Cobalt production soars by 170%! CMOC surpasses Glencore to become the world's largest cobalt miner.

Due to the surge in production of key mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, CMOC has surpassed Glencore to become the world's largest cobalt miner.

On the evening of January 4th, CMOC announced that the company's copper, cobalt, and gold production have shown significant increases, with year-on-year growth rates of 51%, 174%, and 16% respectively. By the end of 2023, the company had produced a cumulative total of 419,539 tons of copper, an increase of over 140,000 tons compared to the previous year; 55,526 tons of cobalt, an increase of over 35,000 tons; and 18,771 ounces of gold. In addition, the company produced 15,635 tons of molybdenum, a year-on-year increase of 3%; 7,975 tons of tungsten, a year-on-year increase of 6%; 9,515 tons of niobium, a year-on-year increase of 3%; and 1.17 million tons of phosphate fertilizer, a year-on-year increase of 3%.

Note: The copper and gold production for 2023 is up to the delivery date of the sale (December 15, 2023).

The company's spokesperson pointed out that the major mines of the company have reached a historic high, and the copper and cobalt products have shown explosive growth. The increase in copper production will become an important source of global copper production growth, and the company may have become the world's largest cobalt producer.

CMOC's increase in copper production mainly comes from the TFM and KFM copper-cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In July, CMOC reached a settlement with the local government regarding the increase in equity gold at the TFM copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Furthermore, CMOC has invested $1.8 billion in the Kisanfu mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting in a significant increase in production at the Kisanfu mine.

At the same time, cobalt production in Indonesia is also increasing, and CMOC's export volume from the Tenke-Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo has also increased. The surge in new production has helped the company's cobalt production soar by 170%, surpassing Glencore to become the world's largest cobalt miner.

Due to the increased supply of cobalt in the market, the beginning of 2023 has seen the largest oversupply in history, and the additional production has caused cobalt prices to plummet by 30% within a year. The significant supply-demand imbalance prompted Glencore to start stockpiling excess production in the Congo only in the middle of the year in order to restore market balance.

Glencore is expected to announce its production data for 2023 next month. In comparison, Glencore had previously projected a maximum production of 42,000 tons in October 2023, which is lower than CMOC's cobalt production of 55,526 tons in 2023. Although investors and traders have anticipated a significant increase in production from CMOC's Kisanfu copper-cobalt mine, which is expected to start production in the second quarter, the company's full-year performance is still expected to exceed the guidance by over 20%.