South Australia’s ambition to significantly increase copper production has taken centre stage at Copper to the World 2026, as industry and government leaders focused on what will be required to turn the state’s vast copper resources into new supply.
More than 600 delegates from across mining, METS, government, investment and research have gathered at the Adelaide Convention Centre for the two-day conference, hosted by Austmine in partnership with the Government of South Australia, Department for Energy and Mining.
Opening the conference, South Australian Treasurer and Minister for Energy and Mining, The Hon. Tom Koutsantonis MP, pointed to the scale of the global challenge, with electrification, digital infrastructure, defence, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing driving long-term demand for copper.
“We’re about to embark on an exponential growth in a need for this commodity that we’ve never seen before in human history, because we’re about to undertake the biggest expansion in electrification we’ve ever seen,” Minister Koutsantonis said.
“The truth is, currently we don’t have copper production available to meet that ambition. And the question for us is, are we prepared to meet that ambition?”
South Australia is home to two-thirds of Australia’s demonstrated copper resources, but the Treasurer stressed that resource alone would not be enough to capture the opportunity.
“Realizing the copper opportunity requires more than having just geology. The hard work starts after you get the geology.”
The message was reinforced by Anna Wiley, Asset President Copper South Australia, BHP, who outlined the scale of investment and development already underway across the state.
Copper South Australia produced 321,000 tonnes of copper in FY26, including Olympic Dam’s highest copper production in 20 years. More than $2 billion in major projects are now underway as BHP pursues its ambition to grow South Australian copper production to more than 500,000 tonnes a year by the mid-2030s, with a longer-term pathway towards 650,000 tonnes annually.
“The world needs what South Australia has: abundant copper resources, a stable and supportive jurisdiction, and the expertise, talent and partnerships to capture a generational opportunity,” Ms Wiley said.
That growth is being supported by projects across Prominent Hill, Carrapateena and Olympic Dam, together with plans to expand the Olympic Dam smelter to increase refined copper production.
Infrastructure will be equally critical. Both the Treasurer and Ms Wiley highlighted Northern Water as an important enabler of future growth, with a new long-term water supply expected to support increased copper production and broader investment across the state’s north.
“Our ambition is to help meet the global copper demand we’ve heard about today responsibly and competitively, to foster export growth, employment and enterprise, and to build on Copper South Australia’s already significant contribution here,” Ms Wiley said.
The challenge of translating copper potential into production carried through the opening Powering the Future plenary.
During the Next-Generation Copper: Delivering the Future Through Collaboration panel, representatives from BHP, Sandvik, SACOME and Austral Resources examined what greater collaboration will need to look like as the industry moves into its next phase of growth.
The discussion identified regulatory alignment, skilled labour, infrastructure and stronger coordination between governments, miners and the METS sector as key to delivering projects. Panellists also highlighted the role of mid-tier miners in driving innovation and the importance of policy settings that enable investment and development.
Technology and innovation will remain a major focus throughout Day One, with sessions examining automation, AI and robotics, and how the industry can accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies.
The afternoon program will turn to underground copper mining and downstream processing, before six innovators take to the stage for Innovation Hour to showcase technologies addressing challenges across the copper value chain.
Copper to the World continues tomorrow, with discussions spanning copper markets and investment, South Australia’s emerging copper projects, exploration and digital transformation, before senior industry leaders examine what it will take to unlock the next wave of global copper supply.
