BHP's full-year results confirmed a structural shift at the world's largest miner, with copper overtaking iron ore as its primary earnings driver for the first time. Elsewhere across the small-cap resources space, drilling news dominated: Talisman Metals readied rigs for Morocco, Shuka Minerals reported startling zinc grades in Zambia, and Great Western Mining's shares jumped as its Nevada tungsten programme got under way. Neo Energy Metals also advanced, clearing the first of three regulatory hurdles on a South African gold and uranium project.
BHP's copper engine now outweighs iron ore as profit climbs 9%
BHP (LSE:BHP), trading at 88.48p and up 0.12% on the day, reported attributable profit of $9.8bn for the year to June, a 9% increase on the prior year, as the miner delivered what it described as an industry-leading cost position across most of its portfolio. Underlying EBITDA rose 27% to roughly $33bn, powered by record iron ore output at Western Australia Iron Ore and copper production of approximately 2m tonnes for a second consecutive year. Copper alone generated more than $18bn of underlying EBITDA, 54% of the group total, marking the first time the metal has outweighed iron ore as BHP's dominant earnings source.
Net debt fell to $8.7bn from $12.9bn a year earlier, comfortably below the company's $10bn to $20bn target range, aided by $4.3bn in silver streaming proceeds and a $2bn infrastructure payment tied to WAIO's power needs. The board declared a final dividend of 99 US cents per share, a 72% payout ratio and the largest since FY2022, lifting total shareholder returns since 2016 past $115bn. BHP also approved $0.5bn in pre-commitment funding for a new concentrator at Escondida ahead of a final investment decision expected in 2027-28, while a Stage 1 decision on the Vicuña joint venture with Lundin Mining could land as early as the end of this year. A contracting colleague was fatally injured at BMA's Peak Downs mine in July, with investigations ongoing.
"Copper is the engine that is driving BHP's growth," said Brandon Craig, chief executive of BHP.
The results crystallise a repositioning years in the making: BHP is no longer principally an iron ore company with a copper sideline, but a copper producer whose expansion is now self-funding, with the division's $6.9bn of free cash flow bankrolling further growth at Escondida and Vicuña without straining the balance sheet. With net debt undershooting its own target range and the dividend restored to its highest level since 2022, BHP has rebuilt the financial headroom to pursue both organic expansion and further M&A, reinforcing its position as the reference point for the broader copper-exposed mining sector as electrification demand accelerates.
Talisman Metals mobilises drilling rig at Tirzzit copper project
Talisman Metals (AIM:TLM), up 4.35% to 6.0p, has mobilised contractor Geosond Maroc SARL to begin a roughly 3,000-metre reverse circulation drilling programme at its Tirzzit copper project in Morocco. Drilling is expected to start in the first week of September and run for roughly six weeks.
The bulk of the programme is designed to establish mineralisation data points along the full strike of the basal series, a target zone the company has flagged in updates dated 29 May, 23 July and 7 August. A portion of the drilling will also test aggressive step-outs beyond the areas already characterised, pushing the projected strike horizon further than current data extends.
Laboratory assays are expected to begin arriving towards the end of the campaign, with further results staggered over subsequent weeks. The next catalyst for investors is completion of drilling in mid-October, after which the assay flow will determine whether Tirzzit's basal series extends at scale along strike.
Shuka Minerals hits 68% zinc grade at new Kabwe orebody
Shuka Minerals (SKA), trading at 2.975p and up 0.85%, has completed the tenth drill hole at its Kabwe Project in Zambia, targeting a previously unidentified orebody south of the mine's known Speaks and Mine Club zones. Hole KBDD10 intersected 61.5 metres of mineralisation from surface, grading 3.96% zinc, with a peak reading of 68% zinc, 4% lead and 0.34% copper.
That peak grade dwarfs the existing Behre Dolbear 2023 resource estimate for the neighbouring Speaks orebody, which sits at 12% zinc across 1.944m tonnes of indicated and inferred material. The hole also included a high-grade basal zone of 2.20 metres at 16.90% zinc and an intermediate section averaging 6.69% zinc over roughly ten metres, with lead grades locally reaching 5.25%. Geologists interpret the mineralisation as linked to a major shear or fault zone, distinct in character from the No. 2 Orebody.
"68% zinc in situ ore is unlikely to require much metallurgical upgrade for sale, may also enable an early-stage exploitation," said Richard Lloyd, chief executive of Shuka Minerals. Grades of that magnitude, if extended by further drilling, would materially reshape the economics of a project already benefiting from historically defined resources next door.
Great Western Mining shares surge after start of Defender drilling
Great Western Mining Corporation (AIM:GWMO) jumped 14.7% to 3.9p after drilling started at its Defender Tungsten Project in Mineral County, Nevada. The programme, which began on 17 August, will comprise up to 22 drill holes covering a minimum 7,000 feet, or 2,135 metres, designed to test grade continuity across a 600 to 1,000 metre corridor spanning the Pine Crow, Dough God and Defender tungsten mines.
Drill assay results are expected through September and October, with flotation test work on a 750 kg metallurgical bulk sample due in August. The fully funded programme underpins the company's plan to deliver a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate by the end of 2026. CEO Ed Loye and Lewis Harvey of Addison Mining Services, the independent Competent Person appointed on 4 August, are both on site for the start of the programme.
"It is great to see drilling now underway at Defender following a significant amount of preparatory work, will help ensure an efficient transition from drilling through to resource estimation," said Harvey, chief executive of Addison Mining Services. With rig turning and a bulk sample already in hand for metallurgical work, Great Western has moved from preparation into a data-generating phase that will determine whether Defender's historic tungsten workings can support a maiden resource.
Neo Energy Metals clears first hurdle on New Beisa transfer
Neo Energy Metals (NEO), up 5.14% to 0.9p, secured consent from South Africa's mineral resources minister for Sibanye-Stillwater to transfer the mining right underpinning the New Beisa gold and uranium project. It is the first of three approvals required before the asset passes to Neo Energy.
The consent removes one of the key regulatory uncertainties hanging over the transaction, though two further approvals remain outstanding before Neo Energy can take formal control of the project. Progress on the transfer keeps the company on track to add a producing-adjacent gold and uranium asset to its portfolio.
