miners on Glencore’s board are former Xstrata executive Peter Coates and Patrice Merrin.
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