Glencore is giving $2bn (£1.47bn) to its shareholders after a tough year. The company’s profits fell 6% to $13.5bn. This comes shortly after a $260bn merger deal with Rio Tinto collapsed. Glencore is a FTSE 100 company and one of the world’s biggest mining firms. Despite higher metal prices and more copper production late in the year, profits were hit by a big drop in coal and energy prices. Glencore started in 1974 as a trading firm and now works in over 30 countries with around 140,000 employees. The idea of merging with Rio Tinto has been talked about for over 20 years. Rio rejected merging in 2014 and again in 2024, ending this latest bid. This failure came after the huge $53bn deal between Anglo American and Teck last year, which joined two leading copper producers. Even so, Glencore CEO Gary Nagle said last year showed "significant progress" and "clear momentum for our copper-led growth strategy." Copper is key for Glencore’s future because it is in high demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy. The company aims to produce over 1 million tonnes of copper by 2028, and 1.6 million tonnes by 2035, which would make it a top global producer. Glencore is currently the sixth largest copper producer and the largest listed coal producer. Nagle explained the $2bn payout by pointing to a $4bn stake in US agricultural trader Bunge. Glencore got this after Bunge merged with Glencore's Viterra grain business last year. He called this "surplus capital" being returned to shareholders. Glencore has a big coal trading business, which is profitable but faces criticism for pollution. In 2024, the company dropped plans to spin off its coal division after shareholders wanted to keep this profitable but polluting segment.