ISTANBUL

Mining firms Rio Tinto and Glencore announced Friday that they are once again negotiating a potential $260 billion megadeal that would create the biggest mining company in the world.

"Rio Tinto and Glencore have been engaging in preliminary discussions about a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, which could include an all-share merger between Rio Tinto and Glencore," Rio Tinto said in a statement.

"The parties’ current expectation is that any merger transaction would be effected through the acquisition of Glencore by Rio Tinto by way of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement."

In late 2024, Rio Tinto and Glencore talked about merging, but negotiations broke down due to concerns over valuation and the future of Glencore's coal assets.

Simon Trott, the CEO of Rio Tinto, had revealed the company's restructuring back in August. By forcing the corporation to concentrate on three key product categories – iron ore, aluminum, lithium, and copper – Trott pledged to reduce expenses and liberate up to $10 billion from its asset base.

After Anglo American and Canada's Teck Resources agreed to merge in a $66 billion transaction last September, a combination between Rio Tinto and Glencore would add to the recent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the mining industry. One of the top five copper producers in the world is anticipated to result from the combination.

Growing demand for copper, which reached an all-time high of $13,000 a ton this week, has also prompted renewed negotiations between Glencore and Rio Tinto.