Glencore
Encyclopedia
Glencore International plc is a multinational
mining and commodities trading company headquartered in Baar
, Switzerland
and with its registered office in Saint Helier
, Jersey
. It is the world's largest commodities trading company, with a 2010 global market share of 60 percent in the internationally tradeable zinc market, 50 percent in the internationally tradeable copper market, 9 percent in the internationally tradeable grain market and 3 percent in the internationally tradeable oil market.
Glencore has production facilities around the world and supplies metal
s, mineral
s, crude oil
, oil products, coal
, natural gas
and agricultural products to international customers in the automotive, power generation, steel production and food processing industries. The company was formed in 1974 by a management buyout
of Marc Rich
& Co AG.
Glencore listed on the London Stock Exchange
in May 2011 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
. It has a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
.
, who was charged with tax evasion and illegal business dealings with Iran in the U.S., but pardoned by President Bill Clinton
in 2001. He was never brought before U.S. justice before his pardoning, therefore there was never a verdict on these charges.
In 1993 commodity trading and marketing company Trafigura
was "split off from" Marc Rich's group of companies. As physical commodities traders, along with Trafigura, Glencore's main rivals in 2011 were identified as Vitol
and Cargill
, amongst a number of others.
In 1993 and 1994, after failing to control the zinc market, losing $172 million and nearly bankrupting the company, Rich was forced to sell his majority share in Marc Rich & Co. AG back to the company. The enterprise, renamed Glencore, is now owned and run by Marc Rich's secretive inner-circle of "lieutenants", including founding Glencore CEO Willy Strothotte and present CEO Ivan Glasenberg
.
In a 2011 survey of Glencore, Reuters
reviewed an example of its opportunistic, contrarian, well-funded investment approach -- focusing on equity participation, controlling interest, and working upstream from trading relationships:
In the course of the Congo events, Nikanor was merged into Katanga in late 2007 in a transaction valued at $3.3Bn.
In May 2009, Glencore announced it would manage Brazilian bankrupted agricultural products company Agrenco.
In early 2011, the Reuters report included speculation that, after an IPO, Glencore could develop an interest in London/Kazakh Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation
. In May 2011 the Company launched an Initial Public Offering
valuing the business at $61 billion and creating five new billionaires. Trading was limited to institutional investors for the first week and private investors were only allowed to buy the shares from 24 May 2011.
1 The Prodeco stake has been sold to XStrata as part of XStrata's 2009 rights issue. Glencore retains a 100% re-purchase option, it is expected to exercise this option in 2010; 100%-owned by Glencore, per link in chart, April, 2011.
against a subsidiary of Glencore over allegations that a mine it owns in Zambia may not be paying enough tax on its profits. The cause for the complaint lies in the financial and accounting manipulations performed by the two companies’ subsidiary, Mopani Copper Mines Plc (MCM), in order to evade taxation in Zambia.
s: apartheid South Africa
, USSR, Iran
, and Iraq
under Saddam Hussein
", and has a "history of busting UN embargoes to profit from corrupt or despotic regimes". Specifically, Glencore was reported to have been named by the CIA to have paid $3,222,780 in illegal kickback
s to obtain oil in the course of the UN oil-for-food programme
for Iraq. The company denied these charges, according to the CIA report quoted by ABC.
) reported in 2006 that allegations of corruption and severe human rights violations were being raised against Glencore on account of the alleged conduct of its Colombian Cerrejón
mining subsidiary. Local union president Francisco Ramirez was reported to have accused Cerrejón of forced expropriations and evacuations of entire villages in order to enable mine expansion, in complicity with Colombian authorities. According to TSR, a representative of the local Wayuu
Indians also accused Colombian paramilitary and military units, including those charged with Cerrejón mining security, of forcibly driving the Wayuu off their land, in what she described as a "massacre".
Glencore/Xtrata's "huge coal operation in Colombia, Prodeco, was fined a total of nearly $700,000 in 2009 for several environmental violations [running in earlier years], including waste disposal without a permit and producing coal without an environmental management plan."
n President Evo Morales
on February 9, 2007. At the time of the seizure there were no plans to compensate Glencore.
, the current government
has tried to reduce the role played by middle men such as Glencore with state oil company Petroecuador" due to questions about transparency and follow-through, according to Fernando Villavicencio, a Quito-based oil sector analyst.
mining group, also headquartered in the low-tax Canton of Zug
, Switzerland. Glencore is reported to serve as a marketing partner for Xstrata. As of 2006, Glencore leaders Willy Strothotte and Ivan Glasenberg are on the board of Xstrata, which Strothotte chairs. According to The Sunday Times
in 2005, Glencore controlled 40% of Xstrata stock and has appointed the Xstrata CEO, Mick Davis. In 2011, Reuters put the ownership stake at 34.4%, and said that the Glencore IPO would facilitate a full merger between the two companies. Alternatively, if a merger were not consummated, "a messy competitive battle" between the affiliated companies could ensue, the report speculated. Relationships also exist with Century Aluminum Co. (CENX; 44% economic ownership interest)) in the U.S.; Glencore partial subsidiary Minara Resources Ltd (AU:MRE), a 70.5% stake in one of Australia’s top three nickel producers);; and 8.8% in United Company Rusal (HK:486), the Russian aluminum giant that went public in 2010.
In mid-2011, Century was called "[o]ne of the most harrowing stocks of the past few years" but identified as a risky but potentially profitable investment going forward.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
mining and commodities trading company headquartered in Baar
Baar, Switzerland
Baar is a village in the canton of Zug in Switzerland.-Geography:Baar has an area, , of . Of this area, 55% is used for agricultural purposes, while 24.5% is forested...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and with its registered office in Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
, Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. It is the world's largest commodities trading company, with a 2010 global market share of 60 percent in the internationally tradeable zinc market, 50 percent in the internationally tradeable copper market, 9 percent in the internationally tradeable grain market and 3 percent in the internationally tradeable oil market.
Glencore has production facilities around the world and supplies metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
s, mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s, crude oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, oil products, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
and agricultural products to international customers in the automotive, power generation, steel production and food processing industries. The company was formed in 1974 by a management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
of Marc Rich
Marc Rich
Marc Rich is an international commodities trader and entrepreneur. He is best known for founding the commodities company Glencore. He was indicted in the United States on federal charges of illegally making oil deals with Iran during the late 1970s-early 1980s Iran hostage crisis and tax evasion...
& Co AG.
Glencore listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in May 2011 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
. It has a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...
.
20th century
According to an Australian Public Radio report, "Glencore's history reads like a spy novel". The company was founded as Marc Rich & Co. AG in 1974 by now-billionaire commodity trader Marc RichMarc Rich
Marc Rich is an international commodities trader and entrepreneur. He is best known for founding the commodities company Glencore. He was indicted in the United States on federal charges of illegally making oil deals with Iran during the late 1970s-early 1980s Iran hostage crisis and tax evasion...
, who was charged with tax evasion and illegal business dealings with Iran in the U.S., but pardoned by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 2001. He was never brought before U.S. justice before his pardoning, therefore there was never a verdict on these charges.
In 1993 commodity trading and marketing company Trafigura
Trafigura
Trafigura is an Amsterdam-based multinational company founded in 1993 trading in base metals and energy, including oil. the company had equity of more than $2 billion and a turnover of $73 billion that generated $440 million of profit....
was "split off from" Marc Rich's group of companies. As physical commodities traders, along with Trafigura, Glencore's main rivals in 2011 were identified as Vitol
Vitol
The Vitol group is an energy trading company founded in Rotterdam in 1966. Vitol operates worldwide and, along with Glencore and Trafigura, is one of the world's top three crude oil traders. Vitol's headquarters are located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Geneva, Switzerland...
and Cargill
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
, amongst a number of others.
In 1993 and 1994, after failing to control the zinc market, losing $172 million and nearly bankrupting the company, Rich was forced to sell his majority share in Marc Rich & Co. AG back to the company. The enterprise, renamed Glencore, is now owned and run by Marc Rich's secretive inner-circle of "lieutenants", including founding Glencore CEO Willy Strothotte and present CEO Ivan Glasenberg
Ivan Glasenberg
Ivan Glasenberg, is the CEO of Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity trading companies. He is also on the boards of mining companies Xstrata plc and Minara Resources Ltd.-Background and early career:...
.
21st century
In 2005, proceeds from an oil sale to Glencore were seized as fraudulent, in an investigation into corruption in the Republic of Congo.In a 2011 survey of Glencore, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
reviewed an example of its opportunistic, contrarian, well-funded investment approach -- focusing on equity participation, controlling interest, and working upstream from trading relationships:
The acquisition was the culmination of 18 months of deal-making in Congo... [including fighting off a counterbid by] former England cricketer Phil EdmondsPhil EdmondsPhil Edmonds is a former English cricketer and a successful, albeit controversial, corporate executive....
.... [Starting i]n June 2007, Glencore and partner Dan GertlerDan GertlerDan Gertler is an Israeli businessman, the founder and President of the DGI Group of Companies. He has large interests in diamonds and copper mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .-Background:...
, an Israeli mining magnate, paid 300 million pounds for a quarter-stake in mining company NikanorNikanor PlcNikanor Plc was a copper and cobalt mining company active in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In January 2008 it was merged into Katanga Mining...
, which was seeking to revive derelict copper mines next to Katanga MiningKatanga MiningKatanga Mining is a mining company in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , majority-owned by Swiss commodity trader Glencore.-DCC:...
's properties. That deal gave Glencore exclusive rights to sell all Nikanor's output -- an "offtakeProject financeProject finance is the long term financing of infrastructure and industrial projects based upon the projected cash flows of the project rather than the balance sheets of the project sponsors...
" agreement.... [Then, o]n Christmas Eve 2008, ... [having] lost 97 percent of its market value over the previous six months ... in the depths of the global financial crisis and ... running out of cash, Katanga accepted a lifeline it could not refuse. [Glencore] wanted control. For about $500 million in a convertible loan and rights issue, Katanga agreed to issue more than a billion new shares and hand what would become a stake of 74 percent to Glencore. ... [By early 2011], with copper prices regularly setting records above $10,000 a ton, Katanga's stock market value [had reached] nearly $3.2 billion.... [Since the Glencore acquisition], Katanga ... is reaping the benefit of the surging markets and its wealthy, powerful owner. After losing $108 million in 2009, it posted an annual profit of $265 million in 2010.
In the course of the Congo events, Nikanor was merged into Katanga in late 2007 in a transaction valued at $3.3Bn.
In May 2009, Glencore announced it would manage Brazilian bankrupted agricultural products company Agrenco.
In early 2011, the Reuters report included speculation that, after an IPO, Glencore could develop an interest in London/Kazakh Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC is a diversified natural resources company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has activities in mining, processing, energy, logistics and marketing....
. In May 2011 the Company launched an Initial Public Offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
valuing the business at $61 billion and creating five new billionaires. Trading was limited to institutional investors for the first week and private investors were only allowed to buy the shares from 24 May 2011.
Production facilities
| Area | Facility | Product | Location | Employees ('06) | Glencore ownership ('11) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Evergreen Aluminum | Aluminium Aluminium Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances.... |
Washington, USA | 10 (plant idle) | No interest indicated |
| Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. | Montana Montana Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,... , USA |
145 | No interest indicated | ||
| Century Aluminum Company | HQ: Monterey Monterey, California The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of... , USA |
44% economic interest (39% voting) | |||
| Windalco | Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... |
1,200 | No interest indicated | ||
| Alpart Alpart Alumina Partners of Jamaica, also known as Alpart, is a company that owns and operates a bauxite refinery in Nain, Jamaica. Alpart was founded in 1969 as a joint venture by Kaiser Aluminum, Reynolds Aluminum, and Anaconda. Alpart exports 1.65 million tonnes of alumina overseas per year, and... |
1,300 | No interest indicated | |||
| Sherwin Alumina | Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... , USA |
550 ('11) | 100% | ||
| South America | Prodeco | Coal Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... |
Santa Marta Santa Marta Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia... (port) and Calenturitas (mine), Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... |
256 | 100% 1 |
| Carbones de La Jagua (formerly Caribe Caribe Caribe may refer to:* Caribe , a computer worm designed for mobile phones* Caribe , a Venezuelan telenovela* Caribe , a 1975 television series produced by Quinn Martin... ) |
La Jagua, Colombia | 350 | No interest indicated | ||
| Los Quenuales | Zinc Zinc Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2... , lead Lead Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed... |
Yauliyacu, Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... |
1,998 | 97% | |
| Iscaycruz, Peru | 1,271 | 97% | |||
| Perubar | Rosaura Rosaura -People:*Rosaura Andreu, an American actress*Rosaura Lopez, a Spanish author*Rosaura Revueltas, a Mexican actress*Rosaura Zapata, a Mexican educator... , Peru |
444 | No interest indicated | ||
| Sinchi Wayra | Zinc, lead, tin Tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4... |
5 mines, Oruro Oruro Department Oruro is a department in Bolivia, with an area of 53,588 km². Its capital is the city of Oruro. At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 391,870.- Provinces of Oruro :... and Potosi Potosí Department Potosí Department is a department in southwestern Bolivia. It comprises 118,218 km² with 709,013 inhabitants . The capital is the city of Potosí.... regions, Bolivia |
3,427 | 100% | |
| Aguilar Aguilar -People:*Antonio Aguilar Barraza , Mexican singer*António Maria de Aguilar , Portuguese rugby player*Baron Diego Pereira d'Aguilar , Spanish Marrano*Christina Aguilar , Thai pop singer... mine/AR Zinc Group |
Zinc, lead, sulphuric acid | North west of Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... |
1,725 | 100% | |
| Moreno Moreno -Places:*Moreno, Pernambuco, city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco*Perito Moreno Glacier, glacier in Patagonia, Argentina*Perito Moreno National Park, on the northwest of the Santa Cruz Province, Argentina... |
Sunflower oil Sunflower oil Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil expressed from sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil was first industrially produced in 1835 in the Russian Empire.- Composition :Sunflower oil is mainly a... and meal |
Crushing plants: Necochea Necochea Necochea is a port city in the southwest of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located on the Atlantic coast, on the edge of the Quequén Grande river, from Buenos Aires City and southwest from Mar del Plata... , Daireaux Daireaux Daireaux is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Daireaux Partido.-External links:... , Villegas Villegas Villegas is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 116 inhabitants.... and Grainer; Argentina |
575 | 100% | |
| Europe | Portovesme | Zinc, lead | Sardinia Sardinia Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],... , Italy |
773 | 100% |
| Eurallumina | Aluminium | 575 | No interest indicated | ||
| Kubikenborg Aluminium AB (Kubal) | Sundsvall Sundsvall -External links:* - Official site from Nordisk Familjebok - Sundsvalls tourist information bureau. - The alternative guide to Sundsvall. - Blog with photos from Sundsvall.... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
470 | No interest indicated | ||
| Aughinish Alumina | Alumina | Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
472 | No interest indicated | |
| Africa | Mopani Copper Mine Mopani Copper Mine -Nkana Mine:Nkana mine is one of the largest in Africa, a copper mine located 1km south-west of Kitwe.At Nkana, copper and cobalt ore is produced from five sources: Four underground mines namely: Mindola North Shaft, Mindola Sub Vertical Shaft, Central Shaft, South Ore Body Shaft and Open Pits... |
Copper Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish... |
Zambia Zambia Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west.... |
8,848 | 73% |
| Katanga Mining Katanga Mining Katanga Mining is a mining company in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , majority-owned by Swiss commodity trader Glencore.-DCC:... |
Copper Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish... , Cobalt Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.... |
Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world... |
6,400 ('11) | 74.4% | |
| Mutanda Mine Mutanda Mine The Mutanda Mine is an open-pit copper mine in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.-Location:The Mutanda Mine lies about to the southeast of Kolwezi in the Roan formation.... |
Copper Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish... , Cobalt Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.... |
Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world... |
930 (2010) | 40% | |
| Shanduka | Coal Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... |
South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
1,500 ('11) | 70% | |
| Eurasia | OAO Russneft | Oil Oil An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils.... |
Oil fields across Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
10,000 | 40-49% in joint interests w/OAO |
| Rostov on Don grain export elevator and wheat flour mill | Cereals | Rostov on Don, Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
470 | No interest indicated | |
| Kazzinc Kazzinc Kazzinc is a Kazakhstani mining company founded in 1997, when a majority stake was privatised to Swiss commodity trader Glencore. It has 6 mines and several smelters, and produces zinc, lead and copper, and also has interests in gold and silver mining.... |
Zinc | Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe... |
21,000 | 50.7% | |
| Asia | PASAR | Copper | The Philippines | 1,047 | 78% |
| Australia | Murrin Murrin Joint Venture Murrin Murrin Joint Venture The Murrin Murrin Joint Venture is a major nickel-cobalt mining operation being conducted in the North Eastern Goldfields, approximately 60 km east of Leonora, Western Australia... |
Nickel Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... , cobalt Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.... |
Western Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
671 | 82.3% (effective) |
| Cobar Copper Mine | Copper | Cobar, Central Western NSW, Australia | 267 | 100% |
1 The Prodeco stake has been sold to XStrata as part of XStrata's 2009 rights issue. Glencore retains a 100% re-purchase option, it is expected to exercise this option in 2010; 100%-owned by Glencore, per link in chart, April, 2011.
Other subsidiaries, participations and joint ventures
| Name | Activity | Location | Glencore ownership | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xstrata Xstrata Xstrata plc is a global mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of coal , copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer of ferrochrome... plc |
Mining Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock... |
HQ: Zug Zug Zug , is a German-speaking city in Switzerland. The name ‘Zug’ originates from fishing vocabulary; in the Middle Ages it referred to the right to ‘pull up’ fishing nets and hence to the right to fish.The city of Zug is located in the Canton of Zug and is its capital... , Switzerland |
ca. 14%, controlling 40% 34.5% | See also text above. |
| Minara Resources Ltd | HQ: Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... , Australia |
70.5% | Operates the Murrin Murrin project. | |
| Cerrejón Cerrejón Cerrejón is a coal mine located in the Guajira department in the north of Colombia. It is the largest mining operation in Colombia and among the largest open-pit coal mines in the world. The legal entity managing the Cerrejón operation is known as Carbones del Cerrejón Ltd... |
Coal Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... mining |
Guajira department Department of La Guajira La Guajira is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of its namesake peninsula, the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, facing the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela in the northern most part of South America... , Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... |
33.3% up until Q2/2006 | BHP Billiton BHP Billiton BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom... plc, Anglo American plc and Xstrata plc each own 33.3%. In 2006, Xstrata acquired Glencore's share. See also text above. |
| Rusal | Aluminium, alumina | Russia | 8.8% | Announced merger / joint venture with RUSAL (66%) and SUAL Group SUAL Group Siberian-Urals Aluminium Company , commonly known as SUAL , is a fully vertically integrated aluminium company that ranks amongst the world's top ten aluminium producers. It comprises 19 businesses that are located in nine Russian regions and are involved in the production of bauxite, alumina,... (22%). World's largest aluminum and alumina producer with 110,000 employees in 17 countries. |
| Katanga Mining Limited | Copper and cobalt | Democratic Republic of Congo | 74.4% | See also text above. |
| Chemoil Chemoil Chemoil Energy Limited is an oil trading company incorporated in Hong Kong and having its headquarters in Singapore. The company is amongst the largest independent physical suppliers of marine fuel products in the world... |
Marine fuels and clean fuels | Worldwide | 51.5% |
Financial and accounting manipulations
Five NGOs have filed a complaint to the OECDOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
against a subsidiary of Glencore over allegations that a mine it owns in Zambia may not be paying enough tax on its profits. The cause for the complaint lies in the financial and accounting manipulations performed by the two companies’ subsidiary, Mopani Copper Mines Plc (MCM), in order to evade taxation in Zambia.
Dealings with "rogue states"
ABC Radio reported that Glencore "has been accused of illegal dealings with rogue stateRogue state
Rogue state is a controversial term applied by some international theorists to states they consider threatening to the world's peace. This means meeting certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian regimes that severely restrict human rights, sponsor terrorism, and seek to proliferate...
s: apartheid South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, USSR, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
under Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
", and has a "history of busting UN embargoes to profit from corrupt or despotic regimes". Specifically, Glencore was reported to have been named by the CIA to have paid $3,222,780 in illegal kickback
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
s to obtain oil in the course of the UN oil-for-food programme
Oil-for-Food Programme
The Oil-for-Food Programme , established by the United Nations in 1995 was established with the stated intent to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military...
for Iraq. The company denied these charges, according to the CIA report quoted by ABC.
Investments in Colombia
Moreover, Swiss public television (TSRTélévision Suisse Romande
Télévision Suisse Romande is a TV network with 2 channels: TSR 1 and TSR 2. They are the main French language channels in Switzerland, part of SRG SSR idée suisse...
) reported in 2006 that allegations of corruption and severe human rights violations were being raised against Glencore on account of the alleged conduct of its Colombian Cerrejón
Cerrejón
Cerrejón is a coal mine located in the Guajira department in the north of Colombia. It is the largest mining operation in Colombia and among the largest open-pit coal mines in the world. The legal entity managing the Cerrejón operation is known as Carbones del Cerrejón Ltd...
mining subsidiary. Local union president Francisco Ramirez was reported to have accused Cerrejón of forced expropriations and evacuations of entire villages in order to enable mine expansion, in complicity with Colombian authorities. According to TSR, a representative of the local Wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
Indians also accused Colombian paramilitary and military units, including those charged with Cerrejón mining security, of forcibly driving the Wayuu off their land, in what she described as a "massacre".
Glencore/Xtrata's "huge coal operation in Colombia, Prodeco, was fined a total of nearly $700,000 in 2009 for several environmental violations [running in earlier years], including waste disposal without a permit and producing coal without an environmental management plan."
Investments in Bolivia
Through its Bolivian subsidiary, Sinchi Wayra (which it acquired in 2005), Glencore operates six businesses in Bolivia that mine and process tin, silver, gold and zinc.; notable among these has been Empresa Metalurgica Vinto, reportedly the world's largest privately-run smelter complex, located in the department of Oruro, which was seized and nationalized by BoliviaBolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n President Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
on February 9, 2007. At the time of the seizure there were no plans to compensate Glencore.
Investments in Ecuador
"In EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, the current government
Rafael Correa
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado born is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and was the president pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he was elected President in late 2006 and took office in January 2007...
has tried to reduce the role played by middle men such as Glencore with state oil company Petroecuador" due to questions about transparency and follow-through, according to Fernando Villavicencio, a Quito-based oil sector analyst.
Investments in Zambia
"[O]fficials in Zambia believe pollution from Glencore's Mopani mines is causing acid rain and health problems in an area where 5 million people live."Associations with mining companies
Glencore is also noted for its association with the publicly traded XstrataXstrata
Xstrata plc is a global mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of coal , copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer of ferrochrome...
mining group, also headquartered in the low-tax Canton of Zug
Canton of Zug
The Canton of Zug is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its capital is Zug. With 239 km² the canton is one of the smallest of the cantons in terms of area. It is not subdivided into districts.- History :The earlier history of the canton is...
, Switzerland. Glencore is reported to serve as a marketing partner for Xstrata. As of 2006, Glencore leaders Willy Strothotte and Ivan Glasenberg are on the board of Xstrata, which Strothotte chairs. According to The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
in 2005, Glencore controlled 40% of Xstrata stock and has appointed the Xstrata CEO, Mick Davis. In 2011, Reuters put the ownership stake at 34.4%, and said that the Glencore IPO would facilitate a full merger between the two companies. Alternatively, if a merger were not consummated, "a messy competitive battle" between the affiliated companies could ensue, the report speculated. Relationships also exist with Century Aluminum Co. (CENX; 44% economic ownership interest)) in the U.S.; Glencore partial subsidiary Minara Resources Ltd (AU:MRE), a 70.5% stake in one of Australia’s top three nickel producers);; and 8.8% in United Company Rusal (HK:486), the Russian aluminum giant that went public in 2010.
In mid-2011, Century was called "[o]ne of the most harrowing stocks of the past few years" but identified as a risky but potentially profitable investment going forward.
External links
- Official website
- A visual Relationship Map of Glencore executive board and stakeholders with their connections.
- Glencore CEO says IPO demand, commodity outlook strong
- Special report: The biggest company you never heard of, Reuters, 25 February 2011
- The rise of Glencore, the biggest company you've never heard of, The Guardian, 19 May 2011
- Website King of Oil