For Glencore in the Democratic Republic of Congo, problems don't form an orderly queue: they pile up on top of each other. In the latest example of the commodity giant's deteriorating relationships in the country, a convicted fraudster has resurrected a legal claim the company considered dead, launching a billion-dollar bid for compensation for a 19% stake he previously held in Mutanda Mining Sarl - the world's biggest cobalt miner. The lawsuit, the third court action this year challenging Glencore's control of its prized Congolese mines, is another headache for the Swiss commodity trader as it faces down the government over a new mining code that hiked taxes. It raises further questions about Glencore's ability to hold on to its assets with state-owned miner Gecamines bidding to dissolve its Kamoto Copper joint-venture and former partner Dan Gertler suing for billions of dollars over unpaid royalties. Congolese-US businessman Charles Brown, one of Mutanda's founders, says his share...
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