BHP Australia President Warns Canberra of "Structural Volatility" as Global Resources Shift From Commodities to Instruments of Geopolitical Power

BHP Australia President Geraldine Slattery warns that resources are becoming instruments of power, urging Australia to fix competitiveness to win global capital.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 24, 2026, 9:58 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Mining Weekly

The Rise of Resource Nationalism and Power

The global mining landscape has undergone a fundamental transformation, moving away from a traditional "traded commodity" model toward one where natural resources function as primary instruments of national power. Addressing Minerals Week 2026 in Canberra, BHP Australia President Geraldine Slattery characterized this era as one of "structural volatility" rather than temporary disruption. She noted that geopolitical fragmentation is forcing major economies to re-evaluate their hierarchies of need, with energy security and affordability now frequently superseding decarbonization. This shift implies that access to critical minerals is no longer just a commercial concern but a cornerstone of sovereign strategy and international influence.

Australia’s Dual Reality in the Energy Transition

For Australia, this global shift presents a complex "dual reality." On one hand, the nation is a premier beneficiary of the energy transition, with structural demand rising for core exports including copper, iron ore, metallurgical coal, and lithium. Slattery emphasized that "without mining, there is no energy transition," pointing to forecasts that global copper demand could surge by 70% by 2050. On the other hand, the imperative to decarbonize domestic operations is no longer optional; it is essential for maintaining "long-term invest-ability." The challenge for Australian miners is navigating these two paths simultaneously: meeting global demand while managing an increasingly complex internal transition to net zero.

The Crisis of National Competitiveness

A central theme of Slattery’s address was a warning regarding Australia’s slipping position on the global stage. Citing a Business Council of Australia study, she noted that the country’s economic competitiveness fell from 17th in 2019 to 21st out of 42 economies in 2025. Slattery used a sporting analogy to underscore the stakes, stating that being "in the middle of the table" is where investment decisions begin to drift toward more attractive jurisdictions. She identified high energy costs, regulatory bottlenecks, and shifting taxation settings as significant headwinds. In a world where capital is highly mobile, Australia must compete against international benchmarks for risk and return to secure the funding required for massive resource projects.