00:00Now, speaking of deal-making, take a look at how Rio Tinto shares are falling in Australia
00:07as talks resume with Glencore on combining to form the world's biggest miner.
00:13Our managing editor for Asia Energy and Commodities, Clara Ferreira Marquez, joins us now for more.
00:19So, Clara, this is a resumption of talks that we're hearing about.
00:23Put things in perspective for us in terms of what this might mean.
00:27So, it's been a big couple of years for deal-making.
00:30Last year was obviously very, very busy and it looks like we're starting off strong again this year
00:35with talks again between Rio and Glencore.
00:37They were talking back in 2024.
00:39At that point, it was Glencore making a move for Rio.
00:41It looks like this time it might be the reverse.
00:44They're a very obvious combination.
00:47Rio is in need, was interested or has been interested in iron ore
00:51and Glencore has a lot better copper assets really than Rio does.
00:56So, there's a good sort of copper story.
00:58There's potentially a good iron ore story in Rio.
01:01There are a few big problems that would include coal, what they do with Glencore's coal assets.
01:06And the dual-listed structure may cause a few headaches for the bankers working on this deal.
01:11Yeah.
01:12So, how has Glencore been priming itself for this potential deal?
01:16Because, to your point, they see a lot of these synergies potentially.
01:19Yes, Glencore is not in as strong a position as it was probably back in 2024.
01:25I think there's been a lot of speculation on the future of the company.
01:27So, some kind of combination which could yield one, it could yield more than one company,
01:32depending on how they structure it, is a very interesting potential outcome.
01:36I don't remember the leadership of Gary Nagel, no longer Ivan Gleisenberg,
01:39who was perhaps much more wedded to the future of the company as an independent.
01:44How are we also seeing the backdrop of the way commodities, particularly copper, was soaring
01:51and how that is really drawing this interest from these miners?
01:56Well, that certainly puts the heat on the board, right?
01:58You have copper at 13,000, even more.
02:01It really accelerates the need to acquire a copper pipeline that will carry you into the future.
02:07Copper assets are few and far between, especially large copper mines.
02:10So, that really is the driving force behind a lot of these combinations that we've seen over the last few years.
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