Boron

Rio Tinto's new CEO is wielding the axe with surgical precision. Simon Trott is selling the company's entire US boron operation — including mines supplying 30% of global demand — for up to $2 billion as he reorganizes into three core divisions. The California assets have attracted more than a dozen bidders despite boron's recent addition to the US critical minerals list, showing how portfolio simplification trumps strategic value in today's mining. It's a bet that shareholders prefer focus over diversification, even when divesting involves materials deemed essential for national security.