BHP – Republic of Mining

BHP open to potash partnership with Nutrien, leaves door open to new takeover attempt – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 14, 2023)

March 15, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. is open to partnering with Nutrien Ltd., and isn’t ruling out making another takeover attempt of the Canadian fertilizer giant, a senior executive with the Australian miner told The Globe and Mail. “We’re happy to partner,” Rag Udd, president minerals Americas with Melbourne-based BHP, said in an interview.

“If you take a look at the majority of our businesses, there’s some form of partnership there with other companies.” When asked whether a partnership with Nutrien meant a joint venture, a takeover of the company, or both, Mr. Udd replied, “There’s a myriad of options that could be looked at.”

BHP inks $188m contracts with First Nations at Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan – by Staff (Mining.com – March 10, 2023)

March 13, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (NYSE: BHP, ASX: BHP) announced Friday that as construction progresses at its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan, it has awarded three new contracts in partnership with local First Nation communities.

Covering camp management, site services and raw ore/handling foundation, the contracts include representation from the six First Nations surrounding the Jansen site, with whom BHP has opportunity agreements in place.

BHP seeks to tighten grip on South America’s copper sector – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 1, 2023)

March 1, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX: BHP), the world’s largest miner, is hoping to expand its investments in Argentina’s copper sector, where it already has a presence through its 9.9% stake Canada’s Filo Mining (TSX: FIL), the junior developing the Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver project straddling the border with Chile.

Company representatives met with the San Juan’s governor on Tuesday to discuss possible investments in the minerals-rich province, which is recognized a safe mining destination due to the support to mining activities by both authorities and locals.

The world’s biggest miner is ready to plant more flags in ‘highly desirable’ Canada – by Naimul Karim (Yahoo Finance/Financial Post – February 22, 2023)

February 23, 2023

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

A little over a year ago, Melbourne-based BHP Group Ltd., the world’s largest miner, bowed out of the highly publicized bidding war with Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals Pty. Ltd. for a nickel project in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region.

The tug of war between the two Australian miners over a Canadian asset included multiple bids over almost half a year before Wyloo’s $616.9-million bid in December 2021 led to the takeover of Noront Resources Ltd. — and with it the much talked about Eagle’s Nest project in northern Ontario.

BHP brings forward Jansen Stage 2 studies – by Mariaan Webb (Mining Weekly – February 21, 2023)

February 23, 2023

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Diversified miner BHP is speeding up work at its Jansen potash mine, in Canada, as the group sees an attractive entry opportunity for supply in lower-risk jurisdictions amid increased geopolitical uncertainty.

The company, which previously bought forward first production at Jansen Stage 1 from 2027 to the end of 2026, on Tuesday confirmed that the feasibility study for Stage 2 would be completed a year earlier than previously planned.

A Copper Mine Could Advance Green Energy but Scar Sacred Land – by Clifford Krauss (New York Times – January 27, 2023)

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

Tribal groups are fighting an Arizona project whose backers say increasing the supply of copper, crucial to batteries, would reduce fossil-fuel use.

SUPERIOR, Ariz. — As Wendsler Nosie finished his evening prayers sitting before a mesquite fire, a ceremonial yucca staff festooned with eagle feathers by his side, he gazed sternly toward a distant mesa where mining companies hope to extract more than a billion tons of copper.

That mine could help address climate change by helping the United States replace fossil fuels and combustion engines with renewable energy and electric cars. But to Mr. Nosie, a former chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, it’s the latest insult in a bitter history.

BHP invests in Gates and Friedland-backed firm I-Rox – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – December 12, 2022)

December 12, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX: BHP) has joined billionaire Robert Friedland’s I-Pulse Inc. and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a clean-tech venture backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, to speed up technologies that can help the mining sector save on energy.

I-Pulse and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV)-Europe launched earlier this year a company called I-Rox, a France-based firm focused on demonstrating a pulsed-power technology said to reduce the amount of energy needed to crush rocks.

BHP, World’s Top Miner, Nears Biggest Acquisition in a Decade – by Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – November 17, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/

Australia’s OZ Minerals says it intends to recommend BHP’s revised offer valuing its equity at $6.34 billion

ADELAIDE, Australia—BHP Group Ltd.; green up pointing triangle raised its offer for OZ Minerals Ltd. to value the Australian miner at $6.34 billion, as it seeks to produce more copper and nickel needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar farms.

OZ Minerals said it intends to recommend shareholders vote in favor of BHP’s revised offer of 28.25 Australian dollars, the equivalent of about $18.90, a share. A completed deal would represent BHP’s largest acquisition since 2011 when it bought Petrohawk Energy Corp. for more than $12 billion.

BHP Weighs Boosting A$8.4 Billion Bid for OZ Minerals – by Thomas Biesheuvel, Dinesh Nair and Vinicy Chan (Bloomberg News – September 16, 2022)

September 16, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group Ltd. is considering raising its A$8.4 billion ($5.6 billion) offer for OZ Minerals Ltd., people familiar with the matter said, as the world’s top miner seeks to boost its exposure to metals needed for the green-energy transition.

Melbourne-based BHP may increase its A$25 per share bid for OZ Minerals as soon as this month, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. It wasn’t immediately clear by how much BHP would increase its offer, or whether OZ Minerals would agree to any renewed proposal from BHP.

BHP signals it is willing to walk away from bid for OZ Minerals – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 16, 2022)

August 18, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company by market value, appears willing to walk away from its latest major takeover proposal. After the release of the miner’s quarterly earnings Tuesday, BHP chief executive Mike Henry said in a call with media that OZ Minerals Ltd. would be “nice to have” but is not a “must have.”

Earlier this month, Melbourne-based BHP proposed a US$5.8-billion takeover of its fellow Australian copper and nickel producer. While the offer was 30 per cent above OZ’s market price, it was well below its peak share price, reflecting the sharp sell-off across the mining sector over the past few months. OZ Minerals rejected the offer, calling it “highly opportunistic.”

BHP Hits Profit Record And Sees Demand Healing in China – by James Fernyhough (Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance – August 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, posted its highest ever full-year profit on record commodity prices, and will push ahead with growth options on a stronger demand outlook in China.

The producer will study plans to expand its top-earning iron ore unit to 330 million tons of production a year, and is continuing to assess options to lift volumes in copper and nickel, Melbourne-based BHP said Tuesday in a statement. A giant new potash mine in Canada remains on track to begin out in 2026.

BHP’s OZ Bid Could Signal a New Dawn for Mining M&A – by Megha Mandavia (Wall Street Journal – August 9, 2022)

August 10, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/

Australian mining giant BHP Group has been given the cold shoulder by copper miner OZ Minerals Ltd. Markets don’t think that is the end of the story: The world’s most valuable miner may well return with a higher offer. If it does, it will mark the giant’s return to megadeal making—and perhaps signal a turning point for deal activity in mining more broadly.

OZ is playing hard to get, and possibly for good reason. On Monday the company rejected a $5.8 billion takeover offer by BHP, saying it was too low and opportunistic. Prices of copper on the London Metal Exchange are trading around $7,834 per metric ton, down about 20% since the end of last year. Before BHP’s offer, that had punished OZ’s stock too.

Diggers and Dealers: BHP tips EVs will send nickel demand up to 300% higher in the next 30 years – by Josh Chiat (Stockhead.com.au – August 2022)

August 10, 2022

https://stockhead.com.au/

EVs are here to stay, and the world’s biggest miner says it’s going to spur a run for nickel demand well beyond anything seen before.

Following on from IEA figures last week, which show we could need a ludicrous 60 new nickel mines by 2030 to achieve announced carbon reduction pledges, BHP’s Nickel West boss Jessica Farrell told delegates at the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie demand for nickel to 2050 would increase 200-300% on the previous three decades.

Mind-boggling. No wonder BHP has decided to reinvigorate the division which almost closed down a few years ago when stainless steel demand fell off a cliff and tanked prices.

BHP rebuffed in $5.8 billion takeover bid for OZ Minerals – by Praveen Menon and Shashwat Awasthi (Reuters – August 8, 2022)

August 9, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

Aug 8 (Reuters) – BHP Group (BHP.AX) was rebuffed in its A$8.34 billion ($5.8 billion) takeover bid for OZ Minerals (OZL.AX) on Monday, in a setback as it pushes to secure copper and nickel assets for a shift into clean energy and the electric vehicles (EVs) market.

Australia’s OZ Minerals said the A$25 per share unsolicited, conditional and non-binding indicative offer undervalued the nickel and copper miner and was “opportunistic” as it comes when copper prices and its stock price have fallen from recent peaks.

BHP accelerates work on its Saskatchewan potash mine as prices soar – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – July 19, 2022)

July 21, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Mining giant aims to start production year early in 2026

BHP Group Ltd. has gone from lukewarm to hot on its Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan, announcing Tuesday that it is working to accelerate first production by a year to 2026, and that it intends to speed up future expansions as potash prices continue to soar.

The Australian mining giant also reported in its year-end operational review that work on Jansen’s shaft, which already runs one-kilometre deep, was completed in June at a total cost of US$2.97 billion.