The 5 Best ASX Copper Stocks to Buy in 2025

Copper stocks have had a good run this year on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), which is home to more than 800 companies in the materials sector, which also includes metals and mining.

Copper is an essential mineral that is present in our everyday lives, in electrical equipment, as it conducts heat and electricity well, and can easily be drawn into wires. It’s also used in plumbing, roofing, industrial machinery and medical equipment.

The adoption of artificial intelligence(AI) is also boosting the need for copper as data centres use copper for power connections and backups.

Buying the best copper stocks on the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) is a way to invest in companies that mine, process and explore for copper. Some of these stocks even offer a dividend, adding to their appeal. The best ASX copper stocks range from large global firms to smaller exploration-level companies.

Year-to-date performance of the top Australian copper stocks

Ticker on ASX	Company	Performance YTD
A1M	AIC Mines Ltd.	+36.36%
CSC	Capstone Copper Corp.,	+13.52%
HAV	Havilah Resources	+13.16%
NEM	Newmont Corp.	+7.58
BHP	BHP Group	-14.58%

An in-depth look at these top ASX copper stocks

Investing in copper mining stocks can be quite lucrative, but most mining stocks are also very volatile and somewhat speculative. You can help mitigate the built-in risk of investing in copper mining stocks by looking into each company’s financial strength and growth profile.

These five best Australian rare earth stocks seem to have the most promise of long-term price appreciation. Here’s a detailed analysis of these shares.

1. AIC Mines Ltd: Average 10-year annualised return of -21.67

The AIC’s shares are up significantly this year because of its prospects. Our top pick among Australian copper companies has recently got approval from the Queensland government on the mining lease, allowing surface and mine work, for its Jericho Copper Mine, which will be reached by an underground connection from its Eloise mine.

The company had already planned to expand its Eloise processing plant, so the new Jericho mine and improved processing facilities will allow the company to increase annual production to more than 20,000 tonnes of copper, and 10,000 ounces of gold in concentrate.

In addition, the company said it has found strong copper mineralization at its Swagman prospect.

AIC’s earnings are improving as well. For the half year ended in December, it posted sales of AUD 91 million, up from AUD 57.52 million a year ago, and net income of AUD 2.23 million compared with a loss of AUD5.2 million in the same period a year earlier. As of March 31, it had $27.5 million in cash and no debt, leaving it in a strong position to develop its Jericho mine and Swagman discovery. 

It said it’s on track for its 2024 production goals at the Eloise site of 12,500 tonnes of copper and 5,000 ounces of gold in concentrate, at an all-in sustaining cost of $5 a pound for the copper, giving AIC a decent margin with the current price of copper at $6.81 per pound.

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2. Capstone Copper Corp: Average two-year annualised return of +13.48%

Capstone Copper was formed in 2022 through the merger of Capstone Mining and Mantos Copper. It focuses almost exclusively on copper mining and thanks to the uptick in the price of copper, increased production and more efficient production, the company’s margins should continue to improve.

It owns the Cozamin mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, the Pinto Valley mine in Arizona, has 70% control of the Mantoverde mine in the Atacama region of Chile and the Santo Domingo project near Mantoverde.

A key driver for Capstone will be the advancement of its Mantoverde Development Project as it recently reported the mine just produced its first saleable copper concentrate there. The project is expected to have 236 million tonnes of copper sulphide reserves and have a 20-year expected mine life.

Capstone’s first-quarter results showed it’s getting closer to turning a profit. It reported $339.9 million in revenue, up 1.2% from a year earlier, while its net loss narrowed to to $5.8 million from $29 million loss in the same period a year ago . 

One concern for Capstone is it has significant debt thanks to its recent development projects, with a net debt to EBITDA being around 2.8. However, its EBITDA is expected to increase significantly driven by those products and better margins.

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3. Havilah Resources: Average 10-year annualised return of +4.62%

Havilah is in the process of broadening from a mine exploration company to a mine operator. It’s profitable and has whetted investors’ appetites because of the promise of its Mutooroo and Kalkaroo projects, both of which show they have high-grade copper and gold deposits.

The company benefits from the close proximity of the transcontinental railway and Barrier Highway to keep costs low for its transportation of its minerals, as well as the potential for renewable energy possibilities from solar and wind farms at nearby Broken Hill.

In the first half of the fiscal year year, it had a net profit after tax (NPAT) of AUD 1.31 million, down from a NPAT of AUD 1.37 million in the same period a year ago. 

The company’s Kalkaroo project is its most promising. The company said the project has JORC mineral resources (the standard used for measuring the in-ground size of a mineral deposit) of 1.1 million tonnes of copper, 3.1 million ounces of gold and 23,200 tonnes of cobalt and a mine life of around 20 years. 

The mine is 100% owned by Havilah. BHP, which had bought out OZ Minerals for $9.6 billion, turned down the right to purchase the Kalkaroo project from Havilah. In the short term, this negatively affected Havilah’s share price, but the company continues to look for potential partners in the project.

Mutooroo is a high-grade open pit and underground copper-cobalt-gold project located 40 minutes from Broken Hill and the company used AI to help discover plan infill drilling at the site.

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4. Newmont Corp.: Average 10-year annualised return of +6.62%

Newmont, founded in 1921, is the only gold producer in the S&P 500. The Denver, Colo., company has mines in nine countries, and has six major copper-gold projects in Chile, Papua New Guinea, Peru and British Columbia. The company’s shares are up more than 12% the past three months.

Much of the large-cap stock’s growth has been through acquisitions, including its $10 billion purchase of Goldcorp in 2019 and its $16.8 purchase of Newcrest in November 2023. The Newcrest acquisition is the third-largest involving an Australian company. 

The company is already seeing an impact from its Newcrest purchase. In the first quarter, sales rose 50.2% year over year to US$4.02 billion. The cost of the purchase lowered net income, which fell 52.6% compared to the same period a year ago. However, Newmont is predicting it is on track to have $500 million in annual synergies from the Newcrest deal by the end of 2025.

Newmont has rewarded investors with a $1 share repurchase program. It has paid out a dividend for 34 consecutive years, though it lowered its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.25 this year, and that dividend equates to a yield of around 2.09%.

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5. BHP Group: Average 10-year Annualised Return of +3.2%

BHP mines at 90 different locations around the world. It has focused on bolstering its revenue lately through acquisitions. Its Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold operation in South Australia is the fourth largest copper deposit in the world.

It is working with Lundin Mining of Canada on a potential bid to buy Filo Corp, a Canadian company that focuses on copper mining. BHP already owns 6% of Filo while the Lundin Family owns 32% of the company’s shares. BHP had tried to buy London-based Anglo American for $49 billion, but walked away from the deal after the latter company turned down offers from BHP.

In the first half of the year, BHP revenue climbed 6% year over year to $27.2 billion, thanks to higher copper and iron ore prices and contributions from two new mines, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena.

Copper revenue alone climbed by 18.5% compared to the same period last year, to $7.7 billion, thanks to higher copper prices. However, profit from operations fell 86%, year over year to $4.8 billion, which the company attributed to inflation and higher labour costs.

Earnings per share were flat at $1.29, compared to $1.30 in the first quarter of 2023, thanks to higher labour costs and higher input costs, the company said.

The company announced an interim dividend of $0.72 (down from the $0.90 dividend in the same period last year), equaling a yield of around 5.21%, with a sustainable payout ratio of 56%.

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What are ASX copper stocks?

ASX copper stocks are stocks of companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that are involved in the exploration, mining and/or processing of copper. Copper is a vital metal used in a wide range of industries.

The ASX-listed copper stocks range from large, established miners such as BHP Group and Newmont Corporation to smaller exploration companies, such as Havilah Resources.

Pros and cons of investing in Australian copper stocks 

Copper is a hot commodity right now, though there are inherent risks associated with mining stocks. Here are a few of the pros and cons of investing in copper stocks that trade on the ASX:

Pros

High Demand: Copper is a critical metal in various technologies, including EVs and data centres, that are seeing increased demand. A growing population and increased emphasis on renewables, as well as the spread of AI, is already driving up demand for copper, so that is a potential benefit for copper prices.

In the long run, continued infrastructure development in growing economies is expected to be another cause of increased copper demand.

Hedging against inflation: Copper prices tend to rise with inflation, making copper stocks a good hedge against decreased purchasing power. When prices rise, copper prices tend to jump as well.

Portfolio Diversification: ASX copper stocks can add variety to your portfolio, reducing risk since their performance may not be directly tied to traditional stocks and bonds.

Cons

Plenty of competition: Just because the price of copper is rising now, it doesn’t mean it will continue to do so. The increased need for copper is also driving a growing number of mining companies to look for new discoveries of the mineral and large discoveries could drive down prices.

Economic sensitivity: If inflation falls or if there’s an economic downturn, the demand for copper tends to drop, dragging down stock prices for copper mining companies that trade on the ASX.

Complicated business: Copper mining is a complex operation that often faces challenges like stricter environmental regulations, rising operational costs, labour shortages, or government intervention. These factors can slow down production and eat into profit margins, ultimately hurting the performance of copper-related Australian stocks.

As this chart below shows, the price of copper has risen considerably over the past 20 years, though it remains volatile. It hit an all-time high of $5.20 per pound in May.

Methodology: Choosing the 5 best ASX copper stocks

Mining stocks tend to go through boom and bust cycles. These five ASX copper stocks, though, seem to have strong tailwinds that could make them solid long-term investments.

Learn more about our methodology here

We consider a number of factors in picking the top copper stocks on the ASX.

1. Share performance: We look for ASX-traded copper stocks that have delivered strong returns, not just this year, but over the past decade. That helps investors take a better long-term view of a company’s prospects.
2. Revenue growth. We focused heavily on companies that are consistently showing revenue growth, not just this year, but over the long run.
3. Reasonable Valuations. Mining and metals stocks tend to have  higher price-to-earnings ratios than value stocks or stocks from other sectors. Even so, we targeted stocks that had a lower P/E than the industry average of 36.36. We wanted to ensure that the P/E, price-to-sales, and other valuation measures are not unusually high – that is well beyond historical ranges. This could signal that factors other than revenue or earnings are driving the price higher and may not be sustainable. If a stock did have a high P/E, we wanted it to be because of the potential of new discoveries, not just for overheated enthusiasm.
4. Competitive Advantages. A key to a company’s enduring success is its competitive advantages. We look at whether or not the stock has advantages over its competitors, whether its scale, pricing power, a product or service that is best-in-class, or a moat that makes its advantages hard to overcome or penetrate. In the case of mining, that often boils down to companies that not only had large deposits of copper but had lower than average costs in obtaining the mineral.
5. Growth Catalyst. In addition to any competitive advantages, it is important to look for other growth catalysts that could spur the stock higher. Did it expand into new markets through an acquisition, are there new or pending regulations that could help or hinder the company, are there new products coming, are there changes in the industry? These are just some examples. It also helps to use stock predictors when picking top ASX copper stocks, especially if you’re investing in commodities.
6. Capital/Financial Strength. The foundation upon which a company can grow is its financial or capital strength. We look to see if it has a significant, and growing, amount of operating cash or free cash flow, because that will allow it to invest in its future growth or navigate downturns. Also, we look to see if its debt is reasonable so that a disproportionate amount of earnings isn’t going to pay down debt.
7. Efficiency. Another key consideration is how efficient the company is in turning a profit. While all industries are different, the operating margins and profit margins will give you a sense of how much a company is spending to generate profit. Higher, and rising, margins mean the company is operating more efficiently – a critical factor when evaluating Australian tech stocks.

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