Glencore’s Cobalt Output Falls 52% to 13,700 Tonnes in First Nine Months
Key Facts
Glencore said its own-source cobalt production was 13,700 tonnes in the first nine months of 2026, down 14,800 tonnes, or 52%, from the same period in 2025. The decline covers the year-to-date period through the end of the third quarter, not third-quarter production alone. The company attributed the drop to the continued cobalt export quota system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as its continued focus on copper production. The report thus places the change in metal output in the context of two operational and regulatory factors cited by the company. Quarterly data also showed cobalt production declining in consecutive quarters during the year, falling from the second quarter to the third.
Cobalt production was 3,500 tonnes in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 4,400 tonnes in the second quarter, a quarterly decline of 20%. Third-quarter output was also below the 9,600 tonnes recorded in the third quarter of 2025. The year-on-year quarterly comparison shows the decline extended beyond the fall between the second and third quarters this year. The nine-month figure of 13,700 tonnes measures cumulative production for the period and compares it with the same period last year. Glencore presents the figures as own-source production, not as a total covering all global cobalt production.
Glencore said cobalt contained in mixed hydroxide precipitate is increasingly being retained in solution rather than processed into saleable hydroxide. The company linked this approach to developments in export regulations, saying the value of the retained cobalt is expected to be realised as those regulations change. This means some cobalt in mixed hydroxide precipitate is not currently being converted into the saleable product cited by the company, while the potential to realise its value remains tied to developments in regulatory rules. Glencore did not describe this retention as protecting future sales, nor did it directly link the export quotas to restrictions on moving the material. Instead, the company listed the continued quota system among the reasons for lower production and separately explained its treatment of cobalt in mixed hydroxide precipitate.
By contrast, Glencore’s own-source copper production rose 3% in the first nine months of 2026 to 598,600 tonnes, compared with the same period in 2025. The increase comes as the company points to its continued focus on copper production, a factor it included in its explanation for lower cobalt output. The company expects copper production to increase in the fourth quarter of 2026, attributing this mainly to expected improvements in grades and recovery rates at Collahuasi. Chief Executive Gary Nagle said key assets performed strongly in the third quarter and that 2026 production guidance for key commodities was unchanged. Glencore therefore kept its full-year guidance as it expects a quarterly improvement in copper production at year-end.
Glencore defines own-source production as output from industrial assets under its control and joint ventures, with production calculated on a 100% basis unless the report states otherwise. The cobalt export quota system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo took effect on 16 October 2025, after the end of the export suspension, according to the International Energy Agency. This places the quota system in the period preceding the comparison showing Glencore’s production fell in the first nine months of 2026 from the corresponding period in 2025. After the production report was released, the company’s shares fell 1.6% to 533 pence in trading on 29 October, according to Investing.com coverage. The next operational milestone identified by the company remained its expectation of higher copper production in the fourth quarter, driven mainly by grades and recovery rates at Collahuasi.