More than 100 workers at BHP lost their jobs, or resigned, during the last financial year after sexually harassing colleagues, which included numerous instances of indecent touching, stalking and grooming.

The harassment cases, disclosed in the mining giant’s annual report on Tuesday, come during a period of heightened scrutiny of remote work sites, where female workers across the industry have raised allegations of systemic sexual harassment, violence and retaliation.

BHP, the world’s biggest miner, has large iron ore and copper operations in Australia, and North and South America.

The miner disclosed that 109 workers lost their jobs, or resigned, in 2025-26, following 113 confirmed reports of sexual harassment. It was the highest number of confirmed reports since 2023.

BHP said that allegations are investigated by an ethics team independent from operations.

The company does not provide a geographic breakdown of the confirmed sexual harassment cases.

A further 104 reports of sexual harassment were not investigated “due to insufficient information or the wishes of the impacted person”.

The majority of confirmed instances involved indecent touching, stalking, grooming and sexually aggressive comments and jokes.

Past parliamentary inquiries and reports by the office of the sex discrimination commissioner have found cultures of sexual assault, sexism, bullying and racism across the mining industry, especially at remote projects where workers stay for weeks at a time.

There are three separate class actions in the courts against BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue alleging widespread sexual harassment, sexual violence and sex discrimination at work sites.

The class actions, filed by law firm JGA Saddler, allege that “most women, if not all” working on remote sites have suffered some form of sexual harassment or sex discrimination.

BHP also disclosed that 22 people responsible for racial harassment had their employment terminated, or resigned, last financial year.

Jodie Fox, an employment lawyer who specialises in workplace investigations, said mining projects have a number of risk factors for women, including isolated workplaces, hierarchical structures and a gender imbalance.

“In a lot of these places, the workplace and your place of accommodation and your place of socialising are all effectively in the one place,” said Fox, a director at Worklogic.

“You’ve got a perfect storm of risk for sexual harassment.”

She said employers have a duty to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment where possible.

Renewables demand

On Tuesday, BHP declared a bumper US$9.8bn (A$13.8bn) annual net profit, up 9%, and its highest dividend in four years, in a result boosted by surging copper prices.

Copper, which plays a central role in power grids, is widely viewed as the metal that underpins the fast-growing renewable energy industry, and is an important component for AI datacentres.

Prices for the red metal have climbed to record highs this year, surpassing US$14,000 per metric ton. BHP expects global copper demand to grow to more than 50m metric tons per year by 2050, from 34m this year, and foresees a supply crunch.

BHP said on Tuesday that copper was the “engine that is driving BHP’s growth”, a description that used to be applied to the company’s still-robust iron ore operations.

The miner announced a US99c (A$1.39) final dividend, bringing total dividends for the year to US$1.72 (A$2.42) a share, up almost 60% on last year.