Iron ore giants BHP and Rio are morphing into copper plays

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 30 (Reuters): At what point should major iron ore miners BHP Group and Rio Tinto, shift to being described in terms of their copper portfolios rather than their contribution to steel making?

Now might be a good time. Their latest results show copper is increasingly driving profits.

Rio posted a 43per cent jump in half-year underlying earnings on Wednesday, its biggest in four years, with its non-iron ore operations, of which copper is the largest chunk, outperforming iron ore for the first time.

This is a significant milestone as Rio is the world's top iron ore miner, ahead of Brazil's Vale, and BHP.

Rio and BHP have ridden China's industrial boom for the past two decades, building massive iron ore mines in the state of Western Australia as China's steel sector surged to annual production levels of around 1 billion metric tons, or just over half of global output. But now China's steel output is easing back just as more iron ore supply comes on line from largely Chinese-owned mines in Guinea, although Rio is a partner in the 120-million tons a year Simandou venture.