When Glencore Plc proposed a combination with Rio Tinto Group a decade ago, the larger company turned it down after just a few days. News this week that the two spent several months in negotiations in the second half of last year shows how the sands have shifted,

More consolidation is needed, he told a private conference hosted by Goldman Sachs at LME Week. As it happened, Jakob Stausholm, the boss of rival mining company Rio Tinto, was also speaking at the event. Around the same time, Glencore and Rio held tentative talks about combining part or all of their business to create a $160bn mining behemoth.

A merger of the two giants would result in a de facto takeover of Glencore by Rio Tinto. The latter is the world's second-largest mining group after BHP, with a market capitalisation of $103 billion dollars. Glencore has a market capitalisation of $55 billion.

Rio Tinto Group shares fell as much as 1.8% in Sydney after Bloomberg News earlier reported the world’s second-biggest miner held early-stage talks with Glencore Plc about a deal. The stock was trading 1.

Rio Tinto Group y Glencore Plc han estado discutiendo la posibilidad de combinar sus negocios, según personas familiarizadas con el asunto, en lo que podría resultar en el mayor acuerdo de la historia de la industria.

Rio Tinto is the world’s second-biggest miner, with a market value of about $103bn at the close of trading in London on Thursday, while Glencore was valued at about $55bn.

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Rio Tinto and Glencore have held early-stage talks about combining their businesses, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The potential merger between the two mining heavyweights,