Brand Finance’s Mining, Metals & Minerals 50 2026 report shows that the global mining sector recorded a 5% year-on-year growth
LONDON, 5 August 2026 –The global mining, metals, and minerals sector enters 2026 amid diverging commodity cycles, with rare earth minerals and precious metals driving growth while bulk commodities face softer demand, according to the Mining, Metals & Minerals 50 2026 report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy.
Gold has until recently lead the momentum, supported by strong investor appetite and expanding production, even as iron ore and battery metals navigate price pressures. Amid this mixed landscape, leading brands have seen their values shaped by both market opportunities and persistent commodity challenges.
Glencore remains the world’s most valuable mining brand for the second consecutive year, despite an 11% decline to its brand value, now at USD5.5 billion. Softer commodity conditions weighed on margins, with Adjusted EBITDA down 16%, driven by weaker energy coal prices, while global coal production contracts for a second consecutive year. The brand’s diversified exposure across base metals and energy products offsets some of the impact from softer coal markets.
BHP holds the second spot with a brand value of USD5 billion, down 2% amid weaker coal markets and ongoing operational and legal challenges. The brand is still very strong with an AA+ brand strength rating. Its long-term focus on brand building has helped it withstand challenges to its reputation.
ArcelorMittal rises two places to rank third, with a 31% brand value increase to USD4.7 billion, driven by higher steel demand and a stronger Brand Strength Index (BSI) score (74.5/100). Low inventories in Europe and rising global demand, particularly in India, the US, and Brazil, support higher shipment volumes and reinforce the brand’s position in key markets.
Brazilian brand Vale (brand value up 9% to USD2.7 billion) enters the top 10 this year in seventh place. Strong operational performance drove revenue growth, with iron ore output reaching 336 million tonnes and copper and nickel production rising 10% and 11%, respectively. Vale’s focus on energy-transition materials supports its revenue outlook and strengthens its influence in the global mining sector.
Tongling Nonferrous Metals is the fastest-growing brand in the mining sector for 2026, with its brand value soaring 51% to USD967 million. The brand’s growth is supported by rising copper production, strong operational performance, and expansion into high-value products such as copper strips for integrated circuits.
Tongling’s rise reflects a broader trend in the sector, where nonferrous and precious metals are driving the fastest growth. Higher production, favourable markets, and strategic investments are helping these companies expand revenue and strengthen brand value, signalling a shift in momentum across the global mining industry.
Savio D’Souza, Global Sector Head of Mining, Metals & Minerals, Brand Finance, commented:
" The Mining, Metals & Minerals 50 ranking has crossed USD80 billion threshold for the first time. Brand value is no longer tracking with brand strength; specialists are compounding while diversified majors stagnate, and a new geography of brand leadership is emerging in Asia. The companies winning in 2026 are those where brand strategy and corporate strategy are the same conversation, not parallel ones.”
BHP (brand value down 2% to USD5 billion) is the strongest mining brand this year with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 80.1/100 and an AA+ brand strength rating. Its brand strength gains are driven by improvements in reliability, quality, word of mouth, and usage. A shift towards higher-grade products, including output from South Flank and DRI trials with China Baowu, reinforces quality perceptions, while strong operational delivery and continued community and decarbonisation efforts support trust and advocacy. BHP continues to benefit from global scale and operational leadership, these factors have weighed on perception scores among stakeholders.
Rio Tinto (brand value up 15% to USD4.4 billion) is second, with a BSI score of 78.3/100 and an AA brand strength rating, reflecting sustained operational delivery and a strengthening growth outlook. Copper output is rising through the Oyu Tolgoi underground expansion, while stronger bauxite and alumina performance has lifted volume expectations. The ramp-up of its lithium business, including Rincon and the integration of Arcadium Lithium, is also expected to drive a new revenue stream from 2025, reinforcing its position as a diversified, future-facing mining brand.
Barrick Mining (brand value up 44% to USD1.6 billion) ranks third with a BSI score of 77.9/100 and an AA+ brand strength rating. Brand Finance research highlights improved perceptions across governance, admiration, and environmental responsibility. Sustainability commitments, including a 30% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and a net-zero target by 2050, continue to support brand strength. A stronger revenue outlook, alongside development assets such as the Fourmile project in Nevada, further underpins performance.
Brand Finance has also identified the top-performing brands across six key industrial categories: steel production, aluminium production, coal, copper mining, copper processing, and iron. Chinese brands continue to assert strong influence, featuring prominently across multiple categories, particularly in aluminium and copper processing, reinforcing the country’s entrenched position in global metals supply chain.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
