On May 29, according to the announcement issued by Glencore, the company signed a long-term supply agreement with Umicore on battery materials and will supply cobalt hydroxide to Umicore. Its cobalt source comes from Glencore's industrial mining operations KCC and Mutanda, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Umicore has assessed each business as fully consistent with its cobalt's sustainable procurement framework, which does not include artisanal cobalt mining in the supply chain and any form of child labor involvement. Once the ongoing acquisition process is completed, cobalt will be shipped to Umicore Cobalt Refineries worldwide, including the Kokkola refinery in Finland.
Glencore produced 10,900 tons of cobalt in the first quarter of 2019, a 56% increase from the 7,000 tons produced in the same period last year. The increase was mainly due to the increase in the Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the first quarter, cobalt production at Katanga and Mutanda was 9,900 tons in the first quarter, a 62% increase year-on-year.
With the increase in cobalt production in Katanga, Glencore expects to produce 53,000-61,000 tons of cobalt in 2019. The output in 2018 was 42,200 tons, a year-on-year increase of 54%.
It is reported that the agreement guarantees Umicore's long-term supply of most of the cobalt demand in its expanding global battery material value chain and meets Umicore's growing cathode material sales target. The agreement also provides long-term market access for Glencore's cobalt feedstock.
Marc Grynberg, Umicore CEO, said, "Our partnership with Glencore and the recently announced acquisition of Kokkola Refinery prove that we can consistently execute our growth strategy in the area of cathode materials. The agreement also reaffirms our global promotion of A strong commitment to continue the battery materials value chain. I believe our battery and automotive customers will value our commitment to support their development. "
"We are pleased to establish a long-term partnership with Umicore in the rapidly growing electric vehicle market, which further supports Glencore's important role in providing energy and mobility conversion materials," said Nico Paraskevas, Glencore Copper and Cobalt Marketing Director effect."