Rio Tinto Group CEO Sam Walsh has said Glencore’s trading-focused philosophy would be a major impediment to a merger between the two mining companies.

“We’re two totally different organisations,” Walsh said in London last week in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We’re an organisation that’s very focused on the long term. Glencore is a trading company; they’re very short-term in focus. That’s a very different philosophy to us.”

Rio Tinto rebuffed a July approach from Glencore to merge the two businesses to create the world’s biggest mining company, with a combined market value of about $150-billion. Rio Tinto traces its roots to 1873, when it funded the reopening of ancient copper mines on Spain’s Rio Tinto, or red river, while Glencore was founded by commodities trader Marc Rich in the 1974.

“Long-term relationships with governments, with customers, suppliers, with our employees – all of that is important to us,” Walsh said. “It’s part of our values, it’s part of the integrity in the way we do business.”

Glencore’s trading business benefited from its relationships with customers, giving the group unrivalled market intelligence, CEO Ivan Glasenberg said in August.

Glencore, which trades commodities ranging from oil to cotton, as well as mining minerals, said in October it was no longer considering an offer for Rio Tinto, effectively barring it from bidding for six months under UK takeover rules.

A merger of the two is all but inevitable, former JPMorgan Chase & Co dealmaker Ian Hannam told a group of about 20 hedge funds in London last month, according to people familiar with the meeting. Sentiment toward a combination is improving among investors, according to Macquarie Group.

“At the end of the day, it will, of course, be driven by value, but you need to look at those attributes that I’ve described in terms of how does that generate value,” Walsh said. “Clearly, when you consider this, there will be a whole raft of things that you look at in terms of our business and their business.”

A question on whether Rio is expecting a renewed approach from Glencore is better directed to the company’s chairperson, Tony Hayward, Walsh said.

Rio Tinto has cut more than $4-billion in costs since the start of last year and reduced debt by $6-billion in the 12 months to June 30, he said.

The decision to rebuff Glencore’s approach was underpinned by a commitment to the success of its existing strategy of reducing costs and paying out more cash, chairperson Jan du Plessis said in the October statement that confirmed Glencore’s approach three months earlier.

With commodity prices tumbling, giving more cash to investors is seen as part of Rio Tinto’s strategy to bolster support from holders. Speaking to investors in London last week, Walsh said he garnered a commitment from Rio’s board last week that it would boost returns next year, an increase he described as “material” and sustainable.

Rio paid out $3.6-billion in dividends last year, up from $3.1-billion in 2012. The company’s key profit driver, iron-ore, has almost halved this year, leading analysts from Macquarie and JPMorgan Chase & Co to predict Rio may need to take on more debt to fund its dividend next year.

“I suspect there’s some surprises for people in February and I can’t pre-empt that,” a grinning Walsh said, declining to comment on whether debt would be needed to cover its planned dividend. “Traditionally, we’ve made that decision in February. We’re not going to be distracted. We’ll play to our game plan rather than somebody else’s.”