The biggest players in the mining sector have presented annual reports that reveal the industry's varied condition. While Rio Tinto recorded stable profits despite a drop in iron ore prices, Glencore announced a $2 billion payout to shareholders after merger talks concluded. Meanwhile, Anglo American is grappling with a massive loss of around $3.7 billion, forcing a radical restructuring and an impairment charge on its diamond unit De Beers.

Anglo American's Billion-Dollar Loss

The company wrote off $3.7 billion due to the crisis in the diamond market and plans to exit unprofitable coal assets.

Stabilization of Rio Tinto's Results

Despite a 14% drop in iron ore prices, the company maintained its dividend thanks to profits from copper and aluminum mining.

Glencore Rewards Shareholders

The Swiss giant will pay out $2 billion after a successful year, despite the failure of merger talks with Rio Tinto.

Growing Importance of Copper

Teck Resources records record results thanks to electrification and growing demand for raw materials essential for the energy transition.

The mining sector closes its fiscal year in the shadow of global economic shifts and changing commodity prices. The British-Australian giant Rio Tinto reported an underlying profit of $10.87 billion, a result similar to last year's but slightly below analysts' expectations. The main drag was lower prices of iron ore, caused by weakening demand in China. Negative trends were partially offset by higher copper prices and increased aluminum production. In a much more difficult position is the Anglo American concern, which announced a net loss of $3.7 billion. This result stems from a huge impairment charge on the value of De Beers, the famous diamond producer struggling with a crisis in the luxury goods market. The company has already announced a plan to exit the diamond and coal sectors to focus on copper and mineral fertilizers. At the same time, the process of merging with the Canadian company Teck Resources is ongoing, which boasted solid quarterly profits thanks to the copper market boom. The history of global mining is a cycle of major mergers and acquisitions; in 2007–2008, the industry experienced a wave of consolidation worth hundreds of billions of dollars, shaping today's power dynamics in the commodity market. Meanwhile, Swiss-based Glencore, despite a slight drop in operating profit to $17.1 billion, decided to allocate $2 billion for dividends and share buybacks. CEO Gary Nagle emphasized that the company remains open to future consolidation opportunities after recent negotiations with Rio Tinto regarding a $240 billion merger ended in failure. The company's energy sector recorded weaker results due to stabilized coal prices, but oil trading generated solid cash flows. „As an industry, we need to be more relevant. Scale is crucial when the commodities we produce become subject to political games.” — Gary Nagle Rio Tinto: 10.87, Glencore: 17.1, Anglo American: -3.7, Teck Resources: 1.1 $240 billion — was the value of the failed Rio Tinto and Glencore merger

Mentioned People

  • Gary Nagle — CEO of Glencore, advocating for consolidation of the mining industry to increase its political relevance.
  • Alex Cohen — Reuters reporter preparing a report on the financial results of Deere & Co.