
Photo by: Reuters
There is a long way to go and there is much uncertainty, but the $39-billion bid by BHP for Anglo American certainly underlines the growing importance of copper not only to the mining majors but also a world economy undergoing an energy transition. If successful, the deal, which would exclude Anglo’s South African iron-ore and platinum assets, would create the world's biggest miner of copper, seen being produced here at Anglo’s Quellaveco mine in Peru. Photograph: Reuters