Australian graphite firms petition US on alleged China dumping
Australia's Novonix has joined the American Active Anode Material Producers (AAAMP) in filing the petition.
China’s CMOC Group boosted its cobalt output by more than 170% last year, with surging production at a new mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo helping the company leapfrog Glencore Plc as the world’s top producer of the key battery metal.
Hong Kong-listed CMOC produced 55,526 tons of cobalt in 2023, it said in a filing on Thursday. In October, Glencore forecast output of as much as 42,000 tons. While investors and traders had been expecting a large increase at CMOC’s massive Kisanfu mine — which came online in the second quarter — the full-year result exceeded the company’s own production guidance by more than 20%.
Soaring output at the $1.8 billion Kisanfu mine helped trigger a sharp slump in cobalt prices last year, alongside rising production in Indonesia and a rebound in exports from CMOC’s other operation in Congo, Tenke-Fungurume. The market was already in one of its biggest ever surpluses as 2023 began, and the additional output helped drive a 30% slump in prices over the year.
The mismatch between supply and demand became so acute that by mid-year Glencore had started to stockpile surplus tonnages at its operations in Congo in a bid to bring the market back into balance. Glencore is set to announce its full-production results next month.
CMOC’s copper output also jumped by 51% to 419,539 ton, establishing it as one of the world’s top producers at a time when many miners are struggling to boost output.
(By Mark Burton)
Comments