Glencore reports 5% copper production uplift for H1 2025 over H1 2024

Over the first half of 2025, Glencore has continued to make significant progress in optimising the business and positioning for further value accretive growth. A comprehensive review of its industrial asset portfolio during the period recognised opportunities to streamline Glencore industrial operating structure, to optimise departmental management and reporting, and to support enhanced technical excellence and operational focus.

Glencore Chief Executive Officer, Gary Nagle said: “This review also identified c.$1bn of cost savings opportunities (against a 2024 baseline) across our various operating structures, which are expected to be fully delivered by the end of 2026. H2 2025 is expected to already generate significant cost savings resulting from these initiatives – further details will be provided in our Half-Year results on 6 August.

“Recent business reviews also confirmed our confidence in delivering our full year production guidance, with the ranges now tightened to reflect performance to date.

“We remain focussed on delivering safe reliable production and achieving value accretive growth across our industrial asset portfolio in the coming years.

“Given completion of the sale of Viterra in early July, and, despite no longer including our share of Viterra earnings in our Marketing Adjusted EBIT going forward, we now take the opportunity to revise up our through the cycle long-term marketing Adjusted EBIT guidance range to $2.3 to $3.5 billion p.a. (from the $2.2 to $3.2 billion previously), representing a mid-point increase of 16% from c.$2.5 billion (ex-Viterra) to $2.9 billion.”

H1 production highlights

• Copper equivalent (CuEq) production rose 5% year-on-year in H1, primarily due to the contribution of EVR’s steelmaking coal volumes.
• Own sourced copper production of 343,900 tonnes was 118,700 tonnes (26%) below H1 2024, primarily due to lower head grades and recoveries associated with planned mining sequencing and the resultant ore fed to the plants, contributing to the reductions at Collahuasi (41,700 tonnes), Antapaccay (21,700 tonnes), Antamina (20,800 tonnes) and KCC (25,300 tonnes).
• Own sourced cobalt production of 18,900 tonnes was 3,000 tonnes (19%) higher than H1 2024, mainly reflecting higher cobalt grades and volumes at Mutanda.
• Own sourced overall zinc production of 465,200 tonnes was 48,000 tonnes (12%) higher than H1 2024, mainly reflecting higher zinc grades at Antamina (36,800 tonnes) and higher McArthur River production (10,600 tonnes).
• Adjusting for 5,000 tonnes of Koniambo production in the base period (prior to its transition to care and maintenance), own sourced nickel production of 36,600 tonnes was 2,600 tonnes (7%) lower than H1 2024, due to Murrin Murrin maintenance downtime.
• Attributable ferrochrome production of 433,000 tonnes was 166,000 tonnes (28%) below H1 2024, reflecting pressure on smelting conversion margins, which led to the strategic decision to suspend operations at the Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters, until such time as market conditions sufficiently improve.
• Steelmaking coal production of 15.7 million tonnes mainly comprises the Elk Valley Resources (EVR) business acquired in July 2024, which produced 12.7 million tonnes in H1 2025. Australian steelmaking coal production of 3.0 million tonnes was 0.4 million tonnes (12%) lower than H1 2024, due to the temporary suspension of Oaky Creek following a water inrush.
• Energy coal production of 48.3 million tonnes was broadly in line with H1 2024, reflecting stronger Australian production offsetting the more recent voluntary production cuts at Cerrejón.

The Ferroalloys business completed the review of the sustainability of its smelting operations. The Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters were indefinitely suspended in May and June 2025, respectively, pending sufficient recovery in the ferrochrome market. Operations at the Lion smelter are currently temporarily suspended, undergoing scheduled annual maintenance and planned rebuilds. 

Glencore is one of the world’s largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities that advance everyday life.