The news was made official after Glencore agreed to sell its stake in Xstrata's copper mining project in Peru, thus clearing the final hurdle in the completion of deal that will form one of the world's biggest metals and commodities firms.
For its part, Glencore also agreed to terms that state that it must supply a minimum volume of copper concentrate to China for a period of eight years.
Analysts said that by agreeing to sell its stake in the Peru project, which is being built from scratch, Glencore had not only satisfied a key concern of Chinese authorities but also that of many shareholders.
The two firms also announced a change to their management plan for the joint entity with Glencore’s boss, Ivan Glasenberg set to take charge of operations, as opposed to Xstrata's chief executive, Mick Davis, who was supposed to head the combined operations for the first six months.
