Speech delivered by Rashpal Bhatti, BHP Group Procurement Officer at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney. 

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It is a privilege to be here in Sydney – our harbour city that connects Australia to the world – and at IMARC, a fitting stage for conversations about the future of our industry.

Before I begin, I’d like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to Elders past and present.

I also recognise the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on whose lands BHP operates every day, and the deep connection they hold to country, culture, and community.

The arc of progress

Around 7,000 years ago, humans first learned to smelt copper.

It lit the spark of the Copper Age – a breakthrough that reshaped civilisation.

Iron, steel, and coal then powered the industrial revolutions that followed…every era of progress has been defined by the resources that fuelled it.

At the turn of the 20th century, the electrification of industrial economies created huge, unprecedented demand for copper wire….

Telegraphs, telephone networks, and undersea cables followed, connecting the world in ways previously unimaginable.  

Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves on the cusp of another profound transformation – the global energy transition to renewables and other less emissions intensive sources of energy.  

This new era is once again creating surging demand for copper. 

…the indispensable metal of electrification. The very backbone of a more sustainable future. 

And I’m going to spend a few minutes now, talking about how exciting that is and why copper is the commodity of our time. 

Let me start with a simple but powerful number: copper demand is expected to grow from 30 million tonnes today to 50 million tonnes by 2050. That’s a 1.7 times increase.

This growth will come from both traditional uses…like refrigerators, electrical wiring, and infrastructure…and new sources of demand driven by the energy transition. 

Think electric vehicles, wind and solar farms, and the booming need for data centres, which require significant cooling and electrification.

Now, if I can draw your attention to the left-hand side of this graph: it shows the electrification of the world. In our base case, we expect global electricity demand to double by 2050. 

What you're seeing here is megawatt-hours per capita. Countries like India, China, and others across Asia are moving rapidly up and to the right, by urbanisation, rising wealth, and industrialisation. And all that electricity must come from somewhere.

Yes, some of it will come from conventional sources, but increasingly, it will come from renewables.

Now, let’s shift to the right-hand side of the chart – this is the key takeaway I want to leave you with today. It shows how copper demand is evolving.

Copper is the most abundant and effective metal for conducting electricity, and that’s well understood.

What’s less well understood – and what I want to emphasise – is the rising intensity of copper use in non-conventional applications…like the ones I mentioned before. 

This is where the shift happens. From 2024 to 2050, we see nearly a 30% change in copper demand driven by the energy transition. 

The yellow and light blue segments of the chart represent this shift, where copper demand is increasingly dominated by renewables and electrification technologies.

So, when we talk about the jump from 30 to 50 million tonnes, it’s not just about more demand, it’s about more intense demand. Every megawatt-hour flowing through the grid will require more copper than ever before.

Today, we stand at the dawn of another great shift. 

The world’s demand for critical minerals, secure supply chains, and low-emissions technology will define the next chapter.

And how we source, partner, and procure will determine whether we succeed. We must use this as our springboard to headline the procurement sector. 

I’ve been fortunate to spend the past 23 years with BHP, working across a diverse range of roles, assets, and geographies – from remote mining sites to global corporate hubs. 

Today, I lead our global procurement business from Adelaide, South Australia, where we manage an annual, global spend of over $25 billion. That scale gives us a unique opportunity, not just to drive commercial value, but to shape how we engage with suppliers, innovate across our supply chain, and contribute to sustainable outcomes.

It’s from this vantage point that I want to share some reflections on what it means to lead with purpose in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Reimagining how we buy: Unlocking value through strategic partnerships and commercial discipline

The global resources sector stands at a crossroads…

of volatility…input costs are high, and market swings are intense. We need commercial agility more than ever.

…of complexity…supply chains are being redrawn by geopolitics, rising stakeholder scrutiny, and local content mandates.

…and of opportunity…the energy transition creates unprecedented, structural demand for our products, justifying bold, strategic investments.

Technology is transforming the way we operate.

And customers are demanding more. More transparency, more sustainability, more certainty.

In this context, procurement has fundamentally evolved. It is no longer about securing inputs at the lowest transactional cost. That old model sacrifices long-term resilience and innovation.

It’s now about unlocking impact and value. Value for our business, value for our partners, and value for the broader economy and environment.

At BHP, we are reimagining how we buy. We see every dollar we spend as a lever for performance and progress. This is how we proactively create the conditions for long-term competitiveness, deep-seated decarbonisation, and true operational innovation.

We are moving past the old binary choice between 'commercial results' and 'sustainability outcomes'. Today, every large-scale solution must deliver dual-purpose value. It must help us, and our customers achieve aggressive sustainability goals while delivering core business outcomes: cost reduction, productivity, resilience, and safety.

That, friends, is commercial discipline at its best: delivering superior economic performance and accelerating environmental and social progress simultaneously. It requires a mindset shift from transactional purchasing to value co-creation.

Partnering for performance: Building the supply chain of the future

The supply chain of the future is strategic, collaborative ecosystem, built on mutual (1) value creation, (2) shared problem solving and trust.

Our focus is on (3) ecosystem partnerships that deliver performance and transformation. That means moving beyond transactional procurement to co-designing solutions with our partners.

Take our collaboration with Toyota. We aren't simply buying vehicles from them. We are partnering to trial next-generation electric light vehicles, Hilux EVs, across our operations, from the Pilbara to Copper South Australia. This is dual-purpose value in action:

1. Emissions: It lowers our operational Scope 1 and 2 footprint.
2. Safety: It puts our people out of harm’s way with new, safer vehicle technology.
3. Futureproofing: It helps develop the critical charging and maintenance infrastructure required for our wider fleet electrification, embedding capability right across our remote sites.

Or consider our recent power agreements, such as the 100-megawatt commitment for the Goyder and Blyth Wind and Battery projects. These projects are hard, commercial investments in resilience.

They de-risk our long-term power costs and secure operational continuity for the South Australian copper province. We have already seen this work in Chile, where we are rapidly moving towards 100% commercially renewable power for our massive nine terawatts per hour requirement.

The point is this: (4) resilience is not built on redundancy. It is built on relationships. When market shocks hit, it’s the trust you’ve established with key suppliers that allows you to flex, adapt, and succeed together. This is the competitive advantage of deep ecosystem partnership.

Inclusive supply chains: Indigenous partnerships as a sustainability engine

Progress is strongest when it is inclusive.

For BHP, that principle underpins how we engage with Traditional Owners and Indigenous businesses across Australia.

When we source from Indigenous suppliers, we don’t just strengthen our supply chain, we help build skills, jobs, and long-term economic capability in regional economies.

At Olympic Dam and across our operations Indigenous partnerships are delivering tangible outcomes. From logistics and maintenance services to cultural heritage and environmental management.

Inclusion is not peripheral to performance. It is central to it. and a key part of our ecosystem approach.

Look at our operations in the Copper South Australia province. Our Indigenous partners are integrated into essential functions:

• They provide critical logistics and maintenance services, bringing superior local knowledge.
• They are leaders in cultural heritage and environmental management, providing essential services that ensure our operations are respected and sustainable.

By sourcing from these local, capable partners, we ensure that our success is shared with the communities that make it possible. It builds trust, and in the current climate, that deep social governance is a non-negotiable commercial strategy.

Catalogue engineering: A strategic lens for partnership

We’re also evolving how we understand the market.

Catalogue engineering is not just a procurement tool; it’s a vantage point. It helps us consolidate spend, map capability, and shape smarter sourcing strategies.

With firms like Fluor and Worley, we’re not just contracting, we’re co-designing.

These partners bring global reach and technical depth, but we must ask more of them. We must shift from reactive delivery to proactive integration. That means inviting them into our strategy, not just our scopes.

We don’t know everything. And that’s okay.

Our partners help us solve problems we haven’t solved before, whether it’s electrifying fleets, building charging infrastructure, or navigating complex energy transitions.

This is the ecosystem we’re building: one of mutual value, shared risk, and deep trust.

Emerging markets: Unlocking global capability and cost efficiency

Our industry has always been global…and our procurement strategy must reflect that reality.

The next breakthrough in mining technology could come from anywhere: a research hub in Chile, a manufacturer in Southeast Asia, or a start-up here in Australia.

At BHP, we are broadening our global supplier base to access capability, drive competition, and strengthen cost efficiency.

I can tell you today that we are deliberately and strategically broadening our global supplier base to achieve two critical outcomes:

1. Accessing Differentiated Capability: Finding best-in-class technology, particularly in automation and electrification. We all know that battery innovation is at its peak in China today. Nobody competes with Chinese battery technology, and it is incumbent upon us to bring that best technology to the Pilbara, to Chile, and right here to South Australia.
2. Driving Competition and Strengthening Cost Efficiency: A diverse global base naturally introduces competition, ensuring we maintain that vital commercial discipline on price and terms.

This ensures we are ready for whatever the next disruption brings…from shifting geopolitics to supply chain shocks.

By working with the world’s leading technology and electrification partners, we bring global capability to our regions, transforming innovation into local advantage.

And we don’t pretend to have all the answers. That’s why we ask for help. We invite our partners to co-create, to challenge us, and to solve problems we haven’t solved before.

That is how we stay competitive, agile, and resilient in a changing world.

Every contract we sign, every supplier we engage, creates ripple effects far beyond our operations.

Procurement as the engine of the next era

Friends, the world is asking our industry to deliver more than resources. It is asking us to deliver certainty in uncertain times.

To provide the copper, the potash, and the steelmaking materials, including iron ore and high-quality coal for the second electrification revolution …and to do it responsibly, reliably, and competitively.

At BHP, strategic procurement is how we answer that call.

It is where aspiration becomes delivery.

Where ambition becomes execution.

Where a vision for the future becomes action today.

If you thought the electrification revolution was only in the early 1900s, you’re mistaken. 

We are amid the second electrification revolution here and now, and we, all of us in this room, find ourselves in a very privileged place to be right in the middle of it.

Procurement is not just how we buy.

It is how we build the future.

Thank you.