BHP Copper South Australia asset president Anna Wiley, International Copper Association CEO Juan Ignacio Diaz and senior CRU analyst Piers Montgomery head a strong line-up of speakers at the Austmine Copper to the World 2026 conference in Adelaide, South Australia, from September 2-3.
The major event, started in 2015, is being held at a time of surging global copper prices and Australian copper exports.
Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data has the country’s copper exports climbing from A$13 billion in 2024–25 to $18.3 billion in 2030–31. The value of refined copper plus copper ores and concentrates produced in South Australia in the 12 months to April 2026 hit a record $5.2 billion.
More than $200 million a year is now being spent on exploration for copper in the state.
Global mining major BHP is leading the charge with a plan to expand copper output from its SA mining and refining base from circa-316,000 tonnes per annum to about 500,000tpa by the mid-2030s. This could grow to one million tonnes per annum over the next 15-20 years.
Austmine presents Copper to the World in partnership with the Government of South Australia.
Last year’s event drew more than 550 mining leaders to the Adelaide Convention Centre.
“Copper to the World brings together miners, innovators, technologists, engineers and investors from Australia, Latin America and across the globe to share what is working, advance the solutions the industry needs and build the partnerships that will determine who leads in the decade ahead,” Austmine CEO Tony Davis says.
Australia’s only dedicated copper conference will feature perspectives from copper-producing nations across Latin America, including Chile and Peru, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange, collaboration and business connections between Australian and international industry leaders.
Using the theme Powering the Future, the conference will examine the role copper plays in enabling the global energy transition and the technological transformation of modern society. From electric vehicles and renewable energy systems to transmission networks, data centres and advanced manufacturing, copper remains one of the world’s most strategically important resources.
BHP’s Wiley will deliver the opening keynote, offering insights on the future of copper and the bold thinking required to unlock the next generation of supply.
For more information go to https://coppertotheworld.austmine.com.au/
