MARKETS

Glencore to idle Australian coal mines for three weeks

IN AN unprecedented move to reduce coal oversupply, thermal coal giant Glencore will cease produc...

Lou Caruana
Glencore to idle Australian coal mines for three weeks

The move, which comes as the thermal coal price continues to drift downwards amid agreements by the Chinese government to limit the use of coal for power generation, will see 5 million tonnes come out of production for the company.

“Glencore has decided to implement production shut downs across our Australian coal operations for three weeks starting mid-December,” the company said.

“This is a considered management decision given the current oversupply situation and reduces the need to push incremental sales into an already weak pricing environment.

“We remain confident in demand growth for our products and believe that the supply and demand balance will be restored in the medium term.”

Glencore had increased its total coal production for the September quarter by 7% to 111.4 million tonnes, due mainly to the start of longwall mining at the Ulan West mine in New South Wales and higher productivity from its other Australia thermal coal operations.

The completion of various advanced-stage thermal coal expansion projects also played their part in the better result coal result.

Australian thermal and semi-soft production for the September quarter was 49.1Mt – 11% higher than the previous comparable period.

“The increase reflects the start of longwall operations at Ulan West and productivity improvements at the Bulga complex,” Glencore said.

“Expansion projects at Ravensworth North and Rolleston also contributed to the increase.”

The story for Australian coking coal production was not as bright. It dropped by 18% to 4.6Mt mainly because of cost reduction initiatives that resulted in mine plan and roster changes at Newlands, Oaky Creek and Collinsville, and the impact of mining through a fault at Oaky North.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production