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GLENCORE

Glencore raises $2.5 billion in share sales

Swiss-based mining giant Glencore, hit by collapsing commodities prices, on Wednesday raised $2.5 billion via a shares sale as part of its vast debt-slashing plan.

Glencore raises $2.5 billion in share sales
Photo: AFP

London-listed Glencore said in a statement that it had sold new shares worth about £1.6 billion to pay down debt.
   
The company, which has lost 57 percent of its market value this year, is grappling with tumbling commodity prices as China's economic slowdown weighs on demand and sparks havoc across markets.
   
The rights issue sent Glencore's share price soaring to the top of the London stock market in early morning deals on Wednesday.
   
Shares jumped 2.77 percent to 131.60 pence on the FTSE 100 index, which opened 0.69 percent higher.
   
Glencore had last week revealed the $2.5-billion shares sale as part of broader plans to slash its $30 billion debt pile by about a third.
   
The company sold the new stock at 125 pence per share, which marked a 2.4-percent discount to the closing price on Tuesday.

It offloaded 1.3 billion shares worth up to 9.99 percent of the group.
 
A slowdown in China, the world's top commodities consumer, has reverberated around the globe, with major producers, including Brazil and Canada, falling into recession.
   
Concerns over prolonged stalled Chinese growth have slashed iron ore prices by roughly a half, as coal, copper and other commodities have fallen by 20 to 40 percent.

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GLENCORE

At least 19 illegal miners killed at subsidiary of Swiss-based Glencore

At least 19 illegal miners were killed on Thursday after part of a copper mine collapsed in southeastern DR Congo, Swiss-based mining giant Glencore said.

At least 19 illegal miners killed at subsidiary of Swiss-based Glencore
Photo: AFP

The incident happened when two galleries caved in at a mine in the Kolwezi area operated by Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), a subsidiary of Glencore.

“Tragically there were 19 fatalities today, with possible further unconfirmed fatalities,” Glencore said in a statement, which said there had been recurrent problems with illicit mining on its concessions.

Other reports suggest the death toll could be higher. 

The Congolese site Actualite.CD reported at least 36 deaths.

“The illegal artisanal miners were working two galleries in benches overlooking the extraction area. Two of these galleries caved in,” the company said.

Glencore said KCC had observed a “growing presence” of illegal miners, with on average 2,000 people a day intruding on its operating sites.

“KCC urges all illegal miners to cease from putting their lives at risk by trespassing on a major industrial site,” Glencore said.

Illegal mining is common and frequently deadly in Democratic Republic of Congo, where safety is often poor and risk-taking high.

Figures indicating the scale of the problem are sketchy, given that many mines are illegal and remote.

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