Switzerland-headquartered international commodities producer and trader Glencore has announced that it has cancelled its A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) Valeria coal mine project in Queensland, Australia. The main reasons for this decision are the increased global uncertainty and damaged investor confidence amid the hikes for coal royalty rates in the state. The project was planned to begin in 2024 and would have produced 20 million mt of coal annually, though along with a lot of carbon emissions throughout its 37-year lifespan.
“This decision has been made in the current context of increased global uncertainty and is consistent with Glencore’s commitment to a responsibly managed decline of our global coal business and our ambition of being a net zero total emissions business by 2050,” according to the company.
Within the scope of its emissions reduction strategy, Glencore plans to close 12 coal mines by 2035. The company expects its carbon emission to decrease by at least 15 percent by 2026 and by 50 percent by 2035, along with its ambition of net-zero total emissions by 2050.
The company stated that its coal output guidance is at around 110 million mt for 2022 through 2025, decreased from 121 million mt for 2022 and 122 million mt for 2023 and 2024.
Glencore operates in over 35 countries with over 60 mining, metallurgical and oil production assets and recorded $21.3 billion adjusted EBITDA in 2021.