Glencore traded thousands of tons of Russian copper through Turkey – Kommersant

Swiss Glencore supplied thousands of tons of Russian copper through Turkey to Italy in July, writes Financial Times (FT). According to the publication, supplies through third countries hide Europe’s true dependence on Russian raw materials.

The publication refers to customs documents and photographs. According to the materials received, Glencore purchased at least 5 thousand tons of copper sheets, these products were exported from Turkey to the Italian port of Livorno.

The raw material was sold to Glencore by a company based in the UAE. The supplies were destined for a plant in Lombardy in northern Italy, which produces copper products used in electrical cables, transformers and electronics.

According to Trade Data Monitor, in the first seven months of 2023, imports of Russian copper to Turkey increased to 159 thousand tons. This is almost three times more than the same period a year earlier. “Turkey is a transshipment point for Russian zinc, copper and, to a lesser extent, aluminum. It is a transshipment point,” an unnamed trader told the FT.

Glencore said the deal was the “final part” of a contract that was signed before the start of the Russian military operation. The company assured that it had not carried out any new transactions with Russia “since the beginning of the war.”

In September, the Russian Copper Company, one of the largest copper producers in the Russian Federation, found itself under American sanctions, following UMMC and Udokan Copper. Almost the entire Russian copper sector is under blocking sanctions, with the exception of MMC Norilsk Nickel.

Details – in the material “Kommersant” “Russian copper is covered by sanctions”.