Sandfire’s Brendan Harris: Risk Less, Win Bigger

Brendan Harris, MD and CEO of Sandfire Resources, joins Money of Mine for a conversation on building a lower-beta copper company in a volatile sector. His philosophy is clear: miners cannot control commodity prices, FX, freight, input costs, grade variability, geopolitics or market sentiment, so they must ruthlessly eliminate the volatility they can control. We discuss why debt can be dangerous in mining, how Sandfire thinks about balance sheet strength, and why Brendan believes good mining M&A is rare. He explains what made Kalkaroo asymmetric, why Sandfire was willing to move there, and why it chose not to pursue other seemingly logical opportunities. We also cover copper scarcity, lessons from Macquarie, BHP and South32, and how Sandfire is trying to survive the cycle, wait patiently, and move with conviction when the right opportunity appears. Follow Brendan: LinkedIn:   / brendan-harris-0819927b   Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping mining, commodities and capital markets. Episode recorded: 1.05.2026 📰 THE DIRECTOR'S SPECIAL Join 16k+ subscribers to the Director’s Special: one daily email with all the news that matters in mining https://www.moneyofmine.com/subscribe ------------------------------------------------------- ▶️ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Debt and Mining Beta 4:10 - Career Risks and Conviction 10:00 - Mentors and Market Shifts 16:50 - Commodity Cycles and Asymmetry 25:50 - Suppressing Volatility in Operations 44:00 - Empowering Global Assets 46:40 - Fixing the Balance Sheet 48:40 - Australia Mining Reality Check 55:20 - Botswana Social License 1:03:10 - Copper Outlook and Wrap ------------------------------------------------------- 🤝 OUR PARTNERS Thank you to the mining services businesses that make this show possible: Sandvik Ground Support – The only ground support you’ll ever need | http://www.rocktechnology.sandvik/gro... Metalshub - The leading supply chain software to buy, sell and trade raw materials | https://www.metals-hub.com/en/money-o... Focus by Marketech – All your mining news and market needs in one powerful platform | 10-day free trial: https://marketech.com.au/focus?utm_so... SS&C Intralinks - Powering deals with unmatched security and efficiency | https://www.intralinks.com/ Exceed Capital – Diversify your portfolio with Exceed’s property trusts - https://www.exceedcapital.com.au/the-... ------------------------------------------------------- 📌 FOLLOW US Join our group chat: Discord:   / discord   Subscribe to our podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LsIJIs... Apple: https://apple.co/3Fdocwx Follow us on all social platforms to stay up-to-date: Twitter: https://x.com/moneyofminepod Instagram:   / moneyofminepod   LinkedIn:   / moneyofmine   Facebook:   / moneyofminepod   TikTok:   / moneyofminepod   Our personal Twitter accounts: Travis Ricciardo:   / travmoneyofmine   Jonas Dorling:   / jdmoneyofmine   ------------------------------------------------------- ⚠️ DISCLAIMER All information in this podcast is for education and entertainment purposes only and is of general nature only. The hosts of Money of Mine are not financial professionals. Money of Mine and our contributors are not aware of your personal financial circumstances. Before making any investment decision, you should consult a licensed financial, legal or tax professional. Money of Mine doesn’t operate under an Australian financial services licence and relies on the exemption available under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in respect of any information or advice given. MoM strive to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this podcast but we don’t make any representation or warranty that it’s accurate or up to date. Any views expressed by the hosts of Money of Mine are their opinions only and may contain forward-looking statements that may not eventuate. Please read the full Disclaimer here: https://www.moneyofmine.com/privacy-p...