Glencore to extend KCC in land deal with Gécamines

On Feb 18, GLENCORE, signed an agreement with Gécamines to access additional land titles, which had boosted ambitions to increase production from its Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 300,000 tons a year.mAnnouncing a 6% decline in full year adjusted Ebitda to $13.5bn for the 12 months ended December, Glencore said a deal with the DRC’s state-owned miner Gécamines would unlock “a comprehensive package of long-term mining titles and leases” and increase KCC’s life of mine into the 2040s.

Glencore produced 247,800 tons of copper from its African Copper operations last year, including Mutanda, an increase of 10% year-on-year. In December, the miner unveiled plans to expand copper production to around one million tons annually by the end of 2028, and then to 1.6 million tons/year by 2035.

“Today we announced the finalisation of the KCC land access package with Gécamines, unlocking LOM extension, productivity and cost improvements and the pathway to approximately 300,000 tons of copper production,” said Glencore CEO Gary Nagle.