, Columnist
King Coal Isn’t Dead Yet. Ask Glencore
It may be heading for ultimate extinction. In the meantime, though, there’s money to be made.
Still scooping up profits.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
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Thermal coal has become a byword for the resource industry’s climate crimes. From BlackRock Inc. down, fund managers are reluctant to touch a mineral that releases more carbon dioxide than any other energy source. Large miners, from BHP Group to Anglo American Plc, are trying to dump it. Coal is also — for now at least — profitable.
It’s the unpalatable truth that explains why Glencore Plc, the world’s largest exporter of the black stuff, sticks with a dying fuel. Morals aside, the details suggest Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg and his team may well be right.