Glencore to place Nordenham zinc smelter on care and maintenance from Nov 1

LONDON (Reuters) -Miner and trader Glencore will place its Nordenham zinc smelter in Germany on care and maintenance from Nov. 1, it said in a memo.

“The cessation of production is a reaction to various external factors affecting the business and wider European industry,” said Koen Demesmaeker, chairman of the supervisory board, in the memo.

The stop will remain in place until macro economic conditions improve, Demesmaeker added.

Surging power prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have forced shutdowns and suspension of energy-intensive aluminium and zinc smelters in Europe, and more cutbacks are likely, companies have said.

The smelter produces around 165,000 tonnes of zinc and zinc alloys per year, according to its website.

Glencore’s Nordenham lead smelter, which the company bought after it filed for insolvency in May 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit demand, is still operational.

The benchmark zinc price on the London Metal Exchange reversed early losses after Glencore said it would put Nordenham zinc on care and maintenance. It was last up 2.7% at $3,133 a tonne, having lost 40% since hitting a record high in March.

(Reporting by Clara Denina and Pratima Desai; editing by David Evans, Kirsten Donovan)