Glencore said on Tuesday it has suspended nearly $1 billion of planned investments at Horne Smelter, Canada’s largest copper metal-producing operation, after failing to secure regulatory certainty from the provincial government of Quebec.
Glencore was planning to close the facility due to environmental issues and expansive investments needed by the London-listed miner, Reuters reported in November last year.
Investments at its Montreal facility will also be scaled back over the medium term, Glencore said in a statement.
Glencore had sought amendments to its ministerial authorization to allow more time for emissions reductions and confirmation of regulatory certainty around arsenic limits.
The commodity trader will implement a demobilization plan at the Rouyn-Noranda smelter, which could miss emissions targets taking effect in March 2027 without planned upgrades.
Glencore’s Chief Operating Officer Marc Bédard said the company had “worked in good faith and explored every option”, but that conditions needed to proceed with the investment were not in place.
Glencore said it is open to explore financial mechanisms to reduce short-term investment risk and that the smelter continues to operate under its current authorization, but the situation will need reassessment in coming months.
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru)