Glencore to back Kazakh entrepreneur’s purchase of 40% stake in ERG, FT reports

Reuters | March 5, 2026 | 10:55 am Markets Top Companies Europe Russia and Central Asia Chrome Cobalt Copper

ERG’s Frontier mine in DRC. Credit: Eurasian Resources Group

Glencore has proposed supporting Kazakh entrepreneur Shakhmurat Mutalip’s $1.4 billion bid to buy a 40% stake in miner Eurasian Resources Group, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussion.

The London-listed miner has proposed a $800 million upfront pre-payment in exchange for future shipments of ferrochrome, mainly used in steel production, to help finance the bid, the report added.

ERG earmarks $1B for Kazakhstan operations

Glencore and Eurasian Resources Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Mutalip’s bid is close to being finalized, having overtaken a rival bid from Shukhrat Ibragimov, the CEO of Eurasian Resources and son of the company’s co-founder Alijan Ibragimov, FT said.

Glencore had previously tried to buy the former FTSE 100 company in 2011 for 12 billion pounds ($15.99 billion), according to a media report at the time.

The London-listed miner and Mutalip are also in active discussions over his bid to acquire its 70% stake in another Kazakh miner, Kazzinc, FT added, which it said could be worth about $3.5 billion.

($1 = 0.7503 pounds)

(By Unnamalai L; Editing by Vijay Kishore)