Miningweb: BHP taps Brandon Craig as CEO, eyes copper-driven growth

Key topics:Brandon Craig named BHP’s new CEO, signalling continuity and restraint.Copper now drives over half of BHP’s profit amid growth focus.Craig faces China relations, iron ore slowdown, and Middle East risks..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Paul-Alain Hunt and Martin Ritchie.BHP Group has appointed Brandon Craig as its new chief executive, as the world’s biggest miner grapples with the ripple effects of a war in the Middle East, a cooling Chinese economy and the wider industry’s shift toward growth, particularly in copper.Craig takes over from Canadian-born Mike Henry, who has led BHP for more than six years.An engineer who trained in his native South Africa, BHP’s CEO-elect has spent more than a quarter-century at the miner, making him the latest company veteran to take the helm of its sprawling operations — a move read by analysts and investors as a sign of continuity andrestraint. Others in the running for the top job, including Australia boss Geraldine Slattery, were also long-standing employees. BHP has yet to announce other changes to its leadership team, including Craig’s successor..Read more:.Miningweb: BHP rejected so has finally dropped Anglo acquisition idea.Craig, 53, ran the company’s giant iron ore division through the years of pandemic disruption, acquiring a reputation for operational nous, before taking the helm of its Americas operations in 2024. That region is central to the miner’s future, as it seeks to boost its presence in copper and bring on the giant Jansen potash project.“He’s a young CEO, but he’s a 25-year-plus veteran at the company and he knows the business very well,” said Glyn Lawcock, head of metals and mining research at Barrenjoey Markets Pty in Sydney. “Henry is one of the first CEOs in decades to have left behind a business with options. Craig now has optionality that he can champion. He’s got an empire to lead.”.The world’s largest miners have been embarking on a period of muscular expansion, including with large deals, after years of taking a more conservative approach to growth following the splurges of the last cycle. Under Henry, BHP pursued smaller rival Anglo American Plc, but without success — his approaches were rejected and that miner ultimately tied up with Teck Resources Ltd.Instead, BHP has doubled down on its existing growth options, including potash, a key fertilizer ingredient, and copper, vital for the energy transition and the AI-driven tech boom. The red metal accounted for more than half of BHP’s profit for the first time in the six months through December. “I won’t sit here and fully discount M&A,” Craig told reporters after his appointment was announced. But any acquisition or combination “would have to be incredibly compelling for it to actually stack up against the balance of options we have in the business,” he said.Iron ore, long the company’s mainstay and a hugely profitable business, will be a headache for Craig, however. While it still underpins the group’s earnings, China’s economy has been cooling, and BHP’s relationship with the country’s state-backed buyer has been turbulent over recent months, as the world’s largest consumer asserts its market clout. “I think everybody understands the importance of those negotiations and the value that is connected to them,” Craig said, adding the group would seek to strengthen its relationships. “During these next few weeks, we will definitely be getting across to China to engage.”He will also have to grapple with rising mining costs, as a war in the Middle East upends the energy trade, and must decide on the future of the company’s coal mines.“While there may be more dynamic, experienced and aggressive candidates, it’s often best to give a top performing internal candidate the opportunity,” said Jamie Hannah, Sydney-based deputy head of investments and capital markets at Van Eck Associates Corp., which holds shares in the company..Read more:.Miningweb: Copper surges to all-time high amid mine disruptions and trade optimism.BHP chose Craig over a list of other internal candidates, including Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant and Slattery, the head of the Australia business, who was widely seen as a contender for both the top job at BHP and the top job at Woodside Energy Group Ltd. The energy group announced Liz Westcott as its new chief executive on Wednesday. During his tenure, Henry cut costs, streamlined the portfolio and reshaped BHP by scaling back coal and exiting oil and gas through a sale to Woodside. He also put the company back on the path to dealmaking, with the acquisition of OZ Minerals Ltd. — for its South Australian copper mines — and later a joint venture with Lundin Mining.Craig will take the role from July 1, after a period of transition.BHP’s Australian shares rose as much as 1.2% on the news, broadly in line with the wider market..© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Miningweb: BHP taps Brandon Craig as CEO, eyes copper-driven growth

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