Why South Australia for copper?
- Largest economic demonstrated resources of copper within Australia.
- Premier copper provinces including Olympic Dam Cu-Au and Curnamona provinces and the Adelaide Superbasin.
- South Australia hosts many globally and nationally significant copper deposits including Olympic Dam, as well as Australia’s first major copper discovery at Kapunda.
- Strong ongoing copper exploration with AUS$204m spent in 2023 – 2024.
- Copper production value of $4.36 billion in 2024.
- World-class precompetitive geoscience data and regulatory framework.
Copper properties and uses
Copper is one of the most important and widely used metals of modern society due to its properties of:
- high electrical conductivity
- high thermal conductivity
- resistance to corrosion
- ability to form alloys with other metals such as brass (zinc), bronze (tin) and cupronickel (nickel).
The demand for copper is forecast to increase substantially to supply the materials required for the global energy transition. Copper is predominantly used for copper wire in building construction, electronics and transportation equipment. Copper is also an integral part of the rapidly expanding electric vehicle and renewable energy industries.
Copper can occur naturally in its pure state (native copper) but is principally mined as sulphide minerals chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), chalcocite (Cu2S) and bornite (Cu5FeS4). The main oxidised ores are the copper oxide, cuprite (Cu2O), and the carbonate minerals azurite (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2) and malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2).
Copper in South Australia
South Australia contains 68% of Australia's economic demonstrated resources of copper (Geoscience Australia 2024). South Australia hosts many internationally and nationally significant copper mines and projects currently in operation including Olympic Dam, Carrapateena, Prominent Hill, Kanmantoo, Kalkaroo and Hillside, along with significant projects at Oak Dam and Kapunda, as well as many exploration and appraisal projects.
Stacked copper cathode at Olympic Dam. (Courtesy BHP)
South Australian copper occurrences.
Map downloads
Copper statistics 2025
| SOUTH AUSTRALIA | VOLUME/VALUE |
| Annual Copper Mine Production Volume6 | 3,232,479 t (in 2024) |
| Annual Copper Production Value6 | $4.36 billion (in 2024) |
| Selected Mine Production2 |
· Olympic Dam 216 kt Cu cathode · Prominent Hill 68 kt Cu in concentrate · Carrapateena 50 kt Cu in concentrate |
| Exploration Expenditure3 | $204 million |
| Resources3 | 103 Mt contained Cu |
| Reserves3 | 15 Mt contained Cu |
| National Ranking7 | South Australia ranked #1, containing 68% of the Australian economic demonstrated copper resources. |
| AUSTRALIA | VOLUME/VALUE |
| Annual Mine Production7 | 0.78 Mt |
| Copper Exploration Expenditure2 | $575 million |
| Total Economic Demonstrated Resources5 | 104.74 Mt |
| Reserves7 | 27.36 Mt |
| Selected Mines Contained Reserves2 |
· Olympic Dam (SA) 10.68 Mt Cu (ave. grade 1.78% Cu) · Cadia (NSW) 3.2 Mt Cu (ave. grade 0.29% Cu) · Carrapateena (SA) 1.91 Mt Cu (ave. grade 1.03% Cu) · Ernest Henry (Qld) 0.56 Mt Cu (ave. grade 0.76% Cu) |
| Australia’s Global Ranking7 | Australia is ranked #3 globally (containing 10% of the global copper resources) and #8 in copper production (producing 4% of the global copper). |
| WORLD | VOLUME/VALUE |
| Mine Production (rounded)5 | Global Total: 23 Mt; Chile: 5.3 Mt; China 1.8 Mt; Peru 2.6 Mt; United States 1.1 Mt |
| Reserves (rounded)5 | Global Total: 980 Mt; Chile: 190 Mt; China 41 Mt; Peru 100 Mt; United States 47 Mt |
- Total Resources, Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliant, compiled from published company reports.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2025.
- Department for Energy and Mining (DEM), 2024.
- Geoscience Australia (GA), 2025.
- United States Geological Survey (USGS) copper commodity page year end 2024.
- Resource production statistics, Government of South Australia for the six month end 2024.
- Resource and Reserves volumes as of December 2023, Geoscience Australia identified Mineral Resources Report, 2024.
Copper production and exploration expenditure
South Australian copper production, 2008 to 2024.
South Australian copper exploration expenditure, 2008 to 2024.
Major mines
Major copper mines in South Australia include:
- Olympic Dam (BHP) – Total mineral resource of 11,370 Mt at 0.72 % Cu, 0.24% U3O8, 0.30 g/t Au and 1.29 g/t Ag.
- Carrapateena (BHP) – Total mineral resource of 900 Mt at 0.55 % Cu, 0.80 g/t Au and 2.94 g/t Ag.
- Hillside (Rex Minerals) – Total mineral resource of 337 Mt at 0.56% Cu and 0.14 g/t Au. Status: Exploration.
- Kalkaroo (Havilah Resources / BHP) – Total mineral resource of 245.5 Mt at 0.49% Cu and 0.36 g/t Au and 193 Mt at 120 ppm Co. Status: Approved.
- Prominent Hill (BHP) – Total resource of 162 Mt at 0.91% Cu, 0.8 g/t Au and 2.94 g/t Ag.
- Kanmantoo (Hillgrove Resources) – Total mineral resource of 19.3 Mt at 0.77% Cu, 0.14 g/t Au, 2.2 g/t Ag and 110 ppm Bi.
Developing projects
Major developing copper projects in South Australia include:
- Oak Dam (BHP) – Total mineral resource of 1340 Mt at 0.66% Cu and 0.33g/t Au. Status: Exploration.
- Elizabeth Creek (Coda Minerals) – Total mineral resource of 65.5 Mt at 1.24% Cu, 15.8 g/t Ag, 1700 ppm Zn (Emmie Bluff) and 563 ppm Co. Status: Exploration.
- Kapunda (EnviroCopper) – Total mineral resource of 47.4 Mt at 0.25% Cu for in-situ recovery.
- Fremantle Doctor (BHP) – Inferred resource of 100 Mt at 0.51% Cu, 0.33 g/t Au and 1.00 g/t Ag.
- Mutooroo (Havilah Resources) – Total mineral resource of 13.1 Mt at 1.49% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au, and 0.15% Co.
- North Portia (Consolidated Mining and Civil) – Total mineral resource of 12.96 Mt at 0.78% Cu, 0.60 g/t Au, 154 ppm Co and 435 g/t Mo. Status: Care and Maintenance.
Exploration models
Copper mineralisation is widespread and found in most geological provinces throughout South Australia. The most significant regions of copper mineralisation are the Olympic Cu-Au Province (eastern Gawler Craton), Curnamona Province and Adelaide Superbasin / Delamerian Orogen. The most significant mineral system styles include iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG), skarn, porphyry and sediment-hosted.
Olympic Cu-Au Province, Eastern Gawler Craton
The Olympic Cu-Au Province is a ~600 km long metallogenic corridor in the eastern Gawler Craton containing significant copper mineralisation. This world-class copper province is highly prospective for IOCG and skarn deposits formed during early Mesoproterozoic Hiltaba Suite magmatism and eruption of the Gawler Range Volcanics at c. 1590 Ma. Major copper deposits in the Olympic Cu-Au Province include Olympic Dam (MinDep 3000), Carrapateena (MinDep 8303), Prominent Hill (MinDep 8329), Oak Dam (MinDep 9839) and Hillside (MinDep 11272).
Related links:
- Reference drillholes from IOCG and associated deposits in South Australia
- Prospectivity modelling of the Olympic Cu–Au Province
- Probabilistic Cover-Basement Interface Map in Carrapateena, South Australia
- The Olympic Cu-Au Province, Gawler Craton: a review of the lithospheric architecture, geodynamic setting, alteration systems, cover successions and prospectivity. Minerals 9(6):371.
- Characterisation and mapping of Cu–Au skarn systems in the Punt Hill region, Olympic Cu–Au Province
Curnamona Province
The Curnamona Province, which straddles the border of South Australia and New South Wales, experienced similar magmatism to the eastern Gawler Craton during the early Mesoproterozoic, making it prospective for similar styles of copper deposits as the Olympic Cu-Au Province. Significant copper deposits include Kalkaroo (MinDep 8455), Mutooroo (MinDep 842) and North Portia (MinDep 4503).
Related links:
- Southern Curnamona Province South Australia Collaborative Research 2002 -2004 (Report)
- Curnamona Province exploration review and mineral systems. Report Book 2009/10
- Proterozoic copper-gold systems of the Curnamona Province - members of a global family?
Adelaide Superbasin / Delamerian Orogen
The Adelaide Superbasin is a large sedimentary basin formed during the Neoproterozoic to middle-Cambrian that occurs largely between the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province. The stratigraphy of the Adelaide Superbasin has been compared to the Katanga Basin in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which hosts the Central African Copper Belt. These correlations support the prospectivity of the Adelaide Superbasin for sediment-hosted copper mineralisation. There are 662 known copper occurrences hosted within the Neoproterozoic strata within the Adelaide Superbasin (including Stuart Shelf, Torrens Hinge Zone and Adelaide Rift Complex). Examples include deposits in the Mount Gunson region (MinDep 3088) on the Stuart Shelf and the Kapunda deposit (MinDep 4856) north of Adelaide.
A large proportion of the Adelaide Superbasin was deformed by the Delamerian Orogeny during the Cambrian and Ordovician. The magmatism, metamorphism and deformation associated with this event formed the Kanmantoo deposit (MinDep 1538).
Related links:
- South Australian Neoproterozoic Sediment-hosted Copper Occurrence map
- Delamerian Orogen mineral potential mapping : the Cu-Mo-Au mineral system
Sedimentary copper mineral systems of the Stuart Shelf
The Stuart Shelf is part of the Adelaide Superbasin overlying the metal-rich Olympic Domain of the Gawler Craton and the Cariewerloo Basin in South Australia. The basin is of interest for sediment-hosted copper mineralisation known to be hosted in numerous stratigraphic intervals across the region including Mount Gunson (MinDep 3088), Myall Creek (MinDep 3030), Emmie Bluff (MinDep 3035)) and Sweet Nell (MinDep 3125).
Related links:
Pre-competitive geoscience data (for copper exploration)
The Geological Survey of South Australia provides vital pre-competitive data, resources and services to the resource sector on South Australia’s geology to inform exploration as well as decision-making by government, industry and the community.
Project links:
