BHP, Glencore and Teck Resources — three mining giants whose annual results have revealed significantly increased profits thanks in large part to soaring copper prices.
AFP explores the reasons behind the gains.
– Profits boost –
Australian resources group BHP saw net profit surge almost 28 percent to US$5.64 billion in the final six months of last year, the group’s fiscal first half.
Alongside the recent earnings, BHP stated that it was the world’s largest copper producer after raising output by about 30 percent in the past four years, including from its vast Escondida mine in Chile.
In the same week, Swiss miner Glencore announced a return to profit last year and plans to double its copper production within a decade.
Canadian miner Teck Resources, in talks over a multi-billion-dollar merger with Anglo American to forge a copper giant, noted that its profits have been driven by “significantly higher copper prices”.
Resources groups that have not fared so well in 2025 — iron ore behemoth Rio Tinto and Anglo American — are ramping up production of copper to help offset sagging demand for steel and diamonds.
– Why copper? –
Copper demand has exploded in recent years, with the metal needed for solar panels, wind turbines and also military hardware.
The coveted metal is also used in electric vehicle batteries and data centres for artificial intelligence.
Surging demand caused the price of copper to soar 40 percent on the London Metal Exchange (LME) last year, and in January this year it reached a record high.
This was fuelled by supply disruptions at major copper mines in Chile, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Demand has been boosted additionally “by Donald Trump’s decisions”, said Benjamin Louvet, head of commodities management at Ofi Invest AM.
Elaborating further to AFP, he pointed to the US president’s tariff threats, which saw companies build copper stocks, and heightened tensions between the United States and China, the world’s dominant player in metals markets.
– Copper supply risks –
Many copper experts agree that the industrial metal could reach a supply deficit this year.
“A structural deficit appears almost inevitable,” Philippe Chalmin, a commodities professor at Paris-Dauphine University, told AFP.
The poor anticipation of current needs is partly explained by the fact that “the energy transition happened quite quickly”, he added.
Developing a new mine takes time.
According to a study by the International Energy Agency, an average of 16 years is required — although the duration varies depending on the ore and location.