Commodities giant BHP has made what CEO Mike Henry described as “a strong start to the year”, with solid operational performance and record output from key assets underpinning a constructive outlook for the world’s biggest miner by market value.

In its September quarter operational review, released on Tuesday, BHP reported a 4% rise in group copper production to 494 000 t, driven by record concentrator throughput at its flagship Escondida mine in Chile. Iron-ore output from Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) dipped 1% to 64-million tonnes after planned maintenance, but the division achieved record material mined and completed a major infrastructure rebuild ahead of schedule.

“We have made a strong start to the year, highlighted by disciplined operating performance and execution of scheduled maintenance,” Henry said. “Group copper production rose 4%, with record concentrator throughput at Escondida. In iron-ore, WAIO delivered another standout quarter, achieving record material mined while completing critical infrastructure upgrades ahead of schedule.”

The company’s copper assets, spanning Chile, Australia and Peru, continue to benefit from firm prices and tightening global supply. Henry said “major disruptions at some of our competitors’ mines have tightened overall market fundamentals, benefiting our world-class portfolio of assets".

BHP maintained full-year copper production guidance of between 1.8-million and 2-million tonnes. Average realised prices for the quarter were $4.59/lb, up 8% year-on-year, supported by resilient demand and constrained supply.

At Escondida, copper production rose 8% to 329 000 t on record throughput, despite slightly lower grades. The company secured environmental approval for the Laguna Seca expansion, an important milestone in its Escondida growth programme. Meanwhile, at Copper South Australia, production was steady as Olympic Dam and Prominent Hill offset lower ore grades with improved productivity and smelter throughput.

Henry said BHP was “progressing key growth and decarbonisation milestones in the quarter, including securing environmental approval for the Laguna Seca expansion at Escondida and Copper South Australia entering into its largest renewable electricity agreement.”

BHP’s iron-ore division delivered another robust quarter despite a 9% sequential fall in output owing to maintenance at Port Hedland. The company’s rebuild of Car Dumper 3 was completed 8% ahead of schedule, highlighting what Henry called “disciplined execution and project delivery excellence".

Average realised prices for iron-ore rose 5% to $84.04 per wet metric tonne, reflecting strong seaborne demand and Chinese steel production that continues to hold up despite macroeconomic headwinds. BHP said it still expects Chinese GDP growth of about 5% in 2025.

Steelmaking coal output rose 8% to 4.9-million tonnes, supported by higher underground production at Broadmeadow and improved stripping at opencut mines. However, the company warned that the Queensland government’s royalty regime continues to weigh on investment decisions, with Saraji South to be placed into care and maintenance from November.

In Canada, the Jansen potash project remains a key pillar of BHP’s growth pipeline. Stage 1 is now 73% complete and on track to begin production in 2027, while Stage 2 has reached 13% completion. Henry reaffirmed confidence in the long-term market: “The long-term demand fundamentals for potash are attractive and Jansen is expected to be one of the lowest cost producers.”

Henry said the overall macroeconomic environment remained “constructive", with global growth forecasts improving and commodity demand resilient. “While we expect some deceleration in growth in H2 CY25, in China we still expect GDP growth of about 5% for the year,” he noted.

“With momentum from a strong first quarter, BHP is on track to deliver on full-year guidance and we are making progress on our growth pipeline across Australia and the Americas,” Henry said.