BHP is betting big on a renewable energy future, and it has Anglo American's copper mines in its sightsThere's a barely concealed hint of danger in the Arizona desert that newcomers ignore at their peril.
The 1996 purchase was a disaster. Within three years it would cost the company its entire outlay and, along with several other poorly timed decisions that resulted in heavy write-downs, the jobs of chairman Jerry Ellis and then chief executive John Prescott. Now, the mining giant is embarking on a new era. To achieve its ends, it has launched an audacious $60 billion takeover of Anglo American, the London-based miner with operations spanning the globe.
Copper, the third most widely used metal after iron and aluminium, has been a staple for humanity for thousands of years. Long referred to as Doctor Copper – because it is a barometer of economic health – it could well be the metal most in demand during the next few decades. The world's biggest miner no longer sees a future for fossil fuels and instead is banking on renewables, battery-powered vehicles and electrification.As a corporation, BHP has made some mighty big punts. Most of them have been transformational. A few, like the Magma Copper deal in Arizona, were disastrous.