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Rio Tinto plans to expand metals trading for third parties and derivatives
The plan would grow Rio Tinto’s commercial metals team, currently about 20 traders, and target products such as alumina and copper cathode where regional surpluses or shortages exist.
Rio Tinto plans to expand its metals trading business to handle third-party material and derivatives, as CEO Simon Trott looks to extract more value from the company’s global asset base, Mining.com reported. The initiative would represent a shift from Rio Tinto’s traditional focus on marketing its own production. Bloomberg, cited by Mining.com, described the move as a potential way to gain flexibility in regional supply imbalances and use spare capacity across Rio’s operations, without trying to replicate standalone commodity trading houses. Rio Tinto is considering more third-party trading in markets where its assets may provide an advantage, including alumina. In North America, the company’s Kennecott operations have spare copper smelting capacity, creating an opportunity to handle additional material, and Rio could also trade copper cathode and related products such as sulphuric acid. Mining.com said Rio’s commercial team currently has about 20 traders and could add several more as the business expands. The strategy aligns with Trott’s broader overhaul, which includes simplifying the company, selling assets, cutting costs, and improving returns, and Rio is also in discussions with Vitol Group on a potential freight and logistics joint venture.
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