Driven By The Demand From Emerging Industries, BHP Billiton Has Shifted Its Growth Strategy To The Copper Business.

Sydney, August 18th (Argus) - Australian mining company BHP announced today that it is shifting its growth strategy to the copper business, driven by the construction of data centers, the growth in demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles. BHP stated in its annual report ending June 30, 2026 that thanks to the increase in prices of copper, iron ore and coal, its basic earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the fiscal year 2025-26 reached 33 billion US dollars, an increase of 27% compared to the previous year. Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant said on August 18th that of the company's annual capital expenditure of 11 billion US dollars over the medium term, more than half will be invested in copper mining projects. The company expects that by the fiscal year 2034-35, its copper production will increase to 2 million tons per year, a 40% increase from the current level. The basic EBITDA of the copper business in the fiscal year 2025-26 was 18.2 billion US dollars, higher than the 12.3 billion US dollars in the previous year. Copper now contributes more than half of the company's annual EBITDA, surpassing the earnings from iron ore. Although copper production decreased by 3.2% to 1.95 million tons in the fiscal year 2025-26 compared to the previous year, the increase in average copper prices supported the profits. The average copper price in the fiscal year 2025-26 for BHP was 5.74 US dollars per pound, higher than 4.25 US dollars per pound in the previous year. BHP expects that global copper demand will increase from the current approximately 34 million tons per year to over 50 million tons per year by 2050, providing support for copper prices. Pant said that the company can simultaneously advance four new copper mining projects because these projects can fully achieve self-financing under market consensus pricing. These projects include a new concentrator at the Escondida mine in Chile, which is expected to increase production by 230,000 to 270,000 tons per year starting from 2031. BHP and Canadian Lundin Mining have a joint venture in Argentina with an annual production of 500,000 tons of non-operational projects called Vicuna, which may reach a final investment decision for the first phase by the end of 2026. The company is also advancing copper mining projects in South Australia with the goal of achieving an annual production of up to 650,000 tons. BHP stated that its non-operational joint venture project Resolution Copper with Rio Tinto in the United States also has the potential to become a large mine.