Embattled mining giant Glencore said it has started the sales process for two of its copper mines in Australia and Chile.The firm’s Australian copper mine in Cobar, New South Wales, and its Lomas Bayas copper mine in the Atacama desert in Chile are for sale.
Glencore is attempting to reduce $30bn (£19.5bn) of debt created by its 2013 takeover of Xstrata.Its Hong Kong-listed shares have also fallen some 55% this year.
Trading of the firm’s Hong Kong-listed shares were halted earlier on Monday ahead of the announcement.
“The sale process is in response to Glencore receiving a number of unsolicited expressions of interest for these mines from various potential buyers,” the firm said in an email.
“This will allow potential buyers to bid to purchase either one or both of the mines and may or may not result in a sale,” it added.
The Cobar operation is a high-grade underground mine and plant, while the Lomas Bayas operation is a low-cost, open pit mine.
In Australia, Glencore has 19 mining complexes across the country, including coal, copper, nickel and zinc operations, port facilities, offices and agricultural businesses, among others. It is one of the biggest exporters of Australian grain.
In Chile, Glencore owns and has stakes in several mines, as well as a hydro-power project.
Last week, the firm announced it would dramatically cut its zinc production.The move comes amid a 30% fall in the price of zinc in recent months. The company said it would cut 500,000 tonnes of zinc production – or 4% of the world’s total supply.
Most of the zinc-related cutbacks will be in Australia, where more than 500 jobs will be lost, as well as South America and Kazakhstan.
As it attempts to reduce its debt, the firm has also cut copper production and suspended dividend payments to shareholders. It is also issuing new shares to raise money.
Source:BBC
Botswana will use some of its $8.5-billion in foreign exchange reserves to stimulate the economy after a drop in diamond prices hit growth in the world’s biggest producer, President Ian Khama said on Monday.
Countries with leadership which thinks about bad days….. This well beyond the understanding of Lungu and Kambwili
Is this not what HH said in his radio interview when he tried to teach Kambwili basic economics?
@Engineer, You also need to bring it to the attention of these Group D dunderheads that our currency here was at 0.69 cents per dollar the last three weeks and today in Australia its the highest it has been in three moths at 0.74. This gain is not unprecedented but due to measure put in place to counter such events. So why hasn’t our currency gained. because these non heads have no idea.
Don’t try and continue to cheat people you useless PF. Check seek dot com dot au and see the number of Job opportunities today. Stop Cheating and work. You though running a country was like drinking Katata. LOL
TheEngineer: According to HH, the South African Rand is deliberately devalued to stimulate exports. He says the rand depreciation against the US dollar has nothing to do with appreciation of the dollar. Do you agree with him?
If the is one thing i agreed with HH is that Zambian’s are got used to very low analysis. In your case you clearly missed the point. He was saying if you are an exporting country the devaluation of the exchange rate plays to your favour. At times you devalue it just like China did a few weeks ago to get a favourable advantage in export income. Thats the case for South Africa, its very different for Zambia since you import almost everything and devaluation is actually a dissadvantage. We need to raise the level of debt and understanding of issues well above politics and give credit to people who know more.
The Engineer the devaluation of the rand and that of the Yuan are two different issues but you are making it seem like the strategy was the same. South African rand devalued because the dollar strengthened not because South Africa wanted to reap from exports. China SA’s biggest trade partner devalued to increase its exports
The economic stimulus, which Khama said would be ready in “a few weeks”, will target tourism development, agricultural production, construction and manufacturing. Botswana currently has 88-billion pula ($8.5-billion) in foreign currency reserves, with around half held in a sovereign wealth fund.
Joseph’s interpretation of Pharo’s dream, he said, during the 7 years of plenty store the grain to used in the 7 years of drought and starvation. It is the wisdom from God that applies in such times.
@Engineer
I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT WHEN THE PRICE OF COPPER WAS VERY HIGH, MWANAWASA TRIED TO INTRODUCE WINDFALL TAXES SO THAT ZAMBIA COULD BENEFIT FOR A RAINY DAY AS WE ARE CURRENTLY IN BUT THE THE LIKES OF FIRST QUANTUM AND GLENCORE OPPOSED THE MOVE VEHEMENTLY.
NOT SO LONG AGO WHEN THE PF GOVERNMENT RAISED MINERAL ROYALTY TAXES THEY WERE STRONGLY ATTACKED BY THE SAME CLIQUE. I ALSO REMEMBER ONE HAKAINDE SIDING WITH THEM.
IT IS THUS UNFAIR TO BLAME PRESIDENT LUNGU FOR OUR CURRENT CHALLENGES.
LET US BE HONEST.
Let me correct you President Mwanawasa did introduce windfall tax he did not fail to introduce it. It was the first time Zambia had a balanced budget. Remember Mwanawasa had the brains and the intellect to engage the mining companies. Am afraid i don’t see anyone of that quality in Lungu and his gang who has the ability to talk to Glencor. The are top class executives, Lungu and Kambwili have no chance.
The bottom line is you don’t go to battle with a pocket knife. We simply don’t have the brains in the current government. Even technocrats have been replaced by friends and relatives.
The challenges for Zambia are different from that of Botswana. The Zambian population is colossal than that of Botswana. We have weak export base in that our major export is law copper, whilst Botswana they export diamonds.
I beg to differ with you. What resources has Botswana got which Zambia has not got. We have by far much more resources… water, arable land, human power, minerals etc far much better than Botswana.
We simply do not have the ability to turn these resources into income which Botswana has done better. It all boils down to leadership with brains. Am present Lungu, Kambwili etc just do not cut it. Give credit to Banda, he may have been corrupt but he had the brains around hime to do the work
Botswana owns 15% of De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo-American Corporation.
The Zambian government should own 15% of Glencore. That way, it is much harder to cheat the shareholders, and they would benefit from profits made worldwide, rather than chase down profits escaped from the local partially ZCCM-IH owned mining company.
Which is why I say – if they want lower mineral royalties, give ZCCM-IH 15% of Glencore shares, or the equivalent in dividend payments of say 50% of profits if they paid profits.
Very shallow analysis. Botswana owns 15% of Debswana the operating company in Botswana not Debeers. If Glencor had to give shareholding to every country it operating in at group level “Glencor you would own extremely small value of Gencor to the point you would not even have a board seat and have no influence. You are better owning a share at operating level.
This is the shallow analysis HH was talking about