Can you give an overview of Glencore Canada’s copper assets?

CB: The Horne smelter started in the 1920s. The Canadian Copper Refinery (CRR) – where we take the copper anode from the smelter – has been operating since 1932. Today, we are the only copper smelter and refinery in operation in Canada. Looking to the future, we made a big announcement of a CA$500 million investment which will allow us to improve our performance in terms of emissions at the Horne smelter. We have a big team working on that project (one of the largest projects in the province of Québec) and the leading one in terms of reducing environmental emissions.

What are the latest operational updates at the Raglan mine?

PB: Raglan mine is Québec’s largest nickel producer, producing over 40,000 t/Ni p/y for the past five years. We were the first mining company in Canada to sign an impact and benefit agreement (IBA) with local communities in 1995, which is still regarded as the reference in the Canadian mining business. We have been in operation for 25 years and have almost doubled production since 1997.

We are working on the second phase of the mine, which is referred to as the “Sivumut project”, aimed at extending the life of the mine until 2040 and beyond, and which represents an investment of about CA$600 million. This project kicked off in 2018, and we are now nearing completion as one of the zones should be in full production by early 2024.

Are you leveraging any new technologies aiming at reducing the footprint of Raglan?

PB: Raglan Mine is off-grid, so we had no alternatives but to produce our power with diesel generators. With the advancements in windmill technologies, we saw the opportunity to take a turn toward a greener industry. In 2014, we started that shift, with the installation of our first 3-megawatt windmill. We put a second one into operation in 2018. There is great wind potential at Raglan mine.

What is your assessment of the fundamentals of nickel in the long term?

PB: Nickel is a strategic metal for the future and the planet’s decarbonization ambitions. The stainless-steel industry has been the main customer of the commodity in the past, as nickel is what you add to steel to give it its stainless properties. Today, the battery business is taking a growing part of the nickel demand. The world demand sits at about 3 million tons of nickel per year, we think it will grow to 5 million by 2030, with most of the growth coming from the battery business.

What efforts must North American leaders make to incentivize mining to decarbonize the economy?

CB: It takes 10 years to bring a mine into production. Permitting has become a moving target, and for investors, predictability is key. Without predictability in the permitting process, it is hard to assess the costs of a project.

PB: We need to find a way to promote mining better and spread the message that mining is one of the most regulated and disciplined industries in Canada. Some associations are already doing this, but the government should step up and reinforce the mining industry's ESG performance to counter the negative perceptions.

What will be Glencore Canada’s main objectives in 2023 and beyond?

PB: Glencore wants to be a leader in providing the world with low-carbon key strategic metals. We want to be part of the solution to the supply-demand gap experts foresee in the future. Glencore sees Raglan mine as a strategic asset to support that growth. We have a bright future ahead of us. Less than 20% of our property has been explored at depth, so one can imagine the full potential of the property, hence why we are preparing an expansion of our exploration capabilities. We will help decarbonize the planet in an ever cleaner and greener way.

CB: We are making significant investments in our copper assets in Québec, and we look forward to increasing our recycling capabilities there. The goal is simple: providing the metals to decarbonize the planet.