FACTBOX-How Glencore and Rio Tinto's core assets stack up

ReutersFeb 5, 2026 4:59 PM

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto RIO.L walked away from a mega-mining deal with rival Glencore GLEN.L for the third time on Thursday.

Attempts to combine the companies have repeatedly fallen short. Rio rejected a merger approach from Glencore in 2014, saying it was not in the best interests of shareholders, and another round of discussions in 2024 also fizzled out without a deal.

Had the two companies joined forces, their combined operations would have created a behemoth valued at nearly $207 billion.

Below are details of their key operations:

Both the miners are focusing more on copper, driven by demand from clean energy projects and AI data centers.

RIO TINTO: Copper assets

Mines/Projects	Location	Ownership	2024 Production (Rio Tinto share)
Kennecott (refined)	U.S.	100%	193,000 tonnes
Escondida (refined and mined)	Chile	30%	414,000 tonnes
Oyu Tolgoi (mined)	Mongolia	66%	142,000 tonnes
Bingham Canyon (mined)	U.S.	100%	123,000 tonnes

Rio Tinto's share of refined and mined copper production in 2024 was 872,000 tonnes.

GLENCORE: Copper and other assets

Mines/projects	Type	Location	Ownership	2024 copper production
Kamoto Copper Company	Copper & Cobalt mine	Democratic Republic of Congo	70%	190,600 tonnes
Mutanda Mining S.A.R.L	Copper & Cobalt mine	Democratic Republic of Congo	95%	33,900 tonnes
Collahuasi	Copper mine	Chile	44%	245,800 tonnes
Lomas Bayas	Copper mine	Chile	100%	74,100 tonnes
Antamina	Copper & Zinc mine	Peru	33.8%	144,700 tonnes
Antapaccay	Copper mine	Peru	100%	145,800 tonnes

Glencore also produces copper from Mount Isa, Australia, and the Kidd mine in Canada. Glencore's total copper production in 2024 was 951,600 tonnes.

RIO TINTO: Iron Ore assets

Rio Tinto is the world's largest producer of iron ore. It produced 287.7 million tonnes (Mt) of iron ore in 2024. The following are its assets:

Mines/projects	Location	Ownership	2024 production in Mt (Rio's share)
Hamersley mines	Australia	*	224.8
Hope Downs	Australia	50%	~21
Robe River - Robe Valley	Australia	53%	16.8
Robe River - West Angelas	Australia	53%	15.6
Iron Ore Company of Canada	Canada	58.7%	9.4

* Includes 100% of production from Hamersley Iron's Pilbara mines; holds 54% stake in Eastern Range mine, with the entire output attributable to Rio.

Other commodities:

Rio Tinto produces and markets a range of commodities, led by iron ore, aluminium, copper, lithium, borates and titanium dioxide, as well as diamonds and salt, supplying customers globally through a portfolio of long‑life mining and processing assets.

GLENCORE: Coal assets

Glencore produced 119.5 million tonnes of coal at its assets in 2024. The company produces and exports seaborne-traded thermal and steelmaking coal in its mines in Canada, Colombia, South Africa and Australia.

Here are its coal assets:

Steelmaking coal	2024 production (Mt)
Canadian steelmaking coal	12.5
Australian steelmaking coal	7.4
Energy coal	2024 production (Mt)
Australian semi‑soft coal	3.3
Australian thermal coal (export)	54.1
Australian thermal coal (domestic)	6.5
South African thermal coal (export)	11.7
South African thermal coal (domestic)	4.9
Cerrejon thermal coal	19.1

Other commodities

Glencore trades over 60 commodities, including metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, lead, ferroalloys, aluminium, iron ore, gold, and silver, as well as energy products like thermal coal, crude oil, and natural gas.

It sources these commodities from both its own mines and smelters and from third-party suppliers, providing flexibility and scale.

(NOTE: Ownership and production numbers are based on 2024 figures)

(SOURCES: Rio Tinto's 2024 annual report, Glencore's 2024 annual report, company websites)

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice.