Glencore has reported an 11 per cent quarterly increase in Australian thermal and semi-soft coal production, as stronger output at Ulan West supported a September-quarter recovery across its local coal operations.
The miner produced 17.5 million tonnes (Mt) of Australian thermal and semi-soft coal during the quarter, an increase of approximately 1.7Mt from the June period.
Glencore attributed the improvement to the completion of a longwall move at Ulan West, with operations restarting and progressively ramping up throughout the quarter.
The performance builds on strong Australian coal production during the first half of 2026, which previously prompted Glencore to lift its full-year energy coal production outlook.
Australian export thermal coal production reached 40.9Mt for the nine months to September, up one per cent year-on-year, while semi-soft coal production rose 17 per cent to 2.8Mt.
Steelmaking coal output also increased two per cent to 5.4Mt, contrasting with a 17 per cent decline across Glencore’s Canadian steelmaking coal operations.
Globally, Glencore produced 73.9Mt of energy coal during the first nine months of 2026, broadly in line with the previous corresponding period.
The company also maintained its full-year energy coal guidance of 96–101Mt, with production expected towards the upper end of that range.
Glencore chief executive officer Gary Nagle said the September quarter reflected stronger performance across several commodities.
“We are pleased to report a strong third quarter production performance, where our key assets largely performed in line with expectations and previously communicated guidance,” Nagle said.
“Quarter-on-quarter, own-sourced production volumes were higher in copper and nickel and notably higher in steelmaking coal and energy coal.”
Meanwhile, Glencore’s Australian copper processing operations also recorded a significant quarterly improvement.
At Mount Isa and Townsville, copper metal production, including third-party feedstocks, increased from 9400 tonnes in the June quarter to 36,300 tonnes in September.
The rebound follows the planned closure of Glencore’s Mount Isa copper mine in July 2025, which shifted its copper smelting and refining operations entirely towards third-party feed.
Its Australian zinc production declined 19 per cent year-on-year to 332,600 tonnes, largely reflecting the closure of the Lady Loretta mine in late 2025.
Mount Isa zinc output fell 37 per cent to 131,000 tonnes, while McArthur River remained steady at 201,600 tonnes.
Despite the year-on-year decline, Mount Isa zinc production improved 17 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 45,900 tonnes.
At Murrin Murrin in Western Australia, nickel production remained broadly stable at 24,600 tonnes, one per cent below the previous corresponding period.
Glencore also maintained its full-year production guidance across its major commodities, with copper expected towards the lower end of its guidance range and nickel around the midpoint.
