BHP Group named Brandon Craig as its next chief executive officer, opting for his experience in advancing the company’s growth projects in the U.S., Canada and South America as the world’s biggest miner expands in copper and the fertilizer ingredient potash.

Craig, a veteran BHP executive who has run the miner’s Americas operations since March 2024, will become CEO and a director of BHP on July 1. He succeeds Mike Henry, who has led the company for more than six years.

The appointment Wednesday was welcomed by investors and analysts, who view Craig as a strong choice to develop a pipeline of growth options assembled by his predecessor, many of which he has had a hand in shaping.

“This suggests BHP is comfortable with the path charted by Mike Henry and is looking for a successor who can continue to implement on that vision,” said Angus Gluskie, managing director of Whitefield, a BHP shareholder.

Shares in BHP were 0.8% higher Wednesday.

Craig, 53, is succeeding Henry as global miners, including BHP, are scrambling for dominance in copper, a metal used heavily in electric vehicles, renewable energy and data centers.

BHP, already the world’s largest copper miner, sought to boost its production of the industrial metal with several attempts to buy Anglo American in recent years, including as recently as November. It said that a combination of the companies’ copper mines and other operations would have significant benefits.

The company, meanwhile, has made smaller acquisitions and advanced its own pipeline of growth options, many of which Craig, who joined BHP in 1999, has overseen during his time as Americas chief.

“This next era is going to be about taking that endowment and actually bringing it to life,” Craig told reporters Wednesday.

“That doesn’t mean there will not be any other activity,” he added, referring to the potential to grow further through acquisitions. “But it would have to be incredibly compelling to compete with the set of options that we have.”

As Americas president, Craig has overseen the creation of the Vicuna joint venture on the border of Argentina and Chile, which BHP said has the potential to become one of the world’s top copper and gold mines. The miner also improved operations at Chile’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, BHP said.

“The appointment of Brandon Craig at BHP is effectively like putting the chief engineer of the ‘copper engine’ in the driver’s seat,” said the Global X senior investment strategist Marc Jocum. Global X invests in BHP through its exchange-traded funds.

The Resolution Copper project in Arizona, led by partner Rio Tinto, has also been under his stewardship. That project, which has been locked in legal battles, cleared a hurdle recently by completing a federal-land swap needed for work to advance.

In Canada, BHP has been building a new potash mine that is due to begin operations in 2027, adding a commodity to BHP’s mix that includes copper, iron ore and coal.

Craig earlier led the miner’s Western Australia iron-ore business, which for years was a main engine of profits and contributed 48% of earnings in its most recent half.

Craig was one of several internal candidates viewed as the likely successor to Henry, including BHP’s Australia boss, Geraldine Slattery, as well as Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant and Chief Commercial Officer Rag Udd.

“Brandon’s experience and skills are the perfect match for our next CEO,” Chair Ross McEwan told reporters. “He is clear on the strategy and how we can continue to drive outperformance at BHP.”

The timing of Craig’s appointment surprised some investors. After BHP’s annual shareholder meeting in October, Henry told reporters that he still had energy for the role.

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