Speech delivered by Rashpal Bhatti, BHP Group Procurement Officer at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney.
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It is a privilege to be here in Sydney – our harbour city that connects Australia to the world – and at IMARC, a fitting stage for conversations about the future of our industry.
Before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
I also recognise the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on whose lands BHP operates every day, and the deep connection they hold to country, culture, and community.
The arc of progress
Around 7,000 years ago, humans first learned to smelt copper.
It lit the spark of the Copper Age – a breakthrough that reshaped civilisation.
Iron, steel, and coal then powered the industrial revolutions that followed…every era of progress has been defined by the resources that fuelled it.
At the turn of the 20th century, the electrification of industrial economies created huge, unprecedented demand for copper wire….
Telegraphs, telephone networks, and undersea cables followed, connecting the world in ways previously unimaginable.
Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves on the cusp of another profound transformation – the global energy transition to renewables and other less emissions intensive sources of energy.
This new era is once again creating surging demand for copper.
…the indispensable metal of electrification. The very backbone of a more sustainable future.
And I'm going to spend a few minutes now, talking about how exciting that is and why copper is the commodity of our time.
Let me start with a simple but powerful number: copper demand is expected to grow from 30 million tonnes today to 50 million tonnes by 2050. That's a 1.7 times increase.
This growth will come from both traditional uses…like refrigerators, electrical wiring, and infrastructure…and new sources of demand driven by the energy transition.
Think electric vehicles, wind and solar farms, and the booming need for data centres, which require significant cooling and electrification.
