Glencore, Mercuria Energy Group, and the Trafigura Group are purchasing copper from the state miner of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gecamines, which is marketing metal from joint venture operations for the first time.
Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation as saying that the three commodities trading companies successfully submitted bids to acquire copper from the Tenke Fungurume mine of CMOC Group.
Gecamines has the potential to generate additional chances for traders by selling its portion of the output from other mines in DRC, the world's second-largest producer of copper, as rivalry for copper transactions rises.
Bloomberg reported in July that state-owned Gecamines, which holds a 20% stake in Tenke, was evaluating proposals for 90,000 tonnes from the project.
The sources said that Mercuria will receive 50% of the Tenke copper that Gecamines has offered, while the remaining portion will be divided between Trafigura and Glencore, which controls two mines in DRC.
Tenke is one of the largest mines in the DRC, exporting 360,000 tonnes of copper and 23,000 tonnes of cobalt every year.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
