6 copper mining companies powering the electrification boom
Copper has long been an essential industrial metal, but the electrification of the global economy is giving it renewed strategic importance. Electricity networks, renewable power projects, electric vehicles, data centres and industrial electrification all require substantial quantities of copper.
The International Energy Agency expects copper demand to increase by about 30% between current levels and 2040 under its Stated Policies Scenario. Its latest 2026 outlook also projects copper will record the largest volume increase among key energy minerals, adding around seven million tonnes of demand by 2040.
Supply is the bigger challenge. The IEA estimates that expected mine supply from existing and announced projects could leave a roughly 25% deficit against copper requirements in 2035. Declining ore grades, project complexity and long development timelines are making new production difficult to deliver quickly.
Against this backdrop, some of the world’s largest mining companies are expanding existing operations, developing new projects and investing heavily in copper mining. These six companies are particularly important to the emerging supply picture.
1. BHP builds on record copper production
BHP’s transformation into an increasingly copper-focused mining company is already visible in its production figures. The group produced more than two million tonnes of copper in both FY2025 and FY2026, with the FY2025 result representing a record and an increase of 28% over three years.
At the centre of the portfolio is Escondida in Chile. The operation achieved its highest production in 17 years during FY2025, while Spence delivered record production. Escondida remains one of the industry’s defining assets, with BHP describing it as the world’s largest producer of copper concentrates and cathodes.
The growth strategy extends well beyond Chile. BHP sees the potential to double production at its Copper South Australia operations through phased expansions, while the Vicuña project in Argentina represents another potential multi-decade opportunity.
That pipeline is significant because BHP sees electrification as a structural driver of demand. The company said copper demand had benefited from accelerating renewable energy investment, electricity grid expansion and EV sales.
For a diversified mining giant historically associated with iron ore, copper is becoming an increasingly important pillar of long-term growth.
2. Codelco works to restore its copper powerhouse
Chile’s state-owned Codelco remains one of the most important names in global copper mining, despite facing the challenges associated with operating large, mature mining complexes.
Codelco produced 1.334 million tonnes of its own copper in 2025. Including attributable production from stakes in El Abra, Anglo American Sur and Quebrada Blanca, total production reached approximately 1.44 million tonnes. Own production increased slightly from 2024 despite a difficult operational year.
The challenge is maintaining and ultimately increasing that enormous production base. Codelco’s portfolio includes deposits with long operating histories, where falling grades and increasingly complex geotechnical conditions require extensive investment.
The company nevertheless retains a clear growth objective. Codelco is targeting total production, including subsidiaries and associates, of 1.7 million tonnes of fine copper by 2030.
That makes Codelco central to the electrification story. Future copper supply will depend not only on discovering new deposits but also on extending the productive lives of existing mining districts.
3. Freeport-McMoRan brings scale and reserves
Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world’s most established copper-focused mining companies, with operations spanning North America, South America and Indonesia.
Its mines produced approximately 3.4 billion pounds, or 1.54 million tonnes, of copper during 2025. At the end of that year, Freeport also reported estimated consolidated recoverable proven and probable mineral reserves of 112.3 billion pounds of copper.
That resource base gives the company considerable strategic weight. Its portfolio includes major operations in the United States, the Cerro Verde complex in Peru and the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia.
The geographic spread also matters. Electrification requires reliable copper supplies across decades rather than temporary production surges. Large, long-life assets can therefore become increasingly valuable as new projects encounter permitting, financing and construction hurdles.
Freeport’s combination of established infrastructure, sizeable reserves and extensive operating experience leaves it well placed to remain one of the major suppliers to an increasingly copper-intensive global economy.
4. Zijin Mining expands its international copper footprint
Zijin Mining represents the changing geography of the global mining industry. The China-headquartered group has assembled an international copper portfolio spanning Asia, Europe and Africa, helping it emerge as one of the world’s largest mine producers.
Zijin produced approximately 1.085 million tonnes of mined copper in 2025, up 1.56% year on year. Its Serbian operations, including Čukaru Peki and Bor, contributed 296,000 tonnes, while Julong in China produced 194,000 tonnes.
Expansion remains central to the strategy. Phase two of Julong entered production in January 2026 and is expected to lift annual mine-produced copper capacity to between 300,000 and 350,000 tonnes once fully ramped up. Zijin is also developing Zhunuo, which is designed for annual copper production of 76,000 tonnes.
Its African interests further broaden that footprint, including Kamoa-Kakula in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zijin’s rapid expansion demonstrates how Chinese mining companies are becoming increasingly influential not just in mineral processing, but also in upstream copper mining.
5. Southern Copper strengthens its Americas pipeline
Southern Copper‘s appeal in an electrification-driven market is straightforward. Copper is at the heart of the business, and its major operations are concentrated in Mexico and Peru, two established mining jurisdictions with substantial mineral resources.
Company financial data show mined copper production of approximately 956,270 tonnes in 2025, alongside total copper production of about 958,759 tonnes when third-party concentrate is included.
The company’s existing production base is only part of the investment case. Southern Copper has spent years building a pipeline of potential developments and expansions across the Americas, positioning it to participate in future demand growth.
Latin America’s importance to the industry is difficult to overstate. The IEA estimates the region currently accounts for around 40% of global copper mine output.
Southern Copper therefore occupies an important position at the intersection of established production, substantial mineral endowment and the industry’s need for additional long-term supply.
6. Glencore targets a new phase of copper growth
Glencore combines a major mining portfolio with one of the world’s largest commodity marketing businesses, giving it a distinctive position across the copper value chain.
Its ambitions for copper mining are substantial. Glencore’s 2025 annual report outlines a pathway to more than one million tonnes of annualised copper production by the end of 2028, followed by a longer-term ambition of approximately 1.6 million tonnes a year by 2035.
The growth strategy draws on a portfolio of operations and development opportunities across several important copper-producing regions.
The timing could prove significant. The IEA says copper-focused companies increased investment by 8% in 2025 even as overall critical minerals investment fell by 9%. That divergence reflects growing confidence in copper’s long-term fundamentals.
For Glencore, increasing copper production could provide greater exposure to precisely the areas driving structural demand, including electricity networks, renewable generation, electric transport and digital infrastructure.
Copper supply becomes an electrification challenge
The electrification boom is transforming copper from an established industrial commodity into an increasingly strategic resource. Yet higher demand does not automatically create higher supply.
The industry’s challenge is geological, financial and operational. Copper grades have declined, new discoveries have slowed and projects can take many years to progress from discovery to commercial production. The IEA estimates that average global copper mine grades have fallen 40% since 1991 and that a new project can take around 17 years to move from discovery to production.
That puts the world’s leading copper mining companies in a powerful position. BHP, Codelco, Freeport-McMoRan, Zijin Mining, Southern Copper and Glencore already control significant production, infrastructure, expertise and development pipelines.
As grids expand and electricity plays a larger role across transport, industry and the digital economy, their ability to maintain existing mines and deliver new tonnes of copper will increasingly influence the pace and cost of global electrification.
