Leading copper mining companies Australia 2024, by market capitalization

Sandfire Resources led the copper mining companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as of July 2024, with a market capitalization of over 4.2 billion Australian dollars. In the first half of 2023, BHP acquired OZ Minerals, the previous leading miner of copper, gold, and silver ores. 

OZ Minerals

OZ Minerals operated two of Australia’s largest copper mines, Prominent Hill Mine and Carrapateena Mine, both located in the country’s copper mine hotspot, South Australia. The company’s copper production volume increased in fiscal year 2021, with the net revenue of OZ Minerals subsequently witnessing a notable rise that year. In line with BHP's strategy to meet increasing copper and nickel demand, OZ Minerals was bought out by BHP for 9.6 billion Australian dollars in 2023.

Copper Mining in Australia

Australia is home to the second-largest reserves of copper in the world. It is one of the leading copper ore exporting countries worldwide by export value, with China being the primary market for copper exports from Australia. Since 2019, the production of copper from Australian mines has followed a downward trend, with production quantities only slightly increasing in 2023. Nonetheless, the value of copper production in Australia has witnessed a year-on-year growth since 2017, with the export value of Australia’s copper forecast to rise over the coming years.