There are some key Australian-listed stocks that provide good exposure to copper, but more on that later.

Firstly, why is demand for copper so strong, and what's the outlook for this year?

Outages and demand bolstering price

MineLife director Gavin Wendt recently issued a research note on copper and said the rally in the copper price over 2025 reflected mine supply disruptions and distortions of trade flows caused by President Trump's tariff policies.

In terms of the disruptions, an incident at Freeport McMoran's Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which was producing about 4% of global supply, would continue to have an impact this year.

As Mr Wendt said:

Grasberg is the world's second-largest copper mine, contributing around 4% of global production. Two minor mining areas recovered production as planned in November, while the main area, which is responsible for 70% of output, is expected to slowly resume operations next year. A full recovery is expected in 2027. The disruption at Grasberg has added to the already high number of supply disruptions this year, including the flooding of the Kamoa-Kakula mine in the Democratic Repunlic of Congo in May and an accident hitting the El Teniente mine in Chile in July.

Mr Wendt said the copper supply chain was "under strain", with mines in Chile struggling with falling ore grades, and refined metal flows being disrupted by tariff risks and unusually high US stockpiles.

He said:

The refined copper balance for 2026 is now showing a deficit of around 600,000 tonnes for 2026, following a deficit of 200,000 tonnes in 2025.

Stocks in focus

In terms of Australian-listed companies set to benefit, Wilsons Advisory issued a research note in early December, naming Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) as its preferred pick in the sector.

The Wilsons teams said:

As the only pureplay ASX 100 copper producer, Sandfire has a best-in-class track record of operational delivery, which continues to underpin reliable leverage to the copper price.

Sandfire shares hit a new record high of $18.45 on Monday and have more than doubled from 12-month lows of $8.05.

Australian mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) is also highly leveraged to copper, with its three South Australian mines and its major Escondida mine in Chile contributing to the company's production of more than two million tonnes of copper for the first time in FY25. BHP has boosted copper production by 28% since 2022, according to the company's annual report.

Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) is also highly leveraged to copper, having recently upgraded its copper production guidance to 860,000-875,000 tonnes for 2025, up from its previous guidance of 780,000-850,000 tonnes.

Wilsons also said in early December that outside of the majors, copper exposure could be had from the $14.5 billion Capstone Copper Corp (ASX: CSC), while at the junior end, South Australian miner Hillgrove Resources Ltd (ASX: HGO) was a pure-play copper company.

The post With the copper price hitting a new record, how can you get exposure? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The team at Wilsons said in a note to clients this week that, after a three-year downturn in the resources sector, with the exception of gold, momentum appears to be turning positive, with several trends underpinning a revival.

Several tailwinds for demand

Wilsons said the macroeconomic environment is becoming more supportive for resources, with rate cuts in the US likely to stimulate global commodity demand, and a weaker US dollar offering a tailwind for US dollar-priced commodities.

There are also several industry-specific drivers, including growth in data centre builds and associated infrastructure to support the artificial intelligence boom, the onshoring of supply chains and the build-out of national commodity stockpiles, and a renewed interest in defence spending.

At the same time, supply dynamics remain a key differentiator across commodities – with tightening supply conditions supporting the rallies in metals like copper and aluminium.

On copper specifically, Wilsons said there were reasons to be bullish on pricing going forward.

Copper remains one of our preferred commodities, supported by healthy demand and increasingly constrained supply. Prices recently hit record highs (US$5.10/lb), driven by multiple supply disruptions which have tightened the physical market, however, we continue to see upside to the copper price over the medium-term.

The energy transition and the move towards electrification continue to support long-term demand for copper, Wilsons said, while supply constraints "remain significant".

Significant operational disruptions at Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg mine- the world's second-largest copper mine, along with disruptions at Kamoa-Kakula, Cobre Panama, and QB, have exacerbated market tightness in an already constrained market. Moreover, declining ore grades, deeper mines, rising costs, the lack of large-scale projects in the pipeline – alongside sovereign risks – are all likely to limit new project delivery and push the cost-curve higher over time.

ASX-listed companies to watch

Among ASX-listed copper producers, Wilsons said their preferred pick in the sector was Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) despite it trading above the current price target from Canaccord Genuity of $15.

As the only pureplay ASX 100 copper producer, Sandfire has a best-in-class track record of operational delivery, which continues to underpin reliable leverage to the copper price.

Wilsons said outside of the S&P/ASX 100 Index (ASX: XTO), Canaccord has buy ratings on Hillgrove Resources Ltd (ASX: HGO), with a price target of 5 cents, compared to the current price of 3.4 cents, and Capstone Copper Corp (ASX: CSC), which Canaccord has a price target of C$14.50 ($15.80) on, compared to the current price of $13.44.

Hillgrove operates the Kanmantoo copper mine in South Australia, where it recently upgraded the mineral resource to 160,000 tonnes of contained copper and 120,000 ounces of gold.

The post With copper increasingly in demand, what are the Aussie stocks Wilsons Advisory is tipping to be winners? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

New York Stock Exchange-listed Freeport-McMoran Inc (NYSE: FCX) announced overnight that mining at its Grasberg Block Cave Mine (GBC) in Indonesia remained on hold while the company continued to search for five employees who had been missing since a mudslide on September 8.

Two staff members have so far been confirmed killed in the incident.

Freeport shares tumbled almost 17% on the news overnight, while copper futures prices spiked more than 4%, according to Trading Economics. The price of copper traded at the London Metals Exchange was up 3.63%.

Freeport said the mining stoppage would lead to a 4% fall in its copper sales for the third quarter of 2025 and a 6% fall in its gold output.

The company said the impact would also not be resolved quickly.

Sufficient information is not currently available to forecast future production estimates. Preliminary assessments indicate that the impacts are likely to result in the deferral of significant production in the near-term (fourth quarter of 2025 and the year 2026) as repairs are completed and a phased restart and ramp-up of operations commences. A return to pre-incident operating rates could potentially be achieved in 2027.

Shares in Australian copper miners were up sharply in early trade, with Capstone Copper Corp (ASX: CSC) more than 8% higher at $12.18, Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) up 7.4% to $13.63, and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) up 3.3% to $121.38.

Shares in BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), which mines copper at the massive Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, as well as the major Escondida mine in Chile, were 2.9% higher at $41.44.

At the smaller end of the market, shares in South Australian copper miner Hillgrove Resources Ltd (ASX: HGO) were more than 10.5% higher at 4.2 cents.

Freeport-McMoran said it had declared force majeure over its copper supply contracts, and intended to seek recovery of damages under its insurance policies which cover it for losses up to US$1 billion.

It said a phased restart of GBC could begin in the early half of 2026.

Under this phased restart and ramp-up scenario, which is subject to a number of factors and could change, PT Freeport Indonesia production in 2026 could potentially be approximately 35% lower than pre-incident estimates (previous production estimates for 2026 approximated 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 1.6 million ounces of gold).   

The post Australian copper stocks dominate gains on the ASX after Indonesian mine tragedy impacts supply appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Hillgrove Resources Limited (ASX: HGO) is selling its hydro project at its Kanmantoo mine site. The total sale price is $31 million, but there are a number of conditions and milestones that need to be reached for the entire proceeds to be paid.

AGL will utilise the 'Giant Pit' as the lower pond for the PHES and the upper pond will be located on land Hillgrove owns and/or will acquire under an option agreement with a neighbouring landholder. Hillgrove has agreed to subdivide the land required for the PHES and sell this land to AGL on a freehold basis.

Hillgrove will remain responsible for the environmental and closure liabilities associated with the mining activities at the Kanmantoo copper mine.

The PHES project, once completed, is expected to have generating capacity of 250 MW and 8 hours of storage, giving it the largest energy storage capacity in South Australia.

South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining Dan van Holst Pellekaan said "This is an exciting pumped hydro project which aligns with the Marshall Government's policy of matching storage capacity with renewable energy resources to deliver cheaper, more reliable and cleaner electricity for South Australian households and businesses."

I'm sure everyone in South Australia is pleased with this development. The withdrawal of coal fired generation, the significant increases in gas costs and the increasing reliance on somewhat intermittent renewable generation means another form of renewable energy that can be stored is very useful.

Foolish takeaway

AGL has a partially franked dividend yield of 5.4%. The more it invests in innovative ideas like this the more I think AGL will be okay for the future.

The post AGL has big hydro plans to save you money on your electricity bill appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.