How do you contact IBG, page-27

It's a game of chess.
“Tis all a Checkerboard of Nights and Days Where Glencore with Zinc for Money plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and stays, And one by one back in the Closet lays.”

(apologies to Edward Fitzgerald, although he was actually quoting Omar Khayyam)

Seems to me that any company with sufficient market presence to directly influence the price of a commodity has an overriding long term goal, which is to maximise their long term profits.

In periods of supply constraint, this will lead them to further limit their own supply to the market, to raise prices higher, and deliver high profits.

Unfortunately, rising prices encourages new entrants to the market, so they need to strategically invest in enough (projected lowest quartile cost) new entrants that are likely to deliver sufficient future supply to be a price influencer. Their investment would preferably be large enough to deliver a/some board seat/s, and inside knowledge about the company with that. It should also help dissuade potential competitors from launching takovers - and may provide the foundation from which their own future takeover might be launched (if and when it suits their long term strategy).

Their approach to each investment in potential new supply (aka IBG) will be determined by the remaining lifespan and cost quartile of their other producing mines, together with their forecasts of future global demand, their actual and desired percentage of future global supply (generally growth is desired) , and the normal capital cost, versus return hurdle rate analysis.

In periods of excess supply, they need to maintain their share of supply to the market, leading them to race the other producers down to the lowest quartile cost. At this pricing lowpoint high cost producers are forced to exit the market, bringing back a degree of supply/demand equilibrium.

If this holds any truth, I wonder how Glencore's other Zinc assets are at present, and what their lifespan is?