BHP has raised its offer for Australian copper miner OZ Minerals to almost A$10bn ($6.7bn) in a deal that is set to be one of the largest mining takeovers of the year.

BHP increased its bid after gaining the backing of the smaller company’s board during talks this week in what could be the start of a potential wave of consolidation as miners invest in critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other decarbonisation technologies.

The world’s largest miner and Australia’s biggest company, BHP bid A$8.4bn for OZ Minerals in August but was rebuffed. It said last month that a deal, which would offer significant synergies due to the location of the two companies’ operations in South Australia, was a “nice-to-have” rather than a “must-have”. But it started talks again over the past week to secure the support of the OZ Minerals board.