Mining giants Glencore and Rio Tinto restart merger talks for R3.42 trillion deal

In a major shakeup for the global mining industry, Glencore and Rio Tinto announced they have restarted talks about a merger to create the world's biggest mining group with a market value of R3.42 trillion ($207 billion).

Glencore's share price surged up to 12% to R101.35 on the JSE Friday morning following the announcement, while at the same time in Australia, Rio Tinto's share price fell by 6.27% to AUS$143.66.

The talks follow the mining global mega-merger announced by Anglo American and Teck Resources in September, 2025. Earlier discussions between Glencore and Rio Tinto late in 2024 did not succeed.

Glencore is in "preliminary discussions with Rio Tinto… about a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, which could include an all-share merger between Rio Tinto and Glencore," JSE and London-listed commodity trading and mining group Glencore confirmed in a statement Friday.

At this stage, the expectation was that any merger transaction would be effected through the acquisition of Glencore by global metals and mining group Rio Tinto, by way of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement.

This means that Rio Tinto could take up some or all of Glencore's business in an all-share deal where shares are swapped between the groups, instead of cash.

"There is no certainty that the terms of any transaction or offer will be agreed, nor as to the terms or structure of any such transaction or offer, if agreed," Glencore's board said.

Rio Tinto has until close of business on February 5, 2026, to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Glencore or announce that it does not intend to make an offer. The deal, if it succeeds, will create a company that has a market value that is bigger than the current biggest global mining group BHP's $161bn.

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