Producer
Glencore plc
Major diversified mining and commodities trading company; produces sulfuric acid as byproduct at its copper, zinc, and lead smelters globally (Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Philippines, Peru, etc.). One of the world's largest merchants of sulfuric acid from smelting operations. Also one of the world's largest sulfur traders — trades recovered sulfur from refineries and intermediates it to fertilizer manufacturers. Glencore's dual position as a smelter byproduct H2SO4 producer AND sulfur trader gives it market intelligence across both supply sources.
7
Inputs supplied
5
Goods downstream
6
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
7 inputs Glencore plc supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
mineral
Cobalt sulfate (battery grade) →
mineral
Cobalt Ore (DRC) →
mineral
Zinc metal (galvanizing grade) →
mineral
Copper ore concentrate →
mineral
Copper ore concentrate →
chemical
Sulfuric Acid (Wet Process Phosphoric Acid) →
mineral
Cobalt Ore (DRC) →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Glencore plc makes — pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
6 facilities
Collahuasi Copper Mine →
CLTarapacá Region · mine
Collahuasi (Tarapacá Region, Chile; altitude ~4,400m; Glencore 44%, Anglo American 44%, JX Metals 12%) is one of the world's largest copper mines, producing approximately 560,000-620,000 tonnes/year of copper (concentrate plus cathode). Two open-pit operations — Ujina and Rosario pits — feed the Collahuasi concentrator. Average ore grade approximately 0.95% Cu. Collahuasi is located in the Altiplano at extremely high altitude, creating operational challenges around worker acclimatization and equipment performance. The mine has a dedicated desalination plant on the Pacific coast at Patache (~140km), pumping processed seawater up the Andes for mineral processing — a logistics and energy challenge unique to high-altitude Atacama Desert copper mines. Collahuasi is one of the lowest-cost large copper mines globally due to its scale, strip ratio, and ore grade. Source: Glencore Annual Report 2024; Anglo American Annual Report 2024.
Glencore Mount Isa Zinc Operations →
AUMount Isa, Queensland · manufacturing
Glencore's flagship Australian zinc complex. Mount Isa mines + Townsville smelter system processes ~200K MT/yr zinc. One of world's largest zinc operations. Also produces lead, copper, silver. Part of Queensland copper-zinc-lead belt.
Glencore Mutanda Mine (MUMI) →
CDLualaba · mining
World's single largest cobalt mine by output (~20,000 t Co/yr); ~8–10% of global cobalt supply; suspended 2019–2021 due to depressed prices.
Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) →
CDLualaba Province · mine
Large underground copper-cobalt mine in DRC Copperbelt. Glencore 75%, Gécamines 25%. Produced 190.6kt copper in 2024. Also produces cobalt as key byproduct.
Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) →
CDLualaba Province · mine
Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) is a copper-cobalt underground mine and processing complex in Kolwezi (Commune de Dilala), Lualaba Province. Owned by Glencore (75%) and Gécamines (25%). KCC was historically operated as Katanga Mining Ltd (a TSX/LSE listed company) before Glencore consolidation. Produces cobalt hydroxide (the standard intermediate product shipped from DRC) as a byproduct of copper cathode production. KCC is one of the deepest mining operations in the Copperbelt and operates an on-site solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) plant. Source: Glencore DRC operations page; Coppermark KCC profile; NS Energy Business.
Mutanda Mine (MUMI) →
CDLualaba Province · mine
Mutanda Mining S.A.R.L (MUMI) is a copper-cobalt mine approximately 40km east of Kolwezi in Lualaba Province, DRC. Wholly controlled by Glencore (95% since 2017; 5% transferred to DRC State in 2023 per new Mining Code requirements). Mutanda was historically the world's largest cobalt mine by annual output. Glencore voluntarily suspended Mutanda in August 2019 (cobalt price too low; prices had crashed from $95,000/t peak to under $30,000/t) — the suspension itself caused a cobalt supply shock and brief price recovery. Mutanda restarted in Q4 2021. 2024 cobalt output from Mutanda was approximately 8,000 tonnes, reflecting declining ore grades. Coordinates from latitude.to verified GPS data. Source: Glencore Full Year 2024 Production Report; Mutanda Wikipedia; Mining Weekly.
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map — where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Metals & Minerals (Mining)
35%Coal (Mining & Marketing)
28%Metals & Minerals (Trading)
20%Agricultural Commodities (Viterra)
12%Oil & Gas
5%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains — chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2024
Glencore is simultaneously the world's largest cobalt producer (through its DRC Katanga/Mutanda operations — ~25% of global cobalt supply, critical for EV batteries) and one of the world's largest coal producers and traders (major contributor to the carbon emissions that EVs are intended to reduce). The company profits from fossil fuel combustion AND from supplying the minerals that power decarbonization from combustion — the same balance sheet benefits whether the energy transition accelerates or stalls. This creates a structural conflict of interest unique to a single diversified resource company: Glencore has financial incentives to ensure the energy transition happens (cobalt demand) and financial incentives to slow it (coal demand).
Glencore plc ↗Origin2023
Glencore was founded in 1974 by Marc Rich (born Marcell David Reich, a Jewish immigrant from Belgium via Bolivia) as Marc Rich + Co AG in Zug, Switzerland. Rich invented the concept of spot-market oil trading — until the 1970s, oil was traded only through long-term contracts with major oil companies. Rich's willingness to trade with pariah states (including Apartheid South Africa and post-revolution Iran) made him extraordinarily wealthy and then indicted in 1983 on 65 charges of tax fraud and illegal oil trading. He fled to Switzerland and became one of the most notorious fugitives in US history, pardoned controversially by President Clinton in 2001. Rich sold his stake in the company that became Glencore in 1993 to his traders, who took it public in 2011.
Glencore plc ↗Incident2019
In August 2019, Glencore announced the indefinite suspension of Mutanda Mining Company (Mutanda), one of the world's two largest cobalt mines (along with Glencore's own Katanga/KCC), citing 'high costs and current low cobalt prices.' The suspension removed approximately 20,000 tonnes of cobalt production per year from global supply — approximately 20% of global cobalt production at one decision by one company. Cobalt prices, which had already fallen from a $90,000/tonne peak in April 2018 to ~$30,000/tonne by August 2019, continued to decline after the suspension announcement rather than recovering — suggesting the suspension had been anticipated by markets. Glencore restarted Mutanda in April 2021 as cobalt prices recovered with EV demand. The Mutanda suspension illustrated how the global EV battery cobalt supply chain can be altered by a single suspension decision at one Swiss trading company's DRC mining subsidiary — a decision that affected EV battery production capacity at Tesla, BYD, CATL, and every major battery manufacturer globally.
Glencore plc ↗