Glencore's Copper Production Falls on Lower Grades, But Steelmaking Coal Jumps -- Commodity Comment

Dow Jones10-29

By Adam Whittaker

Glencore suffered a drop in copper production in the first nine months due to lower grades of mined material. It trimmed the upper range of its full-year guidance for the industrial metal. Steelmaking coal production continued to rise, benefiting from the integration of Elk Valley Resources, which it acquired in July 2024. It produced 24.7 million tons of steelmaking coal compared with 11.1 million tons last year.

Copper:

"Own sourced copper production of 583,500 tonnes was 121,700 tonnes (17%) below the comparable 2024 period, primarily due to lower head grades and recoveries associated with planned mine sequencing and the resultant ore fed to the plants, contributing to the reductions at Collahuasi (59,000 tonnes), Antamina (23,400 tonnes), Antapaccay (15,200 tonnes) and KCC (16,800 tonnes). Own sourced copper production in Q3 2025 was 63,600 tonnes (36%) higher than Q2 2025, mainly reflecting higher grades at KCC (21,700 tonnes), Antapaccay (16,800 tonnes) and Antamina (11,800 tonnes) as planned mine sequencing advanced."

Steelmaking coal:

"Steelmaking coal production of 24.7 million tonnes mainly comprises EVR (acquired in July 2024), which produced 19.4 million tonnes YTD versus 5.7 million tonnes in the comparable 2024 period, following the acquisition on 11 July. Australian steelmaking coal production of 5.3 million tonnes was broadly in line with the comparable 2024 period."

Cobalt:

"Own sourced cobalt production of 28,500 tonnes was 2,000 tonnes (8%) higher than the comparable 2024 period, reflecting higher cobalt grades and volumes at Mutanda."

Zinc:

"Own sourced overall zinc production of 709,400 tonnes was 65,800 tonnes (10%) higher than the comparable 2024 period, mainly reflecting higher zinc grades at Antamina (58,700 tonnes) and higher McArthur River production (16,000 tonnes)."

Nickel:

"Adjusting for 5,000 tonnes of Koniambo production in the base period (prior to its transition to care and maintenance), own sourced nickel production of 52,400 tonnes was 4,900 tonnes (9%) lower than the comparable 2024 period, reflecting reductions at both INO and Murrin Murrin."

Ferrochrome:

"Attributable ferrochrome production of 436,000 tonnes was 458,000 tonnes (51%) below the comparable 2024 period, reflecting the suspension of operations at the Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters in May and June 2025 respectively, pending a sustained recovery in ferrochrome conversion margins (from chrome ore). Operations at the Lion smelter are currently suspended for scheduled annual maintenance and planned furnace rebuilds.

Energy coal:

"Energy coal production of 73.5 million tonnes was broadly in line with the comparable 2024 period, reflecting stronger Australian volumes offsetting the voluntary Cerrejon production cuts announced in March this year."

Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2025 04:13 ET (08:13 GMT)

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Glencore's Copper Production Falls on Lower Grades, But Steelmaking Coal Jumps -- Commodity Comment

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