Mining M&A in 2025 – Copper, gold remain center stage

S&P Global Energy tracks metals and mining M&A deals with a value of at least $10 million that involve 1 million ounces of gold or 100,000 metric tons of base metal in acquired reserves and resources (R&R). This report categorizes acquisition assets by primary metal — gold, copper, nickel and zinc — and does not split the acquisition cost for projects that contain more than one metal. Also included are project and company deals with lithium oxide, or Li₂O (referred to as lithium in this article) in R&R, announced between Nov. 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2025. Terminated, non-equity deals — such as royalty and streaming — and "earn-in" transactions are not included in the analysis. The deal status is as of the time the data was compiled.

The commodity preference of mining M&A activity flipped in favor of base metals in 2025, buttressed by a $27.96 billion megamerger between Anglo American PLC and Teck Resources Ltd. The total deal value reached $52.71 billion across 50 deals, with gold deal value reaching a 15-year high. Lithium deal value was down 89% across just four deals amid price headwinds. A continued focus on diversified portfolios and consolidation is likely in 2026, and M&A activity may slow as the Middle East war continues.

A list of qualifying 2025 transactions and data associated with this study can be found in this accompanying Excel workbook.

High-priced and midsized deals bolstered M&A activity within the base metals and gold mining sector in 2025, with the aggregate deal value doubling year over year to $52.7 billion across 50 qualifying transactions. This marked the highest annual deal value in 18 years. Gold-focused acquisitions dominated in terms of deal count, representing 64% of all transactions. However, base metal deals accounted for more than half of the total deal value due to a megamerger. In contrast, 2024 had no megadeals or transactions above the $5 billion mark.

While there was a surge in deal value in 2025, due largely to the proposed merger between Anglo American and Teck Resources announced in September 2025, the overall number of deals fell 19% year over year. This dynamic drove a significant increase in average annual deal value, which reached $1.05 billion.

Nine deals valued at over $1 billion were announced during the year, with the five largest being direct company acquisitions. Company acquisitions accounted for the majority of overall deal value during the year, narrowly surpassing mining property transactions. The next-largest deal behind the Anglo-Teck merger was the $6.88 billion acquisition of New Gold Inc. by Coeur Mining Inc. announced in November 2025. This was followed by Gold Fields Ltd.'s purchase of Gold Road Resources Ltd. for $3.69 billion.

The most significant property deal was Carcetti Capital Corp.'s $1.1 billion acquisition of the Hemlo gold mine in Canada. At the commodity level, gold-focused acquisitions still dominated the period, with 32 deals amounting to a total value of $21.2 billion — the highest total recorded for gold since 2010.

The 14 copper-focused deals had a total deal value of $30.81 billion, with the Anglo-Teck merger constituting 91% of the total. Notably, the volume of acquired copper in R&R soared 200% from 2024, reaching 62.8 million mt. Nickel and zinc deals made up a smaller portion of overall M&A activity for the year, with three qualifying nickel deals collectively valued at $683.0 million, and only one qualifying zinc deal priced at $10.7 million.

Anglo-Teck lifts base metal deals

As in 2024, copper dealmaking ramped up in the second half of the year, which saw 60% of the copper deal announcements. Companies classified as "Other" were the most prominent buyer type for the commodity, followed by majors, which were the buyers in four deals. The Anglo-Teck megamerger skewed the annual average copper deal value to $2.20 billion. Nearly all of the other copper deals were priced below $1 billion, and split almost evenly between deals targeting companies and single mining properties. Excluding the megamerger, the annual average copper deal value would have dropped roughly 50% year over year. This trend toward smaller deals was expected, as most tier 1 copper assets are held by major producers, encouraging smaller buyers to pursue earlier-stage assets to build long-term optionality. In addition, copper prices saw large price swings during the year, driven by supply disruptions and trade policy changes, further encouraging brownfield acquisitions.

The year's defining deal was the proposed Anglo-Teck merger valued at $27.96 billion. Upon completion, the copper-focused deal will be the largest in the mining space in more than a decade, following Glencore PLC's merger with Xstrata PLC in 2013. The deal exemplified buyers' continued pursuit of diversified copper-bearing portfolios, given the anticipated structural constraints affecting copper supply amid expectations of accelerating demand driven by electrification. The merger of equals is expected to create a top-tier global copper producer, with its largest assets located mainly in Chile, Peru and Canada. Over 51.7 million mt of copper in R&R changed hands, accounting for 83% of the year's total acquired R&R. Teck contributes a portfolio anchored by long-life copper assets, while Anglo American brings operational scale and geographic overlap in the Americas.

Copper's key role in the energy transition continued to attract producers seeking diversified portfolios. Increasingly, mining companies are broadening their operations to include copper mines to capitalize on the anticipated long-term upside. The second-largest copper deal was Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd.'s acquisition of MAC Copper Ltd. for $1.02 billion, which closed in October 2025. Harmony Gold — historically one of South Africa's largest gold producers — framed the transaction as a step toward becoming a global gold and copper producer, rather than a pure-play gold miner. Harmony Gold gained immediate copper exposure through the producing, high-grade CSA (Cobar) copper mine in Australia — MAC Copper's sole operating asset — without the long lead times typically associated with greenfield or early-stage copper mines.

Unlike copper, nickel remained in structural surplus in 2025, due primarily to rapid production growth in Indonesia, which has continued to encourage opportunistic and counter-cyclical acquisitions. Nickel deal activity comprised three qualifying transactions for over 8 million mt of nickel in R&R, with a total value of $683.0 million — a substantial increase from 2024's $20.3 million. The largest nickel-centric deal was MMG Ltd.'s acquisition of Anglo American's nickel assets in Brazil for $500.0 million, announced in February 2025. According to Anglo American, divestment of the assets was a deliberate move to tighten focus on its copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients businesses. The purchase of the Jacare and Morro Sem Bone mines marks MMG's first entry into Brazil and adds nickel to its base metals-focused portfolio.

Conversely, activity in the zinc sector remained muted, with only one qualifying transaction valued at $10.7 million. Cerrado Gold Inc.'s acquisition of a 91% stake in Ascendant Resources Inc. included the Lagoa Salgada polymetallic project in Portugal, a zinc-dominant volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) project hosting zinc, copper, silver, gold, lead and barite. The acquisition of the project diversified Cerrado's primarily gold portfolio through base metals exposure, adding 302,723 mt of zinc in R&R. Outside of that transaction, a copper-focused deal — Vizsla Copper Corp.'s purchase of Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. and the Palmer VMS project in Alaska for $42.0 million — also involved substantial zinc reserves.

Gold dealmaking reaches record high

With gold prices reaching new highs in 2025 amid geopolitical uncertainty, interest in the yellow metal was steadfast, even as investors rallied in pursuit of critical minerals. Mid-tier consolidation continued to characterize company takeovers, while development assets in stable jurisdictions remained attractive to buyers looking to secure future production.

Despite the 26% year-over-year drop in the number of deals to 32, total deal value grew 10%, and over 162.1 million ounces of gold in R&R were acquired. Majors accounted for 34% of the buyers, spending $16.3 million and favoring corporate buyouts and late-stage assets.

Building on momentum from the previous year, Canadian gold assets attracted $10.59 billion in investments across all buyer types, followed by assets in Australia. The largest gold transaction was Coeur Mining Inc.'s pending acquisition of New Gold Inc. for $6.88 billion, aimed at scaling operations and establishing a significant North American precious metals producer with assets across Canada, the US and Mexico. The second-largest deal saw Gold Fields Ltd. acquire Gold Road Resources Ltd. for $3.69 billion, consolidating its remaining 50% ownership in the Gruyere JV gold mine in Western Australia. In a similar vein, Equinox Gold Corp.'s purchase of Calibre Mining Corp. for $2.13 billion was a consolidation move with scale in mind, creating an Americas-focused diversified gold producer with a suite of operations, led by Equinox's Greenstone and Calibre's Valentine Lake in Canada.

Price weakness shapes lithium deals

Following our previous study, lithium dealmaking slowed between November 2024 to December 2025, with only seven deals announced during that period, as a weak lithium price environment prevailed. Combined deal value for lithium reached $1.06 billion, while lithium in acquired R&R totaled over 4.1 million mt.

The four deals announced in 2025 accounted for 75% of the total value across the 13-month period; the largest of which is the $765.0 million partnership between POSCO Holdings Inc. and Mineral Resources Ltd. (MinRes) announced in November 2025. Through the newly formed and incorporated joint venture established by MinRes, POSCO Holdings will acquire a total of 30% interest in the Wodgina and Mount Marion hard-rock lithium assets in Australia.

In August 2025, Sayona Mining Ltd. closed its acquisition of Piedmont Lithium Inc., consolidating ownership of the North American Lithium (NAL) mine in Quebec, Canada, which had been jointly owned by the two companies. The unified ownership of NAL by the newly created Elevra Lithium Ltd. is expected to contribute to cost reduction and operational efficiency.

Outside of the announced deals, Rio Tinto Group closed its acquisition of Arcadium Lithium PLC in March 2025, marking the second-largest lithium-focused acquisition in history and signaling cash-rich buyers' willingness to buy scale at the bottom of the lithium price cycle. With the late-2025 price rebound being seen as less of a recovery and more of a rebalancing, dealmaking in the lithium space will likely remain selective, targeting either tier 1 assets or low-cost operations.

More diversified portfolios incoming?

Companies are increasingly reshaping their portfolios to gain exposure to multiple commodities and capture upsides in an environment where organic growth has become challenging to achieve. Another growing trend that could persist into 2026 is producers diversifying through assets with scalable, polymetallic deposits to capitalize on multiple revenue streams. A recent example is Eldorado Gold Corp.'s acquisition of Foran Mining Corp., announced in February 2026, targeting the multicommodity McIlvenna Bay project in Canada.

The ongoing war in the Middle East could slow activity for copper, nickel and zinc. However, long-term electrification and decarbonization goals remain structurally important demand drivers through the next decade, and copper is expected to sit at the forefront of dealmaking. Supply constraints, geopolitical risks and declining ore grades, which have driven a good number of copper deals in the past two years, will continue to temper enthusiasm for high-cost acquisitions, particularly for smaller players. Strategic megamergers could still come into play, however. Conversely, gold's supportive price environment will continue to fuel deal activity, though declining grades and discoveries could mean more consolidation-driven transactions.

For questions or more information, please contact:
Jasper Ivan Madlangbayan, Analyst, jasper.madlangbayan@spglobal.com
This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.