OREANDA-NEWS  Rio Tinto and Glencore are negotiating a merger that could create the world's largest mining company with a capitalization of more than $200 billion.

Both companies confirmed in separate press releases earlier media reports about the negotiations.

According to Rio Tinto, the companies are discussing both the consolidation of individual assets and all operations in full. Currently, the parties assume that the potential transaction will be structured as an acquisition of Glencore by Rio Tinto and will be paid for in shares.

A decision on the deal has not yet been made, according to a press release. There is also no clarity yet on the terms of a possible merger.

According to British law, Rio Tinto has until 17:00 (London time) on February 5, 2026 to either announce its firm intention to make an offer to purchase Glencore, or declare its absence of such intention.

Rio Tinto's capitalization is about $142 billion, Glencore - about $65 billion.

A year ago, information also appeared that the companies were negotiating a merger, but they did not confirm this.