Copper prices have been volatile throughout 2025 and into 2026, fueled by economic uncertainty from an ever-changing US trade policy and strong supply and demand fundamentals.
The International Copper Study Group, the leading copper market watcher, reported an apparent refined copper surplus of 206,000 tonnes through the first 11 months of 2025, above its full year 2025 prediction of a 178,000 tonne surplus. For 2026, the group predicts a deficit of 150,000 tonnes.
Demand from the energy transition and increased wealth and urbanization in the global South are expected to stress supply chains over the coming years, with the International Energy Agency anticipating a 30 percent shortfall in copper supply by 2035.
Australian investors wanting to benefit from copper's positive outlook don’t need to look further than the ASX, which hosts some of the world's largest copper-mining companies. Learn about the five biggest copper stocks on the ASX by market cap below.
All market cap and share price data for these Australian copper stocks was obtained on February 17, 2026, using TradingView's stock screener.
1. BHP (ASX:BHP)
Market cap: AU$255.74 billion
Share price: AU$52.74
BHP is a global copper producer with operating copper mines in Australia, Chile and Peru, as well as a 45 percent stake in the Resolution copper project in the US. In addition to its copper operations, BHP is a significant producer of a variety of important resources, including iron ore, nickel, metallurgical coal, potash and uranium.
The company’s Australian copper mine is the massive Olympic Dam operation in South Australia, which also produces gold and uranium as by-products. In 2023, BHP acquired South Australia-based OZ Minerals, which owned the Prominent Hill and Carrapateena copper mines, strengthening BHP's Australian copper portfolio in the state.
In Chile, the company operates the 57.5 percent owned Escondida mine — the world’s largest copper producer — and its wholly owned Pampa Norte operations. BHP also has a non-operating 33.75 percent interest in the Antamina copper-zinc mine in Peru.
In early 2025, BHP Canada and Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN,OTC Pink:LUNMF) jointly acquired Filo Mining for C$4.1 billion, granting each a 50 percent ownership stake in the Filo del Sol copper project in the Vicuña mining district straddling Chile and Argentina. Additionally, BHP agreed to purchase a 50 percent ownership stake in Lundin's Josemaria project within the same district. The two projects will be managed under the Vicuña joint venture company.
In January of this year, BHP released its operational review for the first half of its fiscal 2026 ended December 31. The company reported group production of 984,100 tonnes of copper during the half year period, flat year-over-year. BHP highlighted record concentrator throughput and improved recoveries at Escondida. BHP raised the lower end of its fiscal year 2026 guidance from 1.8 million to 1.9 million tonnes of copper while maintaining the upper level at 2 million.
2. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO)
Market cap: AU$232.45 billion
Share price: AU$163.03
Rio Tinto is a global producer of many metals, with operating copper mines in the United States, Mongolia and Chile. The company's portfolio also includes aluminum, iron and lithium.
Its 66 percent owned Oyu Tolgoi mine in South Gobi, Mongolia, is set to become Rio Tinto’s largest operation and the fourth largest copper mine in the world by 2030. Open-pit mining at the site began in 2011, with an underground mine coming online in 2023. The company expects to produce 500,000 tonnes of copper per year upon full ramp-up of underground operations in 2028.
Its Kennecott mine in Utah, which opened in 1903, is one of the oldest operating copper mines in the world. In 2022, Rio Tinto invested US$55 million to begin underground operations at the site, aiming to produce 30,000 tonnes through 2027. A US$498 million investment followed in 2023 to begin development at the North Rim Skarn, which will deliver an additional 25,000 tonnes annually upon full ramp-up. First production from the skarn begin in December 2025.
Rio Tinto is also the majority owner of the Resolution copper mine in Arizona, US, with a 55 percent stake, and a non-managing partner in Chile’s Escondida mine with a 30 percent interest.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 operational review, released in January, Rio Tinto stated that full year consolidated copper production increased by 11 percent year-over-year to 883,000 tonnes, beating its guidance. This included 345,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate from Oyu Tolgoi on a 100 percent basis and 348,000 tonnes from Escondida on an attributable basis.
3. Capstone Copper (ASX:CSC)
Market cap: AU$12.56 billion
Share price: AU$15.63
Capstone Copper is a mining company with a portfolio of assets located in the US, Mexico and Chile.
Capstone's 100 percent owned Pinto Valley copper mine in Arizona, US, is fully permitted until 2039. Capstone acquired Pinto Valley from BHP in 2013, and the mine has produced more than 4 billion pounds of copper since it began operating in 1972.
It is also the sole owner of the Cozamin copper-silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, which boasts a 1,000 tonne per day throughput and is projected to generate 51,000 to 57,000 tonnes of copper in 2025. Additionally, Capstone has the Mantos Blancos copper mine in Antofagasta, Chile, which underwent an expansion in 2021 to extend its mine life.
Aside from those operations, Capstone owns a 70 percent stake in the Mantoverde mine in the Atacama region of Chile, with the remaining 30 percent owned by Mitsubishi Materials (OTC Pink:MIMTF,TSE:5711).
On August 8, Capstone announced that it had sanctioned the Mantoverde optimized project for construction, which will increase throughput at the mine from 32,000 tonnes to 45,000 tonnes per day, and increase annual copper output by 20,000 tonnes.
In its annual 2025 results, Capstone announced that it had achieved record consolidated copper production of 224,764 tonnes, up 22 percent over 2024. The company attributed the gains in part to the ramp-up of the Mantoverde project, with the mine reaching record monthly production of 10,747 tonnes in December. Additionally, its Mantos Blancos operation delivered record production during the fourth quarter of 14,985 tonnes of copper sulphides.
4. Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR)
Market cap: AU$8.73 billion
Share price: AU$18.82
Sandfire Resources is a copper mining and development company with a global portfolio of assets.
Its DeGrussa copper-gold operations in Western Australia were depleted in 2022 and entered care and maintenance in 2023, with the company now working to rehabilitate the site. Sandfire's primary production now comes from its the MATSA copper, lead and zinc mine in the province of Huelva, Spain. The site boasts a processing capacity of 4.7 million tonnes per annum.
Sandfire also owns the Motheo operations in the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana. The asset consists of multiple open pits and is currently in the advanced stages of ramping up to production from its A4 open pit and mill.
The company holds an 87 percent interest in its subsidiary Sandfire Resources America (TSXV:SFR,OTCQB:SRAFF), which is advancing the Black Butte copper project in Montana, US. Work on the project stalled in 2021 after a district court revoked a Department of Environmental Quality mining permit for the site. Sandfire Resources America subsequently filed a claim against the department, and in February 2024 the Montana Supreme Court overturned the decision, reinstating the permits.
On December 16, Sandfire provided an update on the pre-feasibility study its subsidiary was carrying out for Black Butte's Johnny Lee deposit. The study confirmed the potential for a low risk underground operation with production in the 35,000 tonne per year range through the first four years of the mine life.
The study also provided a measured, indicated and inferred resource at Johnny Lee of 520,000 tonnes of contained copper grading 2.4 percent from 22.3 million tonnes of ore, with an additional resource of 210,000 tonnes grading 2.3 percent from 9.3 million tonnes of ore at the Lowry deposit.
In the company's December 2025 quarterly report released on January 22, it indicated that quarterly copper production declined a slight 2 percent quarter-over-quarter to 24,074 tonnes. The lower output is due to the need to accelerate maintenance plans at Motheo following the failure of an OEM-specification grate at its SAG mill, as well as a temporary reduction in the fleet used at its open pit mines.
5. Develop Global (ASX:DVP)
Market cap: AU$1.65 billion
Share price: AU$4.88
Develop Global is currently ramping up production at its Woodlawn copper-zinc mine in New South Wales, Australia. The company has restarted operations at the mine, which had closed in 1998.
It is also developing two other projects near Port Hedland in Western Australia. The first is its Sulphur Springs project, a near-term volcanogenic massive sulphide project that contains copper, zinc and silver across its Sulphur Springs and Kangaroo Caves deposits. Develop's final project is the past-producing Whim Creek copper-zinc project, which it owns through a 20/80 joint venture with Anax Metals (ASX:ANX). The site hosts refurbished heap infrastructure for mineral processing.
On the path to funding the restart of production at Woodlawn, in August 2024, Develop entered into a funding and offtake agreement with metals trader Trafigura. The agreement provides Develop with US$65 million through a prepayment facility to aid in the development of Woodlawn, and Trafigura will buy all of Woodlawn's production for approximately five years. Develop reported the first delivery of 969 tonnes of copper concentrate during the June 2025 quarter.
In the company's December quarterly report, released on January 28, Develop stated that Woodlawn continued to perform strongly and that the ramp-up was on schedule to achieve nameplate processing capacity of 850,000 tonnes during the March quarter. The mine's copper concentrate production reached 3,568 tonnes during the December quarter, an increase of 36 percent over the September quarter.
In addition to advancement at Woodlawn, Develop completed an updated definitive feasibility study for Sulphur Springs, demonstrating project economics with a pre-tax net present value of AU$921 million and an internal rate of return of 59 percent. The company stated its focus is on progressing offtake arrangements, project financing and pre-development activities ahead of a final investment decision.
FAQs for ASX copper stocks
How much is copper worth?
To understand copper prices, its important to know that they are tracked in two main ways: COMEX copper and London Metal Exchange (LME) copper. The COMEX and LME are both options and futures metal exchanges, with the former being headquartered in New York and the latter in London. COMEX copper is priced by the pound, while LME copper is priced per tonne.
Copper set a new record high price on January 29, 2026, as it reached US$6.61 per pound on the COMEX and US$13,842.50 per tonne on the LME.
What are the uses of copper?
Copper is used in many industries, from construction to electronics to medical equipment. In fact, in 2021, 32 percent of copper globally was used in equipment manufacturing and 28 percent in building construction.
Two other growing sectors for copper are the burgeoning electric vehicle and green energy industries. Electric vehicles require a significant amount of the red metal per vehicle.
How to invest in copper on the ASX?
Investors have access to a wide variety of Australian copper companies on the ASX, from copper miners to copper explorers. This means that investors can choose what kind of company matches their risk appetite and portfolio.
When looking for a copper company to invest in, be sure to do your due diligence and learn about the company, its team, its finances and the geology of its projects. Once you’ve selected a company or companies to invest in, you can buy copper stocks using trading apps with access to ASX stocks, as well as with the help of stock brokers.
Click here to learn which ASX-listed copper stocks have gained the most year-to-date.
Is there a copper ETF on the ASX?
In November 2022, the ASX welcomed its first copper ETF: the Global X Copper Miners ETF (ASX,ARCA:COPX). It is designed to track the performance of companies that have, or are expected to have, significant exposure to the copper industry.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2018.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
