TOKYO -- Copper, short or long? For Australian resource giant BHP the answer to that simple question was obviously "long," as it raised its offer for copper miner OZ Minerals this month to 9.6 billion Australian dollars ($6.4 billion) from its previous offer of AU$8.3 billion. BHP's bullish view on copper stands in contrast to its view on other resources, such as oil and thermal coal, from which the company is divesting.