South Australia’s copper boom continues as India leads demand - Mining Magazine
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) export figures showed that the demand for copper from South Australia continues to grow, and India is driving the numbers.
The largest trading markets for South Australian (SA) copper sit at $1.32 billion for the South Asian country, contributing to the copper export surge pushing past the $5 billion mark, with refined copper and copper products delivering more than half a billion dollars in new value in the year to April 2026.
The bureau’s figures showed that SA’s total copper export hit a record $5.2 billion in the 12 months to April 2026, including $3.5 billion from copper and copper products, and $1.85 billion from copper ores and concentrates.
Following India is Malaysia, with trading market figures sitting at $1.3 billion; it’s trailed by China at $1.17 billion, Thailand at $459.9 million, and Taiwan at $380.1 million.
The SA Government said Southeast Asia has been a key growth market, with more than 40 per cent (valued at $2.27 billion) of all copper exports going to the emerging economic powerhouse.
A report from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said that, leading to 2035, with India’s increasing urbanisation, rising household incomes, and industrial activity, there will be a drive on demand for greater volumes of key Australian resource commodities.
“Our mineral resources relationship will continue to be dominated by exports, rather than outbound Australian investment,” DFAT said.
“India is one of the most important future markets for Australian METS companies.”
It also said India’s projected growth will keep resources trade high in Australia’s bilateral economic relationship, and that the demand for Australian resources will be strongest where domestic Indian reserves are limited, such as copper, metallurgical coal, and gold.
The increased rollout of electrical transmission networks and the manufacturing sector is playing a large role in India’s intake of copper from Australia.
With the nation possessing limited copper ore reserves and importing around 95 per cent of its copper requirements as concentrates, DFAT said that with support from its growing refining capacity, India’s import reliance on copper will likely remain above 90 per cent as the demand continues to grow at a steady pace.
“Future demand growth is expected to be in the range of five to six per cent per annum,” DFAT said.
“Growing demand presents an opportunity for Australia to increase its 11 per cent market share, if it can maintain landed cost parity with competitors.”
Last month, the SA government said its copper potential is continuing to expand following a “landmark” agreement to modernise the 40-year-old bilateral framework guiding development at Olympic Dam and Gawler Craton with BHP.
The state’s premier Peter Malinauskas said that SA is home to two-thirds of Australia’s proven copper deposits, and that the partnerships represented a “generational opportunity” to maximise the benefit of the critical mineral for the state.
“The time to seize this opportunity is now; since its acquisition of the Olympic Dam project more than 20 years ago, BHP has repeatedly voiced an ambition to unlock the true value of this remarkable world-class province.”
According to the SA government, the agreement is expected to support growth across the state’s copper sector and reinforce its long-term development, with the modernised indenture to provide a “clearer and more contemporary” framework to support future activities in BHP’s copper SA province.
At the same time, this milestone came as Olympic Dam itself delivered record royalty payments of $25.6 million in April, the largest ever received by the Department of Energy and Mining. To add, Olympic Dam is expected to deliver total royalties in excess of $215 million this financial year.
This article was first published in Mining magazine and is reproduced with permission.