Archive | BHP Billiton

BHP urges more power for Indigenous groups after Rio cave blast disaster – by Hamish Hastie and Nick Toscano (The Age – August 11, 2020)

August 11, 2020 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.theage.com.au/

The nation’s largest miner, BHP, says Indigenous groups should have a greater say over projects endangering significant sites on their ancestral land following Rio Tinto’s destruction of 46,000-year-old rock shelters in Western Australia.

In a submission to a federal inquiry into the blasting of the Juukan Gorge site by rival Rio, BHP said heritage-protection laws covering mining operations in WA’s iron ore-rich Pilbara were weighted too far in favour of resources companies.

BHP said it supported enshrining traditional owner consultation requirements for disturbing land into new state laws, and the introduction of rights for traditional owners to appeal decisions after they are granted. Continue Reading →

Australian miners Rio Tinto and Fortescue post record iron ore shipments as China industrial recovery continues – by Su-Lin Tan (South China Morning Post – July 31 2020)

July 31, 2020 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Rio Tinto

https://www.scmp.com/

Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group have joined BHP Group in reporting record shipments of iron ore, the bulk of it to China, as an infrastructure and property construction boom in the world’s second largest economy drives a rebound in steel production.

The companies have reported record earnings on the back of the iron ore shipments, even though exports of other minerals like aluminium and copper remain in the doldrums as the coronavirus pandemic saps global demand.

Australia’s record iron ore exports to China, combined with a surge in shipments of coking and thermal coal, indicate trade in the key industrial ingredients has not suffered because of a diplomatic spat between the two countries. Continue Reading →

‘Heritage of all Australians’: Rio Tinto and BHP in damage control after call for mining halt – by Lorena Allam and Calla Wahlquist (The Guardian – June 13, 2020)

June 15, 2020 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.theguardian.com/

Western Australia’s ‘archaic’ heritage laws are in the spotlight as global outrage grows over the destruction of Aboriginal sites

Calls are growing for an immediate halt to mining operations in the Pilbara that have been approved under Western Australia’s “archaic” Aboriginal heritage laws and the Senate will hold an urgent inquiry, as international outrage from investors pushes big mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP into damage control.

On Thursday, Guardian Australia revealed that BHP Billiton was poised to destroy at least 40 significant Aboriginal sites in the central Pilbara to expand its A$4.5bn South Flank iron-ore mine, even though it was aware the traditional owners are deeply opposed to the move.

By day’s end, following public outcry, the company said it would not go ahead without “further extensive consultation” with the traditional owners, the Banjima people. Continue Reading →

BHP agrees not to damage 40 Aboriginal heritage sites without consulting traditional owners – by Lorena Allam and Calla Wahlquist (The Guardian – June 11, 2020)

June 11, 2020 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.theguardian.com/

BHP has said it will not damage 40 Aboriginal heritage sites which it received ministerial permission to destroy without “further extensive consultation” with traditional owners, after Guardian Australia revealed that traditional owners had been legally prevented from speaking publicly about the sites.

It comes amid a mounting shareholder backlash against mining companies for their destruction of Aboriginal heritage, which began with Rio Tinto’s destruction of a 46,000-year-old heritage site at Juukan Gorge last month and has been compared by shareholder groups to widespread bad conduct in the financial services sector before the banking royal commission.

On Thursday BHP said it was clarifying earlier statements by promising not to destroy any of the 40 sites in the central Pilbara to expand its $4.5bn South Flank iron ore mining operation, without further consultation with the Banjima traditional owners. It received a ministerial consent order to destroy them under WA’s outdated Aboriginal heritage laws on 29 March. Continue Reading →

Iron Ore Blasts Past $100 After Pandemic Forces Brazil Mine Halt – by James Attwood and Krystal Chia (Bloomberg News – June 8, 2020)

June 8, 2020 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Latin America Mining, Rio Tinto, Vale

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

(Bloomberg) Iron ore futures surged above $100 a ton after Brazil’s Vale SA was ordered to suspend operations that account for about a 10th of its output after workers contracted Covid-19, boosting concerns surging cases will disrupt other mines in the top shipper after Australia.

The ruction is the latest supply shock to hit the global market over the past 18 months, following a dam burst at a Vale mine in 2019 that roiled prices as well as weather-related disruptions this year.

Iron ore could hold above $100 for the next two months, Morgan Stanley said, although it cautioned that a surplus and lower prices were still expected in the final quarter. Higher prices will benefit Australian majors BHP Group, Rio Tinto Group and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Continue Reading →

South32 profit plunges on weak commodity prices; declares special dividend – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – February 12, 2020)

February 13, 2020 in BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s South32 Ltd reported a 80% plunge in half-year profit on Thursday, as a trade war between China and the United States hit prices of its key products, but the miner’s shares rose after it announced a special dividend.

Prices of South32’s top three commodities – metallurgical coal, aluminum and manganese – slumped in 2019 as the bruising Sino-U.S. trade war crimped demand.

However, the miner declared an interim dividend of 1.1 cents per share, down from 5.1 cents per share a year ago, and a special dividend of 1.1 cents per share. “At first glance, the results appear broadly neutral versus our estimates for earnings,” RBC Capital said. Continue Reading →

BHP tries to delay China shipments due to virus – by Sarah Danckert and Nick Toscano (Brisbane Times – February 9, 2020)

February 10, 2020 in Asia Mining, BHP Billiton, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

BHP Group is starting to feel the impact of the coronavirus on its business with the mining giant in talks with its Chinese customers to delay shipments of copper concentrate as plants are shutdown around the nation.

BHP confirmed on Sunday that it is working with its customers in China to stem the impact of the virus on its exports after importers in China were offered force majeure certificates by the country’s international trade promotion agency.

In response, suppliers are considering giving buyers in China flexibility on deliveries to discourage them from declaring force majeure, offering them a way out of contractual obligations. Continue Reading →

Australian bushfires hit coal output, hazardous conditions to return – by Byron Kaye (Reuters Canada – January 21, 2020)

January 21, 2020 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, Coal, International Media Resource Articles

https://ca.reuters.com/

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Mining giant BHP Group (BHP.AX) said on Tuesday that poor air quality caused by smoke from Australia’s bushfires is hurting coal production, as authorities said a reprieve from hazardous fire conditions would end within days.

The warning from the world’s biggest miner showed how an unusually long bushfire season that has scorched an area one-third the size of Germany is damaging the world’s No. 14 economy.

Australia’s tourism and insurance industries have already foreshadowed they face a A$1 billion ($687 million) hit each from the fires. Scores of fires were still burning on the east coast on Tuesday despite thunderstorms and rain in recent days. Continue Reading →

Green Is The New Black For The World’s Biggest Mining Companies – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – January 14, 2020)

January 14, 2020 in Anglo American, BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Potash/Phosphate

https://www.forbes.com/

The “greening” of the world’s biggest mining companies is accelerating with a rush into environmentally benign material, such as potash, a high-value fertilizer, matched by an exit from the most polluting of minerals—coal.

Global miner Anglo American flagged its renewed interest in fertilizer with a proposal last week to acquire a troubled British potash-project developer, Sirius Minerals, which is developing the Woodsmith mine in Yorkshire, in the U.K.

If successful, the $500 million takeover would mark a return to fertilizer three years after Anglo American sold a phosphate business as part of a company-wide clean up. Continue Reading →

Apache man moving ‘home’ to protest copper mine in Arizona – by Felicia Fonseca (Washington Post – November 27, 2019)

November 28, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, BHP Billiton, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Conflict and Opposition, Rio Tinto, United States Mining

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Wendsler Nosie Sr. is drawn to a mountainous area in central Arizona where he and other Apaches have harvested medicinal plants, held coming-of-age ceremonies and gathered acorns for generations.

On Thursday, he’ll start a three-day journey to make a permanent home in the area known as Chi’chil Bildagoteel, or Oak Flat, in protest of a proposed copper mine made possible by a federal land exchange.

The Resolution Copper mine near Superior would be one of the largest such mines in North America, using techniques known as block-cave mining that call for digging underneath the ore body and setting off explosions to extract it. Continue Reading →

BHP Plans to Increase Its Stake in Ecuador-Focused SolGold – by Thomas Biesheuvel and David Stringer (Bloomberg News – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019 in BHP Billiton, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining

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

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group increased its stake in Ecuadorian copper miner SolGold Plc, another sign that the biggest miners are increasing exposure to copper in the hope that the electrification of cities and cars will boost demand.

SolGold shares surged the most since June after Bloomberg earlier reported the companies were in talks. Melbourne-based BHP paid 17.1 million pounds ($22 million) to raise its holding in the company to 14.7%, almost drawing level with top investor Newcrest Mining Ltd.

Brisbane-based SolGold’s interests in Ecuador include the flagship Alpala copper-gold project, which the company estimates has a potential 55-year life and is among the world’s best undeveloped deposits. The company is also studying 13 other priority targets in the nation, according to a presentation this month. Continue Reading →

World’s biggest miner names Canadian as new CEO, raises intrigue about potash ambitions – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – November 14, 2019)

November 15, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Potash/Phosphate, Saskatchewan Mining

https://business.financialpost.com/

Decision could have consequences on whether BHP pushes forward with a massive potash project in Saskatchewan in the coming years

Canadian Mike Henry will be the next chief executive of giant Australian miner BHP Group, a decision that could have consequences on whether it pushes forward with a massive potash project in Saskatchewan in the coming years.

Henry, 53, takes the helm in January, leaving a month or so for him to transition from his current role as head of BHP’s Australian mining operations, where the company’s iron ore mines that account for nearly half its revenue are located.

One item on his eventual to-do list, though not necessarily at the top, will be whether the company will allocate $5 billion to construct the first phase of its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan. The project would initially add four million tons of potash to the market and as much as four times that over time, which could drastically alter the supply and demand dynamics for existing producers such as Saskatoon-based Nutrien Ltd. Continue Reading →

Global miner BHP taps Australia head Henry as new CEO – by Sonali Paul and Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – November 13, 2019)

November 14, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX) (BHPB.L) on Thursday named its Australian head Mike Henry to succeed Andrew Mackenzie as the miner’s chief executive, shunning calls from some investors for fresh blood from outside the Anglo Australian giant.

Mackenzie, 62, will step down on Dec. 31 ending nearly seven years in charge of the biggest global miner, during which time he overhauled the company, spinning off a raft of assets and cutting costs sharply.

Henry, a 53-year-old Canadian who joined BHP in 2003, has led its Australian operations over the past three years, including its biggest earner, iron ore, and the world’s largest metallurgical coal operations. Continue Reading →

Nutrien and other rivals get nervous as BHP Billiton eyes $17-billion potash project in Saskatchewan – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – October 18, 2019)

October 18, 2019 in BHP Billiton, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Potash/Phosphate, Saskatchewan Mining

https://business.financialpost.com/

Chuck Magro, chief executive of Saskatoon-based Nutrien Ltd., remained quiet on Thursday after the Australian-based mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. disclosed its latest plans to build a giant potash mine in his company’s backyard.

BHP announced it would commit an additional US$345 million, on top of roughly $3 billion already spent, to de-risk Jansen, a proposed potash mine east of Saskatoon that could upend the market; and it gave itself until February 2021 to make a final decision on the estimated $17-billion project.

If constructed, Jansen would add about 4.4 million tonnes of potash per year, roughly 7 per cent of the current market, and potentially enough to drive down potash prices and deal a blow to Nutrien, the largest producer in the world. The Saskatoon-based firm’s stock price fell just under a per cent to $64.64 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Continue Reading →

BHP’s London AGM rejects call to quit ‘pro-coal’ associations – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – October 17, 2019)

October 18, 2019 in BHP Billiton, Coal, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – BHP (BHP.AX) (BHPB.L) shareholders are poised to reject a motion urging the world’s biggest listed miner to suspend membership of some industry bodies judged to be at odds with goals to tackle climate change, initial voting in London suggested on Thursday.

Ethical investors have called for the suspension, arguing BHP’s membership of some industry organizations funds pro-coal lobbying.

One of BHP’s biggest shareholders, Aberdeen Standard Investments, part of Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA.L), last week spoke out in favor of the resolution, saying lobby groups can be a major obstacle to positive change. Continue Reading →