LONDON--Commodities titan Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLEN.LN)
reported Tuesday higher first-quarter copper and coal output and
lower zinc production while its marketing activities performed in
line with expectations.
It also said that it approved the construction of the Askaf
North iron-ore project in Mauritania, marking the company's first
attempt to develop its own iron-ore production. The 7
million-ton-a-year iron-ore project is forecast to cost $0.9
billion to build with first production expected in early 2017.
Among the diversified miners, Glencore Xstrata has the biggest
exposure to copper. The FTSE-100 miner and trader produced 382,000
metric tons of mined copper from its own concentrate during the
three months ended March 31, up 24% from the same quarter a year
earlier. The increase was due to higher output from its Congo mines
and improved performance from certain mines in Latin America and
Australia.
Glencore also said that its marketing activities across all
business segments during the quarter were "strong and in line with
our expectations." The marketing activities accounted for about 40%
of last year's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes.
Own-sourced coal production, another key earnings driver after
copper, rose 4% to 34.1 million tons in the first quarter compared
with the same quarter a year before when a lengthy strike dented
output from the Colombian Cerrejon mine.
Zinc output fell 18% on year to 306,000 tons in the first
quarter due to the closure of its Perseverance and Brunswick mines
in June 2013.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com
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