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JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified group Glencore on Wednesday reported a year-on-year decline in output for many of its commodities as reserves were depleted and some mines idled.
The group was, however, making progress with the ramp-up of production and improved output at other mines as it headed into the second half of the year.
The first six months of this year saw Glencore’s own copper production rise 13% to 741 000 t, from 658 000 t in the corresponding period in 2013, on the back of production ramp-up at its Mutanda mine and improved production at Collahuasi.
However, lower head grades and planned maintenance shutdowns resulted in a 12% decline when compared with output in the second half of 2013.
Zinc production fell 11% from 729 500 t in the first half of 2013 to 650 400 t in the six months under review as reserves were depleted at the Perseverance and Brunswick mines, while nickel output declined 8% to 49 100 t as the XNA (Sinclair and Cosmos) and Falcondo mines were placed on care and maintenance.
Higher production at INO and the continued ramp-up at Koniambo led to first-half nickel output being 8% higher than that produced in the six months ended December 2013.
Glencore reported a 16% hike in ferrochrome production to 652 000 t during the half-year under review, owing to increased capacity after the end of State-owned power utility Eskom’s power buy-back programme during the prior period and a ramp-up in production relating to the Lion 2 expansion project.
Further, coal production increased 5% to 71.2-million tonnes during the first half of 2014, as productivity improvements and ongoing thermal coal project expansions in Australia and the non recurrence of the impact of a 32-day strike at Cerrejón which weighed on output during the first quarter of 2013.