Revenue of the leading mining companies in the United Kingdom (UK) 2021

At 102.94 billion British pounds, Glencore was by far the largest mining company based in the UK in terms of revenue in 2021. This was approximately three times more than BHP, the company with the second largest revenue among UK mining companies. The British-Swiss multinational company Glencore operates in more than 50 countries worldwide and generated nearly one-third of its revenue in Europe in 2020.

Global mining company comparisons

Glencore was not only the largest mining company in the United Kingdom in 2021. In the same year, this company had a higher revenue than any other leading mining company worldwide, including BHP, Rio Tinto, and China Shenhua Energy. However, in terms mining companies' market capitalization, the Anglo-Australian company BHP (formerly BHP Billiton) was ranked highest, with a market capitalization of 180.5 billion U.S. dollars as of May 2021.

UK mining industry turnover in decline

Although companies such as Glencore recorded huge revenues globally, the UK mining and quarrying industry saw its turnover decrease significantly between 2008 and 2018. In 2008, the turnover of this sector amounted to 80 billion euros, but over the following decade it dropped by nearly half.