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Johannesburg - Swiss-based miner and commodities trader Glencore still wants to sell its 25% stake in platinum producer Lonmin [JSE:LON], but at "the right time," chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said on Wednesday.
There has been some market speculation in recent weeks that Glencore was considering raising its stake in Lonmin, given the fall in the platinum miner's share price this year.
READ: Strike weighs on Lonmin production
Lonmin's operations were paralysed for months by South Africa's longest and costliest mining strike which ended in June. Its shares have fallen by about a quarter this year.
The company is trying to ramp up production after losing dome 400 000 ounces of platinum output because of the strike - worth almost $600m at current prices.
Glencore, a major producer and trader of metals such as copper and zinc, has said it is not too familiar with the platinum business and would prefer to sell its Lonmin stake.
READ: Glencore fulfills pledge with $1bn buyback
Glasenberg also told a media briefing in Johannesburg that the company's talks with Brazil's Vale over combining their nickel assets in Canada were "struggling", but he did not believe they had broken down.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the talks over linking nickel mining and processing facilities in the Sudbury basin in Canada broke down partly due to disagreement over how to share the costs and savings, and to a recovery in the nickel price.
