What company will fill the OZ Minerals void?
When the 2023 South Australian Business Index is released on Friday, a major South Australian mining company will be noticeably absent.
The number two spot on the South Australian Business Index is well and truly up for grabs this year, as OZ Minerals departs following BHP’s $9.6 billion acquisition of the miner.
Last year, the listed mining company landed the spot with $909 million in revenue from its copper-gold mines at Prominent Hill and Carrapateena in the state’s Far North.
It was also investing in establishing the high-potential West Musgrave copper and nickel project in Western Australia.
The company was acquired by BHP which is investing heavily in South Australia and the state’s copper deposits which – combined with the giant’s existing Olympic Dam and Oak Dam assets – it calls the “copper province”.
OZ Minerals had only been an Adelaide-based company for seven years, having redomiciled in 2015 with the help of a $10 million grant from the SA Government.
With OZ Minerals gone, we could be seeing SA’s leading listed investment company Argo Investments make a one-spot hop from third to second. Oil and gas producer Beach Energy could also make a leap up two spots from fourth.
With lithium prices currently strong, SA Business Index analysts may have dragged an emerging Core Lithium up a few places to number two, or potentially leading construction materials firm ADBRI is riding high on a strong pipeline of construction projects to validate a monumental leap from 13 to two.
It’s still anyone’s guess, but all will be revealed at the South Australian Business Index – the state’s most credible snapshot of our leading private and public companies and based on independent research by partners Taylor Collison.
Rankings will be released at the South Australian Business Index lunch and networking event on Friday, October 20 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
It is an opportunity for the state’s business community to discover how the make-up of the Index has changed over the 12 months and discuss what it reveals about the state’s economic future.
This year’s event will also feature more time for networking, so don’t miss out.
Purchase your individual ticket or table of 10 now.
