BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs(BHP.US)Q2 copper production surged 17% while iron ore production remained relatively stable.

BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs (BHP.US) saw a 17% surge in copper production in the second quarter, while production of its traditional asset iron ore remained essentially unchanged due to weak demand. Data shows that in the three months ending on December 31 last year, the world's largest mining company increased production at its Chilean copper mine Escondida by 33%, extracting high-grade copper ore that is becoming increasingly important for energy transition. This helped offset the decline in production at the company's South Australia project, which was shut down for several weeks after a storm caused a power supply interruption. However, iron ore production only grew by 1% during the same period. Although iron ore still accounts for about two-thirds of the revenue of BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs, the company believes that the long-term demand for this steel-making material is under pressure. Therefore, in recent years, BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs has strengthened its expansion strategy in other material areas. BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs is keen on expanding its copper business, which prompted the management to propose a $49 billion acquisition of Anglo American Resources Group last year. Following the failed acquisition, BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs teamed up with partner Lundin Mining Corp. to acquire Filo Corp., gaining access to an undeveloped copper mine project spanning the Argentina-Chile border. The transaction was completed this month. BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs CEO Mike Henry stated that the Filo assets are "one of the most significant copper discoveries globally in decades." In the three months ending on December 31, BHP Group Ltd Sponsored American Depositary Receipt Repr 2 Shs' iron ore production was 66.2 million tons. The company maintains its full-year iron ore business expectations between 255 million and 265.5 million tons, with expectations for all bulk commodity businesses remaining unchanged. Meanwhile, coal production for steelmaking declined by 23%, and energy coal production dropped by 4%. Copper production reached 510,700 tons. Henry said in a statement, "Our flagship copper, iron ore, and coal assets had particularly strong production in the quarter. We made progress on the growth path for the commodities of the future." Iron ore was one of the worst-performing commodities in 2024, with prices falling by 28%. In the last quarter of the year, it fell by 8%. The world's largest iron ore exporter, Rio Tinto plc Sponsored ADR (RIO.US), announced last week that iron ore shipments in the fourth quarter ending on December 31 decreased by 1%, while copper production surged by 26%. It is worth mentioning that U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he may impose tariffs of up to 25% on Mexico and Canada on February 1. This has boosted the U.S. dollar index and caused base metal prices to fall. As of the time of writing, LME aluminum fell by 0.8% to $2,669 per ton. Copper prices fell by 0.3%, and nickel prices fell by 0.4%.