Glencore’s cobalt volumes halve as Congo export caps bite
Glencore reported a 52% slide in self-sourced cobalt output to 13,700 tonnes over the first nine months of 2026, after Congolese export limits led the miner to leave more material unrefined.
The Swiss commodities group’s cobalt volumes compare with 28,500 tonnes over the equivalent stretch last year, figures from its latest quarterly output statement show. Measured quarter-over-quarter, production slipped 20% to land at 3,500 tonnes.
The company indicated it is opting to leave cobalt locked within blended ore solution instead of refining it into sellable hydroxide form, a tactic that trims immediate processing expenses. Material held back this way doesn’t appear in official output figures, and Glencore anticipates unlocking its worth later once Congolese export policy loosens.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s largest cobalt source, froze exports in 2025 once prices sank to their lowest in nine years, before rolling out quota limits meant to prop up pricing — restrictions that are expected to persist through the end of 2027 at minimum. Glencore’s African Copper unit, encompassing its Congolese operations, generated 11,600 tonnes of cobalt in the nine months to September, a 56% annual decline. The firm noted that inventories held at its Kamoto Copper Company and Mutanda sites are adequate to meet near-term export allowances.
Copper performance moved in the opposite direction, climbing 3% to 598,600 tonnes — or 12% once adjustments are made for the shuttered Mount Isa mine and the divested Kidd asset. Gains from African Copper and improved ore quality at the Antamina mine in Peru helped cushion weaker showings at Antapaccay and Collahuasi. Glencore has set a goal of reaching 1.6 million tonnes of yearly copper output by 2035.
The company left its full-year 2026 copper target of between 810,000 and 870,000 tonnes unchanged but cautioned that results will likely come in near the bottom of that band. Coking coal production dropped 13% to 21.5 million tonnes and is heading toward the low end of its projected range, whereas zinc and thermal coal output are trending near the top of their respective forecasts. Chief executive Gary Nagle said the firm’s primary operations tracked broadly with expectations over the quarter. Glencore reaffirmed that marketing-adjusted EBIT for the full year should surpass $5 billion.
Why it matters for markets: Reduced cobalt supply linked to Congo’s quota system could underpin battery-metal pricing going forward, while Glencore’s stable copper targets alongside firm ferrochrome and zinc trends offer signals relevant to industrial-metals demand across the mining and commodities space.
Source: Mining.com