Rio Tinto Expands Marketing to Trade More Third-Party Products

By Rhiannon Hoyle

Rio Tinto said it is bolstering its marketing operations to trade more commodities from other producers, although will keep sales of its own metals and minerals at the core of its business.

"Marketing equity tonnes from our own operations to meet the needs of customers and partners remains the foundation of Rio Tinto's business," the company said in emailed remarks Thursday. "Alongside this, we are continuing to grow our capability to buy and sell products on behalf of third parties."

The comments, first reported by Bloomberg, signal a shift under Chief Executive Simon Trott, who took the helm a year ago pledging to focus on unlocking shareholder value.

In May, Trott first suggested a change in how the miner's trading business could run, telling an industry conference that he viewed value in "having a stronger commercial front end in a world that is more volatile."

His remarks followed a question about whether Rio Tinto had taken away any ideas from failed talks to buy Glencore in recent years. In addition to its mining operations, Glencore has a giant trading business that has recently enjoyed windfall profits as conflict in the Middle East disrupted commodities and freight markets.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2026 04:19 ET (08:19 GMT)