This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist.Pending an improved price and cost environment, Glencore said in its first-quarter 2024 production report on Tuesday that its Rustenburg ferrochrome smelter in South Africa's North West province would remain idled.The London- and Johannesburg-listed diversified mining and marketing company reported 26% lower attributable first quarter ferrochrome production of 297 000 t amid the European benchmark ferrochrome price for the second quarter of this year settling at $1.52/lb, 5.6% up on the first three months of 2024.Ferrochrome is a prime ingredient of stainless steel and most of the ferrochrome produced in South Africa is consumed by China, which is the world's biggest producer of stainless steel.Coal production of 26.6-million tonnes was broadly in line with the third quarter of last year, with Glencore CEO Gary Nagle reporting unchanged overall full-year production guidance from that presented at the beginning of this year. South African thermal coal production of four-million tonnes was in line with that of the first three months of last year, while Australian coal output was 3%-higher at 15.9-million tonnes.First-quarter copper and zinc production was broadly in line with the first quarter of 2023, while nickel increased 14%, reflecting recovery from the Raglan strike impacts in the base period.Lower year-on-year cobalt reflected the previously announced market-related production adjustments in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Glencore expects full-year marketing-adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to be in the $3-billion to $3.5-billion range.Glencore's own sourced copper production of 239 700 t was 2% above that of the first quarter of last year on a like-for-like basis.The company's own sourced cobalt production of 6 600 t was 3 900 t lower than that of the corresponding period last year on mainly planned lower run-rates at Mutanda Mining in the current weak cobalt pricing environment and mill downtime at Kamoto Copper Company, which are both located in the DRC.Overall zinc production of 205 600 t was in line, while own sourced zinc production was 6% higher at 10 600 t.Own sourced nickel production was 14% higher at 23 800 t.