South African Gary Nagle, 45, will be Glencore’s new chief executive from the first half of 2021, just after the departure of Ivan Glasenberg, the Anglo-Swiss mining giant said in a statement. If internally, this transition is interpreted as the passage of “Old” to the younger generation, this is indeed a major change, after twenty years of leadership by Glasenberg, whose departure had already been buzzing since last year in the wake of corruption scandals involving Glencore in the Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Latin America.
In the ranks of the Anglo-Swiss mining group since 2000, Gary Nagle knows the house well. The one who is currently responsible for the industrial activity of Glencore’s coal, has worked on several strategic files including coal activities in Switzerland, Colombia or South Africa, but also the IPO on the London Stock Exchange of Xstrata , a Glencore subsidiary specializing in mining.
Sale of shares, reopening of mines, …
At Glencore, the African continent is of paramount importance. This year, for example, the firm’s results have often been significantly impacted by the drop in cobalt on international markets, a resource mainly provided by African mines.
Gary Nagle will have several hot issues to deal with on the continent, especially in Zambia – Africa’s second largest copper producer after the DRC – where after some tension with the authorities, Glencore has been in talks for a while. Indeed, the Zambian State is seeking to take control of the Mopani mine, the local unit of Glencore, producer of cobalt copper sold on international markets. According to recent news from Reuters, the Anglo-Swiss miner would not rule out the possibility of ceding all of its shares to the state.
In the DRC, which remains a highly strategic market for Glencore, its subsidiary Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), which has gone into full production, is expected to produce 27,000 tonnes of copper in cathode form and 25,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide in 2020. The firm is also studying a potential revival of operations at the Mutanda mine, which closed last November following the drop in cobalt prices. Beside, the new boss will have to continue to manage the various lawsuits facing the Anglo-Swiss mining group which has also committed, at the global level, to become carbon neutral by 2050.
