BHP backs the next wave of exploration and technology talent in its biggest Xplor intake yet

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MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BHP has selected 10 early-stage exploration and technology companies for the 2026 BHP Xplor program, marking the largest cohort since the program began and its fourth year of operation.

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The 2026 cohort brings together junior exploration companies, geoscience organisations, and technology teams that collectively span the discovery system. It reflects a more connected approach to early-stage exploration, where geological insight, data, and emerging technologies increasingly intersect, and where collaboration across disciplines is becoming central to how discovery evolves.

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As exploration moves into more remote and geologically complex environments, this intersection of expertise is opening up new possibilities for how mineral systems are understood, tested, and advanced at the earliest stages.

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Tim O’Connor, BHP Group Exploration Officer, said:

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“Exploration is evolving quickly. New tools, better data, and different ways of working are changing how early-stage ideas are tested and refined. This cohort reflects that shift, bringing together explorers and technology developers who are approaching discovery in thoughtful and practical ways. Xplor gives us a valuable opportunity to learn alongside them and explore what discovery could look like in the future.”

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Xplor 2026’s ten successful applicants

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Exploration companies

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FrontierX (Canada) – Frontier X is an early-stage uranium exploration company in Canada, formed by two BHP Xplor Year One alumni, Fabian Baker and Andrew Tunningley. Through Xplor, the company is undertaking a preliminary uranium project, focused on testing early geological concepts and building an initial understanding of exploration potential.

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Litchfield Minerals (Australia) – Litchfield Minerals is an Australian exploration company advancing copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold opportunities in the Northern Territory. Through Xplor, the company is focusing on its Oonagalabi project in the Arunta region, applying modern geophysics and targeted fieldwork to build a clearer picture of a large, underexplored mineral system.

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Orion Minerals (South Africa) – Orion Minerals is a listed exploration and development company advancing a portfolio of copper and zinc assets in South Africa’s Northern Cape. Through Xplor, Orion is applying modern data analytics and mineral systems thinking across its large tenement package to identify new discovery opportunities beyond known deposits.

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Otrera Resources (South America) – Otrera Resources is an early-stage exploration company focused on sediment-hosted copper systems. Its Xplor project is centred on advancing new copper targets drawing on the team’s deep regional experience and modern geochemical and geological approaches.

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PT GeoFix (Indonesia) – PT GeoFix Indonesia is a multidisciplinary geoscience consultancy supporting mineral exploration across Southeast Asia. Through Xplor, GeoFix is applying its proprietary prospectivity tools and regional expertise to test new porphyry copper-gold exploration concepts in underexplored parts of the Sunda-Banda Arc.