Glencore has said it has suspended cobalt stockpiling at its DRC mine operations and has resumed cobalt hydroxide sales from existing inventories.

Reports suggest Glencore has restarted commercial cobalt production in the DRC and plans on working through the current surplus over the next two years. Should demand improve, the company also intends to increase output from its Mutanda mine gradually. Glencore began stockpiling cobalt in August 2023 owing to an oversupplied market, weak demand and plummeting cobalt metal prices. During this period, the company processed old oxide stockpiles at Mutanda, operated well below its nameplate capacity, and postponed its planned sulphide expansion project.

Historically, unfavourable market conditions have caused Glencore to respond strategically by removing its mined feedstock to support cobalt prices. In late 2019, the company placed its Mutanda operation under care and maintenance due to declining cobalt prices, set against sluggish demand, and increased artisanal-small scale mining (ASM) production. The lowered output from both Mutanda and, ASM contributed to a sufficient recovery in prices, leading to Mutanda resuming production in 2021.

Despite Glencore’s current reduced mine output, the market remains in a state of oversupply due mainly to increased production from CMOCs Tenke Fungurume mixed-ore and Kisanfu mine projects. In 2023, the Chinese miner surpassed its cobalt production guidance and became the world's largest producer of cobalt feedstock, moving ahead of Glencore and placing more pressure on prices.

With Glencore resuming commercial production, CMOC ramping up to reach full capacity and Indonesian HPAL plants coming online, prevalent oversupply conditions are expected to continue. The oversupply of intermediates coupled with bearish downstream demand is likely to further weigh on already declining cobalt prices, delaying any potential price recovery in the near term.