London (Reuters) - Commodity trader and miner Glencore will take steps next year to try to restart its Nordenham zinc smelter, two people familiar with the matter said. The smelter has been under care and maintenance for more than a year.
Electricity prices spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, forcing many smelters to close or suspend production, mainly energy-intensive zinc and aluminum smelters.
The German smelter will resume roasting zinc concentrate in the first quarter of next year, one of the sources said. Roasting is the first of four processes for producing refined zinc metal.
Both sources said a decision to restart Nordenham would be made next year.
A second source said some of the zinc concentrate originally destined for Glencore's Asturiana plant in Spain would be sent to Nordenham.
Glencore bought the Nordenham smelter after it filed for bankruptcy in May 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit demand for the metal used to galvanise.
The smelter produces about 165,000 tons of zinc and zinc alloys annually, according to the smelter's website.
Since hitting a near three-year low in May, the price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange has climbed more than 15 per cent to about $2,570 a tonne.
