Swapping aluminum for copper will maintain China’s resources, group says
China depends on overseas imports for 60% of its aluminum resources as opposed to 70% of its copper resources.
Diversified miner Xstrata (LON:XTA) and commodities trader Glencore (LON:GLEN), which are seeking final regulatory approval from China for their $36 billion merger, posted a decline in combined output across key metals such as coal and copper.
The report, which marks the first set of production results provided by Glencore on a pro-forma basis ahead of the merger completion, blamed power cuts in Congo and the need to replace ageing equipment for the disappointing figures.
In a separate statement, however, Xstrata claimed record yearly thermal coal and refined nickel volumes for the year ended December, as well as the second consecutive quarter of record Australian zinc production. Copper output fell due to a poor performance at its Chilean Collahuasi mine and as the company transitions from old mines to new ones.
The miners joint production numbers released by Glencore revealed a 16% decrease in total copper production on the year to 747,042 tons, while zinc dropped 1%.
The merger is scheduled to be completed on March 15.
You can access the full results here (Glencore’s website) and here (Xstrata’s website).
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