FEAR & GREED | Business News Q+A: The high stakes behind Rio Tinto & Glencore mega merger talks
Jan 26, 2026
Brian Szeto, VP of Energy and Natural Resource Credit Ratings at Morningstar DBRS, specializes in mining sector analysis. He explains why Rio Tinto and Glencore are in talks now. He discusses how mergers can reshuffle portfolios and boost scale. He highlights copper as a strategic must-have. He warns that doing nothing may be the biggest risk for big miners.
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Rationalising Portfolios Raises Value
- Mergers let miners pick high-quality, long-life assets and divest weaker ones to improve margins.
- Combining portfolios can reduce costs and raise overall asset quality even with some lost production.
Copper Is The Strategic Prize
- Copper is now the most strategic commodity because easy deposits are exhausted and demand will surge.
- The energy transition and infrastructure needs point to sustained medium‑to‑long‑term copper price upside.
Peer Deals Force Strategic Responses
- Consolidation (Anglo + Teck) reshapes competitive dynamics and can make targets more attractive to rivals like BHP.
- M&A by peers pressures non-active majors to consider counter‑bids or smaller tuck‑ins to keep pace.