LONDON (Reuters) - Commodity trader and miner Glencore (LON:GLEN) will take steps next year towards a potential restart of its Nordenham zinc smelter, which has been on care and maintenance for more than a year, said two sources close to the matter.
Surging power prices after Russia invaded Ukraine last year have forced shutdowns and suspension of many smelters, mostly energy-intensive zinc and aluminium.
The German smelter will resume roasting zinc concentrate in the first quarter of next year, one of the sources said. The roasting is the first of four processes to produce refined zinc metal.
A decision on restarting Nordenham will be made during the course of next year, both sources said.
The second source said some zinc concentrate originally heading towards Glencore's Asturiana facility in Spain will go to Nordenham.
Glencore bought the Nordenham smelter after it filed for insolvency in May 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit demand for the metal used to galvanise steel.
The smelter produces about 165,000 tonnes of zinc and zinc alloys per year, its website says.
Prices of zinc (CMZN3) on the London Metal Exchange (LME) have climbed more than 15% to about $2,570 a metric ton since hitting almost three-year lows in May.