London 11/09/2015 - Glencore said that it has addressed the government's concerns and will move forward with the suspension of copper and cobalt operations at its Katanga Mining operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Earlier this week, the Swiss trader and miner announced that it suspended operations at its Katanga and Mopani (Zambia) mines, which would effectively remove 400,000 tonnes of copper from the market, with a price-dependent restart pencilled in for the start of 2017.
In an attempt to appease government officials, Glencore pledged to continue with the planned investment of $880 million into ongoing processing plant upgrades and the waste stripping of the KOV and Mashamba open pits.
"These process upgrades include the commissioning of the new leach plant which will replace the existing oxide concentration process. This is expected to significantly improve both copper recoveries and operating unit costs when processing resumes. C1 costs are expected to be reduced to $1.65 per pound," Glencore said.
It also aims to minimize the impact of the suspension on its employees by retaining a minimum of 80 percent of the existing workforce. Initially, a process of voluntary redundancies and voluntary early retirement will be followed before assessing the need for compulsory headcount reductions, it added.