Rio Tinto, Glencore scrap $260B mining mega-merger

[Ben Graham]

Rio Tinto (ASX; LON; NYSE: RIO) and Glencore (LON: GLEN) have scrapped plans for a $260 billion merger that would have created the world’s largest mining company.

In a statement on Thursday, Rio Tinto said it was no longer considering a merger or other business combination with Glencore after determining it could not reach an agreement that would deliver sufficient value to its shareholders.

The miner said it assessed the opportunity using the framework outlined at its Capital Markets Day in December 2025, with a focus on long-term value creation and leading shareholder returns.

Had the deal gone ahead, the combined group would have emerged as the world’s largest copper producer, accounting for about 7% of global output, alongside dominant positions in iron ore, coal and other key commodities.

This was not the first time the two mining giants explored a tie-up. Serious talks in late 2024 collapsed over valuation concerns, Rio’s reluctance to pay a significant premium and sharp differences in corporate culture and governance. During those discussions, Glencore had pushed for its chief executive, Gary Nagle, to lead the combined company.

Leadership changes since then failed to reset the dynamic. Rio is now led by chief executive Simon Trott and chaired by Dominic Barton, seen as more open to dealmaking, while Nagle has repeatedly described a Rio-Glencore merger as the “most obvious” deal in mining.

While people familiar with the discussions say both sides had recently shown greater willingness to compromise, the latest attempt ultimately fell short, ending what many investors had dubbed the merger of the decade.

(More to come…)