Glencore puts Cosmos on market
Murrin Murrin is set to become Glencore's only WA nickel asset after the global resources giant yesterday confirmed its mothballed Cosmos nickel mine is on its asset sale list.
Glencore listed Cosmos as one of three nickel assets it considered to be "divestment opportunities", along with projects in Brazil and Cote D'Ivoire, at its annual investor day in London.
The confirmation Cosmos is surplus to requirements comes after Glencore agreed in October to sell its Sinclair mine to Talisman Mining for $10 million.
Cosmos was the major target of Xstrata's $3.1 billion takeover of the Kerry Harmanis-run Jubilee Mines in 2007. Xstrata mothballed the operation in September 2012, citing low nickel prices.
The asset, which includes the Prospero and Cosmos underground mines and a concentrator, has no remaining economic mining reserves, according to Glencore's most recent resource statement. But it still hosts more than 100,000 tonne of nickel in a measured resource of 13.6 million tonnes at 0.78 per cent nickel.
Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg also hinted the company could be in the market for distressed iron ore assets, despite renewing his criticism of industry majors for their rush to increase supply of the commodity.
Despite Glencore's approach to Rio Tinto earlier this year over a possible tie-up, Mr Glasenberg told investors he believed it was fortunate Glencore did not produce iron ore in the current market.
He said the depressed iron ore price made Glencore's own projects economically unviable, but hinted the company could become the buyer of distressed assets if the tumbling price forced other miners out of the market.
"We do see some people (in trouble) with the iron ore price at $US69/t," he said. "We've seen the West African stuff going into liquidations, we see the problems there.
"There may be other iron ore guys that get into distress as the markets sit at this level, and we may start looking at that. If the opportunity is there, we'll look at everything."
