Katanga Mining Ltd Ord KATFF

Cobalt price rockets as Glencore plans closure of major mine

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https://www.ft.com/content/15071a6a-c02c-11e9-b350-db00d509634e

The price of cobalt has soared more than 30 per cent since Glencore announced this month it would close the world’s largest mine for the battery metal, offering hope for a sector whose shares have been hit by fears over a global recession.

.....Glencore, the world’s largest producer of cobalt, said early last week that it would shut its Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of this year, saying mining the metal was no longer “economically viable”. Since then, cobalt prices have risen almost one-third to trade at $16 a pound on Friday, according to Fastmarkets.  

....But prices are likely to rise further, said Mr Heppel, as the closure of Glencore’s mine shifts the global market from surplus to deficit next year.