Glencore’s plan to halt a fifth of the world’s cobalt production is set to offer some respite for prices of the battery material that cratered in the past year on a supply glut. The mining giant is set to close the Mutanda copper-and-cobalt facility in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of this year on lower prices and as costs at the project increased, according to a person familiar with the situation. Shares in major Chinese cobalt companies rallied on Wednesday. China Molybdenum, which also mines in the African nation, rose the most in four years in Hong Kong.
