Glencore, an Empire Built on Coal, Prepares to Say Goodbye (1)

Glencore Plc made its name — and minted a generation of billionaires — in large part by mining and trading coal. Its former chief and biggest shareholder Ivan Glasenberg once said the world was “horny as hell” for the fuel.

Now it’s getting ready to get out.

The commodity giant has come under growing pressure to stop producing the dirtiest fuel, even as profits from its mines hit eye-watering levels over the past two years. On Tuesday, the company laid out its solution: buying a suite of steelmaking coal mines from Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd., to create an even bigger ...