Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is in preliminary talks with Swiss miner Glencore about an all-stock combination of some or all of their businesses, the companies confirmed in a statement, after the Financial Times reported the two could create the world’s largest miner, valued at over US$260 billion. Still, nothing has been finalized and Rio Tinto has until Feb. 5 to announce whether it will make an offer. (Financial Times)

Talking point: The deal could have implications for Canada, where the two companies are particularly active in the critical minerals industry, making the metals needed for technologies like defence systems, batteries and data centres. In Quebec, Rio Tinto makes aluminum for tech giant Apple and owns a stake in Nemaska Lithium. Glencore operates a major nickel smelter and one of the few copper processing plants of its kind in Canada, both of which are necessary to supply electric vehicle battery plants.