Any unification would cost billions of dollars, he argued: “It just does not make any economic sense.”

Palliser disagrees, arguing that since BHP’s unification, its total shareholder returns have consistently outperformed Rio’s. “As was the case when BHP unified, we firmly believe that the share price of a unified Rio Tinto would trade up to, and ultimately surpass, the current price,” it said.

The fresh demands came as Stausholm flagged Rio’s iron ore production would remain between 323 and 338 million tonnes for 2025 and copper output from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia would rise by more than 50 per cent next year. The company has a clear pathway to deliver greater returns through growth and decarbonisation, he said.

“As we ramp up the Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine, deliver the Simandou high-grade iron ore project in Guinea, and build out our lithium business through the proposed acquisition of Arcadium, we are underwriting a decade of profitable growth,” Stausholm said.

Earlier this week, Rio sold a 30 per cent stake in its Winu copper-gold project in Australia to Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining for $US399 million ($620 million).

Sumitomo will pay $US195 million upfront and $US204 million in deferred payments contingent on development progress, Rio said in a statement. The miner added that the companies would explore additional partnerships across copper, other base metals and lithium.

“This is a unique opportunity to derisk our investment,” Rio’s chief executive of copper, Katie Jackson, said. “We look forward to working more broadly as strategic partners to find new ways to deliver value across the metals and minerals supply chain.”

The Winu copper-gold deposit in the remote Great Sandy Desert region of Western Australia was discovered by Rio in 2017 and is yet to be developed. A pre-feasibility study into building a mine will be released in 2025.

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