Glencore on Monday revised its 2017 copper production guidance down 2% to 1.31 million mt (plus/minus 15,000 mt), citing power interruption at Mopani in Zambia and associated reduction in sulfuric acid deliveries to Mutanda in the Congo.
The new target is down 8.1% copper produced last year.
This is the second time this year that Glencore has cut its 2017 output target for copper.
Glencore's total production over January-September 2017 was 946,500 mt of copper, down 10.8% year on year.
In the third quarter of this year, output from its African, Australian and South American assets fell 15.2% on the year to 303,600 mt.
In fact, Glencore's quarterly copper production has been falling since Q4 last year when the company sold a 30% interest in the Ernest Henry gold-copper mine in Queensland to Australian gold miner Evolution Mining.
It also cited smelter maintenance at Mount Isa in Queensland and lower grades at Peru's Antapaccay project as reasons for the fall in production.
Glencore also cut zinc production for this year to 1.105 million mt (plus/minus 15,000 mt) in anticipation of lower grades from its assets in the Americas.
This is about 2% less than the 1.13 million mt it had expected to produce following the disposal of its interests in Namibia's Rosh Pinah mine and Burkina Faso's Perkoa to Canada's Trevali Mining in end August.
Glencore's zinc production totaled 827,400 mt over January-September, up 4.8% year on year, reflecting a change in the zinc/copper ore mix of its 33.75%-controlled Antamina operation in Peru as its mine plan progresses.
Production of zinc during the July-September quarter fell 12% quarter on quarter to 256,600 mt, which was also down 9.2% on the year.
Glencore produced 2% less nickel between January and September at 80,700 mt, because of maintenance at the Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations in Ontario and Murrin Murrin JV in Western Australia as well as a higher proportion of third-party feeds in Sudbury's metallurgical mix.
For 2017, the company expects nickel production to remain steady from last year at 115,000 mt (plus/minus 4,000 mt).
