The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is under the spotlight after the ASX mining share reported its FY27 first quarter production numbers.
BHP is the world’s largest miner, producing copper, iron ore and coal. It is also working on a potash (greener fertiliser) project in Canada called Jansen.
FY27 first-quarter production
Sadly, BHP noted the deaths of two colleagues at Escondida (copper) and Peak Downs (coal).
BHP reported that its total copper production came to 400.7kt for the three months to September 2026, which represented a decline of 19% both quarter on quarter and year on year.
It explained that copper production decreased because of lower planned concentrator feed grades, scheduled maintenance, temporary disruptions from severe weather in Chile, stops for safety and the conveyor failure at Carrapateena. It was a difficult quarter for the copper division, though copper prices were around 50% higher than a year ago.
Performance was stronger at the iron ore division.
Total iron ore production came to 66.5mt for the quarter, up 4% year on year but down 2% quarter on quarter. This came during a period of significant planned maintenance.
BHP said that Western Australia Iron Ore set records both at the mine and port.
Steelmaking coal (BMA) production was 4.9mt, down 13% quarter on quarter but up 1% year on year. Energy coal (NSWEC) production was 4.4mt, up 6% quarter on quarter and up 26% year on year. BHP said that production at BMA was strong, reflecting improved operating performance, and NSWEC’s production increased due to higher bypass coal.
Growth efforts
While BHP is already producing vast quantities of commodities already, it’s progressing its organic growth options.
It aims to grow Copper SA’s copper production to around 500kt per year by 2035 and up to 650kt per year by 2040. It also announced an increase to Olympic Dam’s mineral resource base. It renamed the Oak Dam exploration project to Ankata to recognise the cultural significance of the area to the Kokatha people.
BHP also highlighted that at Escondida, US$0.8 billion of pre-commitment funding was approved to enable “execution readiness” for the new concentrator.
The ASX mining share also said that it’s on track to deliver first potash production at Jansen in mid-2027.
Final thoughts on the BHP share price
Despite the headwinds happening in the world, BHP continues to see resilient demand with continued industrialisation and urbanisation in China and India, as well as huge investment in data centres in infrastructure. This supports the long-term outlook for copper, according to BHP.
I think the copper exposure is very compelling with the growth outlook, which also includes electric vehicles, renewable energy, batteries, electricity grids, devices and so on.
With the BHP share price up 40% in the past year, it’s not cheap. I prefer to invest when there are lower commodity and share prices. However, copper demand may not fall as easily as iron ore demand has in the last several years, so it’s hard to say when the best time to invest is.
