Copper market’s biggest whale fuels speculation of a major shift
The world’s single biggest buyer of copper, State Grid Corp. of China, has slowed its purchases of copper wire this year.
A legal case to dissolve a Glencore mining subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended pending a decision by the Supreme Court, the mining giant said on Tuesday. Congo’s state miner Gecamines is seeking to dissolve Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), blaming Glencore for high debts that have weighed on the mine for more than 10 years.
The temporary suspension comes after the Supreme Court said it would allow KCC to challenge the competency of the local Kolwezi court that was leading the dissolution. The first hearing of the Supreme Court is on June 15.
“The Kolwezi Court concluded today that the previously scheduled Capital Deficiency Proceedings should be suspended until after the Supreme Court renders its decision,” Glencore said in a statement.
(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala and Julia Payne Editing by David Goodman)
