<p>Copper is an easily available material with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Therefore, it is considered a highly prized metal due to this existing property. Although this property is useful in many ways, the same cannot be considered for its moderate mechanical properties. This present research analyses the improvement of copper properties using graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) as a potential reinforcement material through ball milling and powder metallurgy. Several Copper–GNP composites have been created, with GNP concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 wt%. The Copper–GNP composites performed significantly better in terms of mechanical properties than pure copper as evidenced in the present study which has been carried out. Notably, the composite with 1.0 wt% GNP had a relatively high and close to 27% improvement in Tensile strength, and micro-hardness increased by a distance of 43% respectively. The improvement is associated with well-dispersed GNPs which provided good reinforcement by arresting dislocation movement, hence facilitating effective load transfer. The present findings have applied to several emerging areas, where high electrical conductivity as well as mechanical strength of the composite Copper–GNP are both critical and would be achievable with the Copper–GNP.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>