14th Sep 2015 09:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - Multi-commodities miner and trading house Glencore PLC on Monday said the board of the company behind the Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed it will suspend copper and cobalt production at the site for 18 months.
The FTSE 100-listed company said Katanga Mining Ltd, of which Glencore owns 74%, has confirmed the suspension and has said it will continue with the planned USD880.0 million investment into ongoing processing plant upgrades and the waste stripping of the KOV and Mashamba pits at the site.
Glencore said the Whole Ore Leach project at the site is currently on schedule and budget and is set to be completed in the first half of 2017. It estimated this will improve copper recoveries from the site and will cut unit costs for when the mine reopens.
The company said Katanga intends to retain 80% of the workforce at the mine and will aim to minimise the impact of the suspension on the employees. The company will invest in a skills development programme during the suspension, including programmes at other operations and which will involve some staff attending the technical school at the Mopani mine in Zambia.
Glencore had flagged the suspension last Monday when it outlined its plans to slash costs and improve its financial position. It said at the time that the suspension of production at Katanga and at the Mopania copper mines in Zambia will remove around 400,000 tonnes of copper cathode from the global market.
Shares in Glencore were down 0.4% to 133.35 pence on Monday mid-morning.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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