BHP is weighing a major copper exploration push in Zambia, a move that would mark the Australian mining giant’s first large-scale project in Africa for more than a decade as it searches for deposits essential to the clean energy transition.

The interest highlights a broader global scramble for copper, one in which supply constraints are colliding with soaring demand from electric vehicles and power grids. The overture by BHP — the world’s largest miner by market capitalization, whose last major African operation was spun out into South32, an Australian mining company, in 2015 — could be seen as a vote of confidence in Zambia. The continent’s second-largest copper producer has in recent years pursued a policy overhaul, which includes a push to digitize geological data.

In a statement published by Zambia’s mines ministry, BHP’s head of global generative exploration told officials in Lusaka that the company wants to hunt for deeper, concealed deposits. Lusaka, meanwhile, said it views collaboration with BHP as aligned with its goal of lifting national copper output and attracting more multinational investment.