BHP reports record copper sales, while ‘best years still to come’ for coking coal

AUSTRALIAN mining behemoth BHP saw record sales in its copper business last year, according to annual results published this week. Meanwhile, the company’s new CEO believes “the best years” for coking coal “are potentially still ahead”. 

One month after taking over, CEO Brandon Craig described copper as “the engine that is driving BHP’s growth”. The company’s pre-tax income rose 27% from 2024/25 to US$32.9bn last year, of which US$18bn came from copper alone – the first time the mineral has generated over half of BHP’s income.

BHP is one of the world’s largest producers of copper, iron ore and coal. The company has major copper projects across Chile, Australia and Argentina, and expects global demand to grow from 34m t/y today to at least 50m t/y by 2050. 

Dividend payments from BHP grew almost three-fold from last year, totalling an US$8.7bn payout to shareholders. Former CEO Mike Henry’s total pay increased by around 13% to US$10.3m, including pension contributions and long-term plans. 

Craig also enthused about the company’s coking coal prospects, telling analysts on Tuesday that “the best years of met [metallurgical, aka coking] coal are potentially still ahead of us, and we want to stay in this commodity”. The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), a 50-50 joint steelmaking venture, reported a 19% increase in pre-tax income to US$700m. 

However, analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown warned that long-term growth in coking coal could be impacted by an expected plateau in Chinese steel production, currently sat at around 1bn t/y. Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter and depends on sales to Chinese steel plants. 

Craig reiterated BHP’s longstanding calls for reform to the royalties regime in Queensland, the main location of Australian coal mines, which sets additional charges on coal revenue. Shortly after the Queensland government said it was “not touching the royalty regime” when asked last year if they would reduce the charges, BMA suspended operations at the Saraji South coking coal mine and laid off 750 workers, citing “unsustainable” royalties. BHP has since announced the closure of an engineering academy in Queensland for the same reason. 

BHP’s nickel business has continued to decline, however, with operations at the company’s main nickel mine in Western Australia suspended since 2024 due to global oversupply. BHP is considering selling its nickel business, which cost the company US$255m in 2025/26.

Harassment reports

The latest annual report also revealed that BHP management received 380 reports of sexual harassment from employees and 86 reports of racial harassment. Less than 60% of reports were logged by managers.

The disclosures come as BHP and fellow mining giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue face class action lawsuits over alleged widespread sexual harassment, violence and discrimination across their Australian sites. 

BHP confirmed 113 instances of sexual harassment this year, resulting in the sacking or resignation of 109 employees. The majority of cases involved indecent touching or sexualised jokes or conversations.