BHP chief executive officer Mike Henry has emphasised the company’s strategic focus on copper in a recent post to the company’s X account (formerly Twitter).
“We want to grow in copper,” Henry said. “Over the next 20 years the world is going to need up to 70 per cent more copper.”
In the post, BHP said it had the largest copper resource in the world, with a significant footprint in Chile and Australia to accompany its presence in Peru and the US.
BHP’s aspirations aligns with the anticipated surge in demand driven by the global shift towards electrification and renewable energy.
The company last year announced plans to more than double SA copper production by the mid-2030s, and provided greater insight into how this will be achieved in February.
To realise the copper uplift, BHP will need to upgrade its Olympic Dam smelter and refinery so it can produce more than 500,000 tonnes per year.
The major miner has contracted Fluor Australia and Hatch to oversee the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) component of the expansion, with the contract to be executed in stages ahead of a final investment decision in the first half of the 2026–27 financial year (FY26).
BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile increased its copper production by 20 per cent, allowing the company to deliver a record nine-month copper production of 1.5 million tonnes (Mt).
Known as the largest copper producer globally, Escondida produced over 333,000 tonnes (t) of copper for the March 2025 quarter, a result in line with the upper half of the mine’s FY25 production guidance.
The achievement follows BHP revealing its $US13 billion ($20.96 billion) investment to grow its copper operations in Chile over the next decade.
With all these developments, BHP is positioning itself to play a pivotal role in supplying the copper necessary for a sustainable future.
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