Glencore expects copper output to rise to nearly 1.5m tonnes in 2018 as it ramps up production at a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The FTSE 100 firm’s Katanga mine is expected to produce about 150,000 additional tonnes of copper as well as 11,600 tonnes of cobalt, a by-product of copper, this year, Glencore said in a production update for the 12 months to the end of December.
In 2017, copper production slipped eight per cent to 1.3m tonnes due to mines entering end of life production declines and other temporary effects, though production in the fourth quarter was up about 20 per cent from the prior quarter.
Production of cobalt fell three per cent to 27,400 tonnes amid a sharp rise in demand for minerals used in batteries, while zinc output was in line with the previous year at about 1m tonnes.
Anglo Pacific Group plc (LON:APF) has exposure to both copper and cobalt, with its most recent acquisition being the Piauí Nickel-Cobalt project in Brazil in September 2017.