Cobalt: The ripple effect
ON August 7 this year, Glencore announced its plans to close the Mutanda mine, citing reduced economic viability and the low prices as the main drivers behind the decision. Glencore chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg said the company had planned to transition the Mutanda operation to temporary care and maintenance by year end, “reflecting its reduced economic viability in the current market environment, primarily in response to low cobalt prices”. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence analyst Caspar Rawles, the announcement actually had a ripple effect in the market, which had experienced a downward trend from the first quarter 2018 through to the beginning of August 2019 (when Glencore released its half year report), mainly due to fears over oversupply. “We…