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Diversified miner and marketer Glencore is taking steps to progress its decarbonisation pathway, CEO Gary Nagle said on Thursday, when the London- and Johannesburg-listed company delivered exceptionally strong financial results in the six months to June 30.

The steps include locking in a number of renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) to reduce the Scope 1 and 2 emissions in its business and managing down its Scope 3 emissions largely through the rundown of its coal business. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Glencore is prioritising capital expenditure towards future-facing metals and not its fossil fuels business. It has a certificated renewable PPA for Antapaccay copper mine in Peru's Cuzco region, extended renewable hydropower arrangements in Kazakhstan, and is progressing renewable energy plans at its ferroalloys business in South Africa.

“At the same time, we don't only look inside the fence but we look outside and our supply chains are critical in ensuring that our suppliers and the commodities and inputs that we buy into our business likewise have the carbon footprints not only monitored but reduced as we go forward to ensure that our footprint within the world is reduced,” Nagle told the results presentation covered by Mining Weekly.

“We support all sorts of technologies within the decarbonisation drive. We are putting our own money towards carbon abatement,” said Nagle, who reiterated that there would be no deviation from the path of responsibly running down coal.

On the recycling front, Glencore is partnering circularity within battery raw material supply chains.

The group’s record half-year result had adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of just short of $19-billion.

A top shareholder return of $4.5-billion was made with $3-billion in share buybacks and $1.45-billion in cash returns, lifting total 2022 shareholder returns to $8.5-billion.

Nagle emphasised that global macroeconomic and geopolitical events during the half created extraordinary energy market dislocation, volatility, risk, and supply disruption, underpinning the $10.3-billion, 119% increase in group adjusted Ebitda. Marketing adjusted Ebit more than doubled to $3.7-billion, with energy products the standout, while Industrial adjusted Ebitda increased $8.4-billion to $15-billion period-on-period.

Commenting on the half-year results, Barclays analysts stated in a note: “Glencore remains our top pick given its catalyst rich investment case, strong free cash flow and return potential which should ramp up meaningfully over the next 12 months.”

Deutsche Bank reiterated its buy rating, and Jefferies pointed out that the record half-year Ebitda of $18.9-billion compares with Glencore's full-year Ebitda of $21.3-billion of 2021, which was itself a record year.

Credit Suisse research bulletin analysts hihglighted Glencore's marketing Ebitda as being 10% above consensus, while JP Morgan Cazenove spoke of Glencore’s first-half performance being “exceptionally strong”.

Looking ahead, tightening financial conditions and a deteriorating macroeconomic environment are presenting some second-half uncertainty for commodity markets.

On having commodities needed for today and the future, Nagle said: “We have a coal business which provides the transition fuel as we decarbonise in this world, to allow countries and the world to decarbonise and still maintain reliable baseload energy.

“We also have a terrific set of future-facing metals operations around the world, very large copper, very large cobalt, very large zinc, very large nickel and nickel production, providing the solutions that the world needs.”

Moreover, the marketing business is being presented with arbitrage opportunities from the dislocations in the market.

Despite the higher working capital build, cash generated reduced net funding to $28-billion and net debt to $2.3-billion from prior period levels of $30.8-billion and $6-billion respectively.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses former Eskom CEO Brian Dames's support for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s energy plan; Australia’s Queensland government increasing its royalty rates significantly without consultation; and Anglo’s plan for green hydrogen production with on-site solar and off-site wind.

The number of mining fatalities, injuries and diseases have decreased for the year to date as compared with the same period last year, Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) chief inspector of mines and Mine Health and Safety Council chair David Msiza revealed during a virtual commemoration of the fifth National Day of Health and Safety in Mining on August 3.

He said there had been a 34% reduction in the number of accidents that lead to fatalities year-on-year, while the number of actual fatalities had decreased by 14%.

Particular progress had been made in areas such as fall-of-ground (FoG) incidents and in terms of better safety practice with mobile machinery, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter commented.

“It is worth noting that, during 2022, one area in which the industry had achieved considerable success was in reducing the number of deaths caused by FoG accidents. Once the biggest contributor to the death of mineworkers, FoG now accounts for 4% of the number of occupational deaths in the sector,” Msiza pointed out.

He said it was also worth noting that the gold and platinum mines have not experienced any FoG-related fatalities at all this year.

“Generally, most of the FoG incidents happen in the gold and platinum mines. It’s the first time in a long time that we haven’t experienced any FoG accidents. We would like to commend the sector for putting measures in [place to improve conditions] in this regard,” Msiza said.

Baxter noted, however, that the industry remained “nowhere near the level of safety that we want to see. We have a long way to go and we have a lot more work to do to achieve our goal of zero harm.”

Since its inception in 2018, the goal of the National Day of Health and Safety in Mining has been to demonstrate efforts made by the industry in addressing health and safety-related issues, to reinforce its commitment, and for mining companies to learn from one another to reach the common goal of zero harm.

While the mining industry in South Africa has made steady progress towards its goal of zero fatalities, achieving the lowest level of fatalities in 2019, there were two successive years of “unacceptable and deeply disappointing” regression in the industry’s safety performance in 2020 and 2021, Baxter said.

He noted that this regression had prompted an urgent response from the Minerals Council board and from its engagements with the DMRE and organised labour partners.

“We cannot use Covid-19 and its associated disruptions as an excuse. Last year, we lost 74 of our colleagues, compared with 60 of our colleagues who passed away in 2020, versus the 51 fatalities that we had in 2019,” Baxter said.

The Khumbul’ekhaya Health and Safety Strategy – developed and led by the Minerals Council's CEO Zero Harm Forum – has continued to ensure that additional best practices continue to be adopted by the mining industry and that technology improves as the industry progresses with mechanisation.

Khumbul’ekhaya is the Nguni word for “remember home” – seeking to evoke the importance of remembering the impact of fatalities and injuries on loved ones left behind in an effort to encourage every mine employee at every level to bear these loved ones in mind as they plan their work, and to think health and safety first with every task they perform, according to the Minerals Council.

The theme of this year’s National Day of Health and Safety in Mining was ‘Stepping Up To The Challenge’, which aimed to recognise excellence in health and safety in the industry.

Last year, the theme was ‘Renewed Focus For Our New Normal’, following the outbreak of Covid-19, which the industry to adapt its health and safety protocols in the hopes of curbing the spread of the virus.

“Our work is not done – not by a long way. We also need to always remember that any letting up of efforts can lead to a regression of the sorts that we saw in 2020 and 2021,” CEO Zero Harm Forum chair Themba Mkhwanazi said.

He said that, by August 1, the ...

Despite bulk mineral exports being State-owned Transnet’s single biggest client base, South Africa is unable to access the full benefits of minerals exports, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter told delegates attending the first day of the South African Heavy Haul Association (SAHHA) 2022 conference on August 2.

He said it had been a challenging last couple of years, with a deterioration in Transnet’s rail performance.

Baxter pointed out that the Transnet team was aware of this and was working to slow the rate of decline; however, a lot more work still needed to be done.

He also stressed that it was imperative for Transnet, government and the mining sector to collaborate on resolving the situation.

Baxter said there had been a considerable opportunity cost to South Africa as a result of the rail constraints.

He elaborated that for coal, at 2021 prices, the industry lost R16-billion in export earnings, when delivered tonnages are measured against target.

For iron-ore, at 2021 prices, the industry lost R17-billion. Baxter highlighted that the country’s iron-ore was regarded as a premium product traded in global markets, and was very much in demand, and therefore, the country should be capitalising on that and maximising global exports.

For manganese, however, Baxter said exports had grown strongly since 2016, with yearly values growing by 12% on average and tonnages by 17%. He noted that this strong performance was owing to higher mining production and the unique situation of several harbour outlet operations.

However, there was heavy reliance on road transport for getting this commodity to port and committed rail targets were not being met.

Meanwhile, for chrome ore, Baxter said that, in 2021, the opportunity cost of actual versus target was R3-billion.

Moreover, he noted that the Maputo port, in Mozambique, was benefitting at the expense of South Africa, with exports increasingly being diverted away from Richards Bay to Maputo.

Ferrochrome exports were also being diverted to Maputo and Durban from Richards Bay.

Baxter averred that, if the country could optimise exports in each major bulk commodity, by, in the medium term, focusing on proper public-private partnerships, this could drastically change the country’s landscape in three to five years.

Transnet Group chief strategy and planning officer Dr Andrew Shaw outlined that the issues facing Transnet included a weak financial performance, operational issues and shifting policy and regulation.

He elaborated that the operational issues were not only of the entity’s own doing, for example, a considerable challenge relates to safety and security, with theft and vandalism of infrastructure making it very difficult for Transnet to operate properly.

To address these challenge, and meet its medium- to long-term growth ambition, Transnet has adopted a new approach, with the need to rebalance its broad portfolio of segments.

Shaw said the focus of the stabilisation and growth efforts would be on the core segments that Transnet believed could create an advantage. This included mining, automotive, agriculture and fuel and gas.

Shaw said that this would see Transnet partner with the private sector to improve its value offering and compete more effectively.

He said Transnet wanted the private sector to be a capital contributor, but, further than that, to also bring its operations and maintenance expertise to the table.

This was aligned with Baxter’s request that the private sector wanted to be more involved, and did not merely want to be seen as a source of capital.

Shaw noted that, as a means of realising an immediate impact and improving the performance of Transnet, a back-to-back programme had been developed.

Meanwhile, Baxter said the Minerals Council was proactive in tackling the difficulties in transport logistics through regular engagement with Transnet and government.

The council has also established commodity-specific terms to address challenges on each of the key cor...

The planned construction by Anglo American of on-site solar plants and off-site regional wind farms is designed to create a renewable energy ecosystem that reduces Scope 2 emissions and lays the foundation for green hydrogen production – “a hugely ambitious piece of work, and not one that is completely within our gift to deliver alone”.

This was the energy outline given by Anglo American CE Duncan Wanblad, who was speaking during last week’s presentation of half-year results for the 12 months to June 30.

Wanblad described the planned regional renewable energy ecosystem as an example of leveraging “own capabilities and convening power” to improve the resilience of the local electricity grid and to drive decarbonisation. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

In March, the London- and Johannesburg-listed company announced a 3 GW to 5 GW energy capacity partnership with Paris-headquartered EDF Renewables to provide 100% of its energy requirements through renewables and green hydrogen.

“What we’re hoping to pull off here is construction of on-site solar plants and off-site wind farms and these would help us to reduce our Scope 2 emissions and provide the foundation for green hydrogen production.

“That would not only power our haul trucks, but the other kit that we have on the mine, and potentially create many other economic opportunities in the region, while also helping to support the energy requirements of the whole country, improve the resilience of the local grid, and drive a wide decarbonisation of the economy as a whole, which is today completely reliant on thermal coal,” Wanblad told the presentation covered by Mining Weekly.

“This is more than just about energy. This could unlock much bigger opportunities in terms of hydrogen corridors, transport routes, supply chain infrastructure, which would serve not only us, but Southern Africa really well.

“It’s a big ambition, but we’re up for it. The world we’re living in is changing and we are well positioned to deliver into that. We have set this business up to be resilient, to be disciplined, and to be opportunistic. We have the assets, and we have the capabilities to deliver sustainable returns.

“Right now, though, our feet are firmly on the ground for the tough macro-outlook in the near term. I want us to be ready to come out the other side of this period even stronger and to deliver the metals and minerals that the world so clearly and so urgently needs in the cleanest and the most socially responsible way possible,” the new Anglo CE added.

Throughout its diversified portfolio, Anglo is positioned to supply into the demand trends of decarbonisation and the world’s growing consumer population.

Anglo produces platinum group metals critical to continuing to improve air quality across the world and supplies premium iron-ore to steelmakers intent on managing down emissions. Group company De Beers has considerable sustainability ambitions that reflect the ever-increasing expectations of diamond consumers, and the growth optionality it has in copper could potentially keep it at the level of one-million tonnes of copper production a year.

The vast majority of Anglo’s portfolio consists of future-enabling products, which exposes the company to long-term demand themes of a cleaner and greener world, with a growing number of people who need homes, food, transport, and quality of life.

Decarbonisation of global energy and transport systems will be highly minerals and metals intensive, with another 17-millon tonnes of copper needed by 2040 to facilitate the energy transition in key sectors.

The length of time it takes to get projects executed, limiting temperature rise to mitigate climate change commitments is going to be a stretch with substitution and recycling.

The lion’s share of the required supply of metals must still come from primary-sourced material, and that supply is challenged.

Mines are getting deeper, ore more difficult to process, and supply coming from more remote l...

Taking into consideration the declining basket price, the uncertain demand fundamentals, global recession fears and the continuing uncertainty brought about by the M&A activity, the board of Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) decided to adopt a conservative approach in declaring the interim dividend. The board declared an interim gross cash dividend of 245c a share, equating to R711-million.

The dividend was declared from retained earnings and will be subject to a dividend withholding tax of 20% for all shareholders who are not exempt from or do not qualify for a reduced rate of withholding tax, JSE-listed RBPlat stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

The net dividend payable to shareholders subject to the withholding tax at a rate of 20% amounts to 196c an ordinary share on a 4.5% increase in four-element (4E) ounces to 225 500 oz and a 15.2% increase in cash cost per 4E ounce to R19 183/oz compared with last year’s R16 649/oz.

The company reported a 31.0% improvement in serious injury frequency rate, 38.1% decrease in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, to R3 406.1-million, compared with R5 499.1-million in the corresponding period of last year.

The first half of 2022 was characterised by uncertainty and geopolitical tensions as Russia invaded Ukraine. This led to the palladium price reaching a record high in the first quarter of the year, however, platinum group metal prices have since come down as Russia continues to supply palladium to the market.

The war in Ukraine has affected global supply chains resulting in inflationary cost pressures impacting profit margins and raising fears of a global recession. The Covid-19 lockdown in China further exacerbated existing supply chain challenges.

After more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, all indications show it is now under control. Its dedication towards health and wellness in order to maintain a safe work environment has resulted in 94% of RBPlat employees being fully vaccinated. This resulted in limited exposure to the impact of the fifth wave of Covid-19.

Although all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, the company is still encouraging its employees to continue taking the necessary safety precautions as South Africa moves towards returning to normality.

RBPlat’s continued commitment towards putting the health and safety of its people first through proactive safety initiatives resulted in a safety milestone of achieving 3 000 000 fatality-free shifts on July 3. Lost time injury frequency rate improved by 32.5% and serious injury frequency rate by 31.0%, but with an 8.7% deterioration in the total injury frequency rate.

Total reef tonnes hoisted increased by 8.1% to 2 333 000 t, tonnes milled by 6.7% to 2 304 000 t and 4E metals in concentrate by 4.5% to 225 500 oz. Notwithstanding these reported increases, this overall production was not in line with operational expectations.

Performance was hampered by an increase in the number of Section 54 stoppages, Eskom electricity supply interruptions and constraints in achieving steady state production volumes at Styldrift.

Operational teams have remained focused on improving efficiencies and embedding the operational maturity required to sustainably secure a cost-effective and high-quality production performance in alignment with the company’s 2022 roadmap.

Environmental, social and governance commitments are central to the company’s “more than mining” philosophy of conducting business in a sustainable manner that has a positive impact on employees, community and the environment.

Royal Bafokeng Platinum CEO Steve Phiri on Tuesday applauded President Cyril Ramaphosa’s energy plan, which involves the introduction of new generation capacity to the grid as quickly as possible to give Eskom the required headroom to carry out much-needed maintenance on its ageing coal fleet.

Royal Bafokeng Platinum is a community-controlled midtier platinum group metals (PGMs) company which owns and operates the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum mine (BRPM) and the Styldrift PGMs project, which is ramping up to steady state.

“I think the President needs to be applauded. He couldn’t have done it better in the circumstances – freeing up development of green energy and access to the grid, allowing people to develop and help the power situation in the country,” said Phiri during a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Royal Bafokeng Platinum, which released another dividend-yielding set of half-year results on the back of a 4.5% increase in PGM ounces to 225 500 oz, is itself moving steadily towards generating 98 MW of its own clean, green solar power, which will give it energy security and help reduce rising mining inflation.

The JSE-listed company is close to completing the feasibility study for the solar plant, which will be outsourced to a third party.

“We’ll be consuming the power generated and the beautiful thing is that we only have to register access into the grid. I know of quite a number of projects of this nature in the Rustenburg areas, where we are operating,” said Phiri, who expects the cumulative effect of solar plants to alleviate power shortages and spur economic development in the region, “so it’s encouraging”.

Coming with the solar energy is also decarbonisation, which fits into work being done by the company to draw up a roadmap to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with lower diesel consumption being targeted.

GREEN HYDROGEN

On green hydrogen being generated on site to power mobility, Phiri said: “Hydrogen, yes, but not now, particularly since we’re still ramping up Styldrift to steady state and that is the main focus at this stage. But once it’s at steady state, we will bring hydrogen in in order to eliminate diesel consumption gradually.”

Mechanised mining is proving more challenging than expected at Styldrift – a mechanised underground mine, with an average mining depth of 680 m.

“Mechanised mining does not have a big footprint in this country, where there are very few mechanised mines. The orebody also dictates the manner and complexity of mechanisation. The mining method is there, it is known, but it must fit into the orebody itself and that is where we are finding some challenges with quite a number of geological problems, and that hampers progress towards steady state.

“The other thing we are seeing quite frequently is the availability of engineering skills, especially for the fleets and that impacts on the availability of the fleets themselves, and if you don’t have availability at the percentage that you require, then that impacts on hoisting. The turnover of skills is also quite high, but we’re getting there,” said Phiri.

Available to help with training is the test mine at Royal Bafokeng Platinum’s Maseve operation. The test mine is a Mandela Mining Precinct initiative open to all mines for the development of mining skills including mechanised mining skills.

Still on the education and training front, Royal Bafokeng Platinum is opening a primary school and secondary school on Friday, which it project-managed in record time and which it will also continue to maintain.

Mining Weekly: What, in your view, should be the biggest takeaway from today’s presentation?

Phiri: One of the biggest takeaways is that we exhibited our newest black female chief financial officer, Rotshidzwa Manenzhe, the first in this company since we listed on the stock exchange. Another takeaway is that even though Styldrift is giving us nightmares, problems and what have you, we think we...

African Rainbow Energy and Power CEO and former Eskom CEO Brian Dames concurs fully with the energy plan unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“I think he’s got it right,” was Dames's summing up of the President's energy initiative during a discussion at the Coal & Energy Transition Day, covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

In response to the event’s chairperson and mining stalwart Bernard Swanepoel, Dames spoke of achieving optimal performance out of existing capacity and adding new supplementary capacity as being the way to go.

“You have to get Eskom working better, and it’s doable, it’s possible, and you have to add more capacity,” said Dames in highlighting renewable energy as the additional capacity of choice.

“With renewables, you can do that in smaller portions, you can do that with the private sector, because renewable energy is investable, and as soon as it is invested in, 18 months later it’s useable,” Dames explained.

On green hydrogen, Dames spoke of high energy density being among hydrogen’s “unique advantages”. Storable for short and long periods, he highlighted hydrogen as being a secondary fuel and green hydrogen being produced using renewable energy.

“Hydrogen is very attractive from the sense of the energy density. Small amounts can produce quite a lot,” said Dames, who added that green hydrogen’s high cost of production and logistics would, however, need to be carefully looked into.

On renewable energy, he forecast that "the world will revolve around renewables, and hence in South Africa we’ll need lots and lots of it.”

African Rainbow Energy and Power’s holding company is described as being the only African company that is a partner to Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which was started by Bill Gates and which includes several global personalities such as Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Jack Ma, Mukesh Ambani and others. The goal of Breakthrough Energy Ventures is to use technology and innovation to provide clean energy that does not contribute to climate change and the ventures company is developing long-duration storage batteries that can store green energy for eight to ten hours.

Expanding on electricity storage, Dames also singled out pumped storage schemes as long-duration energy storage schemes that can be used to dovetail with the variability of renewable power to ensure constant power availability.

A pumped storage scheme is a type of hydroelectric energy storage scheme with a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power as water moves down from one to the other reservoir, passing through a turbine.

As reported by Engineering News & Mining Weekly earlier this year, a call has been made for the proposed but delayed 1 500 MW Tubatse pumped storage scheme, near Roossenekal, in Mpumalanga, to go ahead as an independent power producer (IPP) project, or as a public-private partnership (PPP), to provide more electricity storage capacity potential in South Africa.

South Africa, which is well-versed with pumped storage technology, currently has four pumped storage schemes operating. These are Ingula with 1 330 MW of storage, Drakensberg with 1 000 MW of storage, Palmiet with 400 MW of storage, and Steenbras with 180 MW of storage.

Ingula, Drakensberg, and Palmiet are owned and operated by Eskom, Steenbras by the City of Cape Town, and Tubatse would likely be the first IPP or PPP should a decision be taken to go ahead with it.

African Rainbow Energy, which invests in renewable technologies including solar, wind, and battery energy storage solutions, has already secured a deep investment pipeline and has partnered on a number of bids in Window 5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, or REIPPPP.

Moreover, African Rainbow Energy and Power and banking group Absa have launched African Rainbow Energy – an African-led, renewable energy investment platform with more than 700 MW of invested capacity in ...

The percentage that Australia’s Queensland government will take from Anglo American in 2023 is set to rise from 48% to 59% at current prices, owing to Queensland dramatically increasing its royalty rates without consultation.

Anglo American FD Stephen Pearce decried this as having a significant impact on the competitiveness of Queensland as a destination for long-term investments, “especially as the change was introduced without any consultation with industry”. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Pearce spoke of factors currently influencing government tax policy including “budgetary pressures in some cases and politics in others”, which, he said, are driving governments to raise more tax from sectors that are seeing increased profits in recent years, such as mining.

“In many cases, both of these factors are applying, regardless of the economic and social contribution made by these sectors throughout the pandemic, and over the long term,” Pearce outlined during Anglo’s half-year presentation of results covered by Mining Weekly.

He also drew attention to the Chilean royalty outlook remaining uncertain while it passes through various approval stages, with Anglo having a tax stability agreement in Chile until the end of 2023.

“As you would expect, we’re actively engaging with a full range of stakeholders, ensuring that they recognise the full value that we bring, which has amounted to more than $12-billion in Chile over the last five years,” said Pearce.

“Mining is a long-term industry requiring long-term investment and commitment. Investment decisions are made taking into consideration existing social, political and legal frameworks.

“When changes to these frameworks are considered, we support a transparent debate based on the facts in order to make sure that the economic engine of mining is not damaged and is nurtured for the long-term benefit of the country,” Pearce added.

Anglo’s metallurgical coal business includes five operating mines in Queensland, along with additional development projects and joint venture interests. Its metallurgical coal assets include the Moranbah North and Grosvenor metallurgical coal mines, both with 88% ownership.

In Chile, Anglo has been producing copper since 1980. Its main operation is Los Bronces, located near Santiago. El Soldado is its copper mine in the Cordillera de El Melón, 125 km north of Santiago, and the large Collahuasi mine is north of the Tarapaca region of the South American country.

Ferrochrome production, which is South Africa-based, rose 2% in the six months to June 30, reflecting consistent smelter performance, Glencore reported on Friday.

Attributable ferrochrome production of 786 000 t was 13 000 t higher than in the first half of last year, amid overall Glencore group production being mixed period-over-period.

Ferrochrome was among five commodities that did better, the other four being cobalt, nickel, coal and oil. Down were copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold.

Full-year production guidance provided by the London- and Johannesburg-listed diversified mining and marketing group remains unchanged, with the exception of copper, where the ongoing geotechnical constraints relating to Katanga’s openpit and continued management of higher levels of acid-consuming ore, largely account for the reduced guidance of 1 060 000 t.

Regarding coal, the negative effect on volumes from the recent flooding event in New South Wales, in Australia, and associated delays in restoring mine production and logistics infrastructure, has not yet been incorporated in the guidance table provided, while the average Newcastle coal settlement price for the period was $320/t.

In addition to Katanga’s ongoing geotechnical constraints, Glencore’s own-sourced copper production of 510 200 t was 15% lower because of the basis change arising from the sale of Ernest Henry in January, Collahuasi mine sequencing and lower copper units produced within the zinc business.

On Glencore suffering a first-half fatality at its managed operations, Glencore CEO Gary Nagle said: “We remain focused on the health and safety of our workforce. We continue to believe that we can and must eliminate all fatalities, and we will continue to drive the management of safety across the business to achieve this.”

The total recordable injury frequency rate of 2.3 incidents per million hours worked over the six months to June was 3% lower year-on-year and 14% lower over two years.

Nagle described financial performance – both industrial and marketing – as being “very strong” during the period, particularly on account of buoyant energy markets, which would, he said, be a feature in the release of next week’s half-year report.

Allied with the strong results, particularly in marketing and mostly energy-related, net working capital increased significantly during the period, in line with materially higher oil, gas and coal prices, and their elevated market volatilities, Glencore stated in its release to Mining Weekly.

These factors, Nagle added, result in a timing mismatch between the net positive fair value of physical forward contracts, which are not margined, and related derivative hedging requirements, which are margined.

Own-sourced zinc production of 480 700 t was 17% lower on progressive reduction in the South American portfolio through disposals and closures, Covid-related absenteeism leading to lower development rates and sequence changes at Mount Isa, and lower Antamina production.

Own-sourced half-year nickel production of 57 800 t was 21% higher reflecting Koniambo operating both production lines in 2022 and stable Murrin operations.

Half-year coal production of 55.4-million tonnes was 14% higher, reflecting mainly higher attributable production from Cerrejón, following the acquisition in January 2022 of the remaining two-thirds interest that Glencore did not already own. On a like-for-like basis, overall group coal production declined by a 1%-lower 0.5-million tonnes.

Entitlement interest oil production of 3.1-million barrels of oil equivalent was 22% higher owing to commencement of the gas phase of the Alen project in Equatorial Guinea from March 2021.