Copper demand for new power grids and technology will complicate big emitter BHP's carbon footprint from iron ore and coal, according to its latest climate disclosure.
The Climate Transition Action Plan released by the company on Tuesday assumes the world will want more copper for electrification, more raw materials for steel to build cities and renewable energy infrastructure, and more potash for food security.
Operational greenhouse gas emissions rose one per cent in the 2024 financial year as production increased for the mining giant, but BHP said longer-term emissions reduction remains on track.
Artificial intelligence and data centres were also tipped to hot-wire demand for copper, while traditional demand from home building, electrical equipment and household appliances remains solid.
BHP allocated $US4 billion ($A5.9 billion) in the plan for decarbonisation through to 2030, mostly for reducing diesel use by heavy equipment.
Caterpillar and Komatsu are collaborating with BHP to develop electric haul trucks and the first Liebherr electric excavator has been plugged in at the Yandi iron ore mine in the Pilbara.
The Big Australian is also working with steel mills representing 20 per cent of the world's steel production, to reduce their emissions intensity.
"I don't think it's fair that it gets called window-dressing or nice words," chief executive Mike Henry said.
BHP had also made a "very strong and deliberate move" on renewable power, including working with governments to develop new energy sources that would benefit the broader economy, he said.
West Australian iron ore remains the main game but a price drop of almost a third has paused plans to expand to 330 million tonnes per year.
Mr Henry said the "option" to expand WA iron ore production after 2025 would depend on market conditions, and whether other projects were a better use of capital.
"For those who want to invest in copper today, BHP is very well placed," he said, with quality deposits getting harder to find.
Underlying profit rose two per cent to $US13.7 billion ($A20.2 billion) in the year to June 30, on record volumes of iron ore and a nine per cent rise in copper production.
But write-offs for mothballed Australian nickel assets and a charge for the Samarco dam disaster in Brazil meant net profit plunged 39 per cent to $US7.9 billion ($A11.7 billion).
Copper production in South Australia was up 39 per cent at 322 kilotonnes as Prominent Hill and Carrapateena, once owned by OZ Minerals, were successfully integrated.
Already a player in South America, BHP in July announced a joint venture with Canada's Lundin Mining for the Filo del Sol and Josemaria copper projects located in the Vicuña district of Argentina and Chile.
Adding to its world-leading reserves of copper, BHP also revealed a first-time mineral resource data of 1.34 billion tonnes for Oak Dam, located 65km southeast of its longstanding Olympic Dam site in SA.
With Olympic Dam, there are plans for up to 650 kilotonnes per annum of copper production by the mid-2030s, not including Oak Dam.
But battery mineral lithium was not an attractive commodity for BHP because of the amount of value associated with processing it, Mr Henry said.
"We're focused on copper and potash," he said.
In recent years, BHP has ditched its most carbon-intensive assets by selling the petroleum business to Woodside Energy and offloading Queensland coal mines Daunia and Blackwater.
Shares in BHP rose 1.8 per cent to $41.59 in afternoon trade despite a cut in the dividend to 74 US cents, to set aside capital for acquisitions.
"While shareholders may be disappointed by the dividend cut for the third consecutive year, especially with rival Rio Tinto leaving its dividend unchanged, it could prove to be a smart decision," eToro analyst Josh Gilbert said.
