Rio Tinto, Glencore mull to form world's biggest mining JV

Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc have been discussing combining their businesses, which if successful would rank as the world's largest-ever mining joint venture (JV), Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

It’s unclear whether the talks are still live, the sources added.

Rio Tinto is the world’s second-biggest miner, with a market value of about $103 billion, while Glencore was valued at about $55 billion.

The deal, if successful, would create a behemoth to rival longstanding leader BHP Group that is valued at around $126 billion.

Following the report, Glencore's depositary receipts (DRs) in the US surged by 6.65% to $9.62, while Rio Tinto's DRs fell by 2.15% to $59.7 at 10:20 pm Makkah time.