London, May 30, 2026, 11:22 (BST)
- Glencore ended Friday at 567.80 pence, off 5.8 pence on the day and nearly unchanged from last Friday during a London week shortened by the holiday.
- South Africa gave the green light to a discounted power tariff for ferrochrome players such as the Glencore-Merafe venture, setting up a new cost figure for investors ahead of Monday’s open.
- Glencore’s upcoming reporting dates are set: the half-year production update comes out July 29, followed by half-year earnings on Aug. 5.
Glencore will start the week with some relief on costs. South Africa’s energy regulator okayed a temporary discounted power rate for a ferrochrome joint venture with Merafe Resources. The move was announced late Friday after London markets had finished trading.
London-listed Glencore finished Friday at 567.80 pence, off 5.8 pence from Thursday’s 573.60 pence. That still leaves shares barely under their May 22 closing level of 569.10 pence. The London Stock Exchange stayed closed Monday for the Spring Bank Holiday and does not open Saturdays, so investors will react to the South African tariff move next session.
Power costs have been a drag on South African ferrochrome smelters for some time, making the timing important. Ferrochrome, used mainly in steelmaking, is an alloy of chromium and iron that needs a lot of electricity to produce.
Glencore-Merafe will pay 0.62 rand per kilowatt-hour for power over three years, Eskom said. Reuters reported that South Africa, which leads in chrome ore output, has seen its ferrochrome industry lose ground to China after electricity prices jumped about tenfold since 2008.
Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said the framework “does not place additional financial obligations on standard tariff customers or taxpayers.” But that could change if market conditions shift, as Eskom said the deal includes an upside-sharing arrangement linked to market performance. Reuters
Glencore shareholders signed off on all AGM resolutions on Thursday, covering repayment of capital contribution reserves, board re-elections, and authorisations for share purchases. CEO Gary Nagle secured re-election with 99.40% backing.
Glencore checked off another copper deal in Africa. The company said Wednesday it has completed lease agreements related to land for Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Registration at the mining cadastre is done, and its agreement with Gécamines is now closed.
Copper and trading remain key supports for the stock. On April 30, Glencore said first-quarter copper production climbed 19% to 199,600 metric tons. Output was helped by stronger grades in Africa and more tonnage from Antamina in Peru. The company also said its trading business looks set to beat the upper end of its annual EBIT target range of $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion; EBIT refers to earnings before interest and tax.
The competitive field is still active. Rio Tinto and Glencore had talks on a potential merger that Reuters said would have created a $240 billion company. Rio pulled out, saying it didn’t see enough cost benefits. BlackRock portfolio manager Olivia Markham said last week that mining “still has a scale problem.” She added, “We’ve had a wave of M&A, but I see merit in more.” M&A is mergers and acquisitions. Reuters
AustralianSuper is pushing a new angle on valuation. Portfolio manager Luke Smith said a Glencore secondary listing in Australia would be “positive for Glencore and for the Australian stock exchange.” He called Australia the “best and most informed mining share market in the world.” Investors looking at scale, copper exposure and index weight still compare Rio Tinto and BHP as the main peers. Reuters
Nagle is still talking up consolidation. Back in February, after Rio’s approach didn’t go through, he told reporters, “I do believe that consolidation can be good for our shareholders.” Glencore handed out a $2 billion return to shareholders, even after adjusted EBITDA, its main profit metric before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, dropped 6%. Reuters
But the downside is still clear. The South African tariff relief only applies to one project and doesn’t affect Glencore’s exposure to copper, coal, chrome prices, or its trading profit swings. If copper prices drop, coal earnings slip, or if M&A and listing chatter fades with no deals, the stock could lose some of the valuation support that’s kept it close to recent highs.
Glencore has no production or earnings events set for this week. Monday’s session will test if the Eskom ruling gives the stock a modest margin bump, or if investors keep betting on copper, coal, cash returns and the still-open issue of Glencore’s next mining acquisition.
