Australia's most valuable company continues climb after claiming crown from Commonwealth Bank

Mining giant BHP has consolidated its new crown as Australia's most valuable company, a day after knocking off the country's biggest bank at the top of the stock exchange.

The largest mining company in the world overtook Commonwealth Bank (CBA) on the ASX yesterday, and its market capitalisation has since risen to $254.2 billion this afternoon.

This places it nearly $3 billion above the valuation of CBA, which stands at $251.5 billion despite a small rise in today's trading.

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According to the most recent figures, BHP's share price rose to $50.060 per share, a small jump of 0.62 per cent today, while CBA's has risen only 0.15 per cent in trading today, despite its shares being worth more.

BHP has a higher valuation because more investors own shares in the company, around 5 billion to CBA's 1.67 billion.

CBA was sitting pretty at the top of the ASX in November, when its share price satat nearly $180 per share.

However, it has had a sharp fall in the last three months, down to about $150, which has coincided with investors gaining more confidence in BHP, which has seen a resurgence from a November low of $40.62 per share.

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Despite CBA losing top spot, the big banks still hold prime position in the ASX2000.

Westpac, ANZ and NAB all sit in the top six, while mining company Newmont is the third most valuable company in Australia, with a current valuation of $138.59 billion.

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