Coal Giant Glencore's Thermal Coal Production up by 8% Y-o-Y in 2019

The Anglo-Swiss trading and mining giant, Glencore has produced 139.5 MnT of coal in 2019, up by 8% y-o-y basis, led by a sharp increase in Australian output. The company's Australian coal production for export accounted for more than 45% of the total output reaching 64.2 MnT last year.

In Colombia, production from its Prodeco mine rose 33% to 15.6 MnT but the production from Cerrojen which is jointly owned by Glencore, BHP and Anglo American declined by 16% y-o-y to 8.6 MnT. This decline can be attributed to the production restrictions in order to limit the dust emissions during dry periods.

Glencore's South African thermal coal production for export dropped by 25% to 13 MnT whereas output for domestic consumers grew 39% to 13.9 MnT.

The company has predicted that its carbon footprint will shrink by almost a third by 2035 and expects that its total carbon emissions to fall by 30% in the next 15 years as it gradually produces less coal due to the "natural depletion" of its coal reserves.

The mining company's existing targets cover its direct greenhouse gas emissions, and the emissions produced from its operations. Glencore has cut these emissions by 10% between 2016 and 2020 after promising to reduce them by 5%.

Glencore is the first big mining company to spell out how emissions from the coal mining sector are likely to fall over the next decade as big economies begin to choose gas over coal-fired electricity, and miners shift their attention to commodities that can help to support a low-carbon future.