BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP, ASX:BHP) shares surged to a record intraday high of $67.72 on Monday, climbing as much as 3.9% from Friday’s closing price of $65.16, as soaring copper prices fuelled another strong session for the mining sector.
The rally extends a strong run for the mining giant, with investors increasingly focused on its exposure to copper as demand for the red metal accelerates alongside artificial intelligence infrastructure, electrification and energy-network investment.
Copper jumped 1.8% to US$6.68 per pound in US trading on Friday, with tight physical supply and growing demand continuing to support prices.
Copper takes centre stage
The share-price strength follows BHP’s FY26 results last week, which showed copper overtaking iron ore as the company’s biggest earnings contributor for the first time.
BHP reported a 9% increase in net profit to US$9.83 billion, while copper generated around US$18 billion of underlying EBITDA, accounting for more than half of group underlying earnings.
The shift underlines copper’s growing importance to BHP’s growth strategy under chief executive Brandon Craig, with the miner looking to lift production from its existing copper portfolio as global supplies struggle to keep pace with demand.
BHP expects copper consumption to rise substantially over coming decades as data centres, renewable energy infrastructure and electricity grids require increasing volumes of the metal.
