This possible merger has now become rumored because a person familiar with the matter - an "insider" - leaked it to the Reuters news agency. Rio Tinto, Power2market has reported, is committed to mining lithium in Serbia, including in Carinthia. There are regional protests at both potential sites. Lithium is an important component of battery power storage systems, for example for photovoltaics.

Glencore approached Rio Tinto at the end of last year about a possible merger, but the talks were brief and did not lead to any results, the insider told Reuters.

The Bloomberg News agency had previously reported that the two companies were already at an early stage of talks about a deal. If successful, the potential merger between the two iron ore mining heavyweights would be the largest in the industry to date and would create a combined company with a market value of around 158 billion dollars. This would exceed that of the mining company BHP at 126 billion dollars. Both Rio Tinto and Glencore declined to comment at this time.

Is the world's largest mining company coming?

This would not be the first time that the two companies have held talks about a takeover.

In 2014, Rio Tinto rejected a merger offer from Glencore. At the time, a deal would have enabled the combined company to overtake BHP as the world's largest mining company.

Will this happen this year? - Power2market will keep you informed.