Julie Steinberg of The Wall Street Journal tells her readers that a coal giant has set in motion a plan to quit coal, leaving it to focus on green metals. She writes:
Glencore Chief Executive Gary Nagle made his name running the commodity giant’s sprawling coal operations. Now he’s leading an effort to get the company out of coal altogether.
Glencore this past Tuesday agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal that will eventually rid it of its coal mines, a move that represents the company’s biggest strategic shift in years. That leaves it to focus on bolstering its position as a major supplier of the metals needed for electric-vehicle batteries and other green technologies.
“We have some of the best future-facing metals in the world,” Nagle said this past week, referring to Glencore’s nickel, copper, cobalt and zinc assets. “This will be the go-to metals transition company in the world.”
The challenge for Nagle is to pull off a smooth exit from coal, which has long been a key pillar of the company and generated more than half of Glencore’s adjusted profit last year. […]
At the time Teck raised concerns about Glencore’s thermal coal business, as well as its oil-trading operations and potential geopolitical risks in certain countries where it operates.
In June, Glencore proposed a bid solely for Teck’s coal assets, regarding the tie-up as a way to create a more attractive company for a potential listing.
At the same time, Nagle has been working to boost Glencore’s exposure to critical minerals. The company recently agreed to take over an Argentina copper project and has struck a series of deals to trade lithium. It is also looking to expand its foothold in metals recycling.
Read more here.
