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Liability trial for BHP in Samarco dam collapse begins in London – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – October 21, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX, NYSE: BHP) faces a potential $47 billion payout in damages over the 2015 Mariana Dam disaster in Brazil, believed to be country’s most catastrophic environmental incident, as a lawsuit against the miner kicked off on Monday in London’s High Court.

The trial, expected to last up to 12 weeks, will determine whether BHP is legally responsible for the collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The structure failure caused a massive flood that claimed 19 lives, destroyed villages and severely polluted water sources for local communities. The dam was owned by Samarco, a joint venture between BHP and Brazilian mining giant Vale.

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Rio Tinto, BHP & Glencore ‘Feeling the Pinch on Copper’ – by Sean Ashcroft (Mining Digital.com – September 30, 2024)

https://miningdigital.com/

Major diversified miners including Rio Tinto, BHP Group & Glencore are feeling the pressure of a slowdown in global economic growth and declining commerce

Some of the world’s biggest mining companies are struggling to balance investor expectations for hefty returns against the necessity of paying a premium to acquire pure-play copper companies. The challenge comes as global demand for the metal drives valuations to new heights, reports Reuters.

Major diversified miners, including Rio Tinto, BHP Group, and Glencore, are feeling the pressure of a slowdown in global economic growth and declining commodity prices. These factors have led to a significant decrease in their share prices, ranging from 10% to 15% this year.

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Indigenous Group Takes Fight Against Rio Tinto Arizona Copper Mine to US Supreme Court – by Ernest Scheyder (U.S. News/Reuters – September 11, 2024)

https://www.usnews.com/

Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit group comprised of Arizona’s San Carlos Apache tribe and conservationists, asked the court to overturn a March ruling from a sharply divided San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the federal government to swap acreage with the mining companies for their Resolution Copper project.

The appeal to the nine justices was delivered in person by a courier after the Apache held a ceremony of prayer and dancing on the court’s steps in Washington, the culmination of a months-long caravan from their Arizona reservation to the capital.

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Major potash miner turning to AI and automation to improve operations – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star Phoenix – September 9, 2024)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

Nutrien has developed technology that allows for mining machines to be operated remotely

The potash industry has undergone many changes over the decades in Saskatchewan. It has grown exponentially since it began developing in the 1950s and has continued to expand as global population growth increased the demand for fertilizer, an important component of which is potash.

As that demand has steadily increased, Saskatoon-based Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest potash producer, has been working to make its operations more efficient while also improving safety.

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Jansen potash mine ahead of schedule, more growth planned – by Shane Clausing (CJME.com – September 3, 2024)

https://www.cjme.com/

Stage 1 of BHP’s multi-billion dollar Jansen potash mine project is halfway complete and ahead of schedule, the company announced last week. The project is being built just outside of Humboldt, and will be part of a multi-stage effort to build the largest potash mine in the world.

The first stage is expected to be complete by 2026. Karina Gistelinck is the asset president of potash for BHP and also in charge of overseeing the mega project. She was nothing but smiles on Tuesday in Saskatoon speaking about how well construction had progressed on the project.

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BHP has nothing good to say about nickel prices – by Frik Els (Mining.com – August 27, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP’s relationship with its Western Australian nickel operations has been something of an on-and-off affair. In 2014, Melbourne-based BHP excluded Nickel West from its South32 spin-off, created to house the company’s non-core assets. Today South32 is worth $9.5 billion, 50% more than on its debut, and senior management in Perth may well feel that in the end that was a blessing.

Later that year the world’s top mining company, more than $30 billion clear of its nearest rival, also waved away bidders for Nickel West, said to be Glencore and Chinese nickel group Jinchuan, in a sale put as high as $1 billion.

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BHP launches Indigenous partnership plan in Canada – by Staff (Mining.com – August 11, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP is taking another step in its commitment to build strong, respectful and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous communities with the launch of the Canada Indigenous Partnership Plan (CIPP).

This approach has been central in BHP’s development of the Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan, where it started building relationships with local Indigenous groups surrounding the site almost a decade before construction began. First production is expected in 2026.

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Potash giant says life about to get harder for BHP – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – July 30, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

Canadian global fertiliser giant Nutrien vowed to counter any competition from BHP with a boost to potash supply from its network of mines in response to BHP’s planned entry into crop nutrients. BHP is betting big on a growing market for potash as it prepares to take on one-time takeover target Nutrien and other fertiliser incumbents.

Nutrien is predicting steady but unspectacular growth in demand for potash, and focused on an emerging market for biological technology it believes could grow to $US13 billion ($19.9 billion) a year.

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BHP, Lundin grab Filo in $3bn South American copper deal – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 30, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Mining giant BHP (ASX, NYSE: BHP) and Canada’s Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) have teamed up to acquire South America-focused Filo Corp. (TSX: FIL), in a $3 billion (C$4.1bn) deal that hands them key copper assets in Chile and Argentina.

BHP and Lundin are forming a 50/50 joint venture that will have full ownership of the Filo del Sol prospect, which is located near the copper-rich Atacama Desert, straddling the border between Argentina and Chile. The partners will also own the large-scale Josemaría copper-gold-silver project, in the San Juan Province of Argentina, about 9 km east of the border with Chile.

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Teck draws M&A attention from big miners in rush for copper – by Jacob Lorinc, Mariana Durao, Dinesh Nair and Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – July 26, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The world’s biggest miners are back in serious dealmaking mode and Teck Resources Ltd. is taking center stage.

The Canadian miner, which has exited its coal business with a sale this month to Glencore Plc, is drawing attention from across the industry because of its attractive copper assets, as the biggest names position for the next wave of activity in the wake of BHP Group’s failed bid for Anglo American Plc.

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BHP joins the lengthening list of nickel price casualties – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 16, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s nickel production surge is crushing competitors and challenging the West’s ambitions of diversifying its critical metals supply chains. Australia’s BHP Group is the latest victim of a two-year price slump, which has seen London Metal Exchange three-month nickel tumble from an all-time high of $55,000 per metric ton in March 2022 to $16,650.

The world’s largest listed miner has announced it is suspending its Western Australia nickel operations from October. The decision was well flagged and probably made easier by the loss of feed from Wyloo Metals’ Kambalda mines, which were placed on care and maintenance in May, also due to low prices.

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OPINION: BHP’s failed pursuit of Anglo American does not mean mining megadeals are dead – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – June 1, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group’s botched bid for Anglo American brings the curtain down on the greatest takeover attempt in global mining in more than a decade. The megamerger game will not end here. BHP’s lunge for its smaller rival highlighted a hard truth: Copper is in short supply and any big mining company without it will pay the price as economies strive for low-carbon futures.

The desire to own Anglo’s copper assets, including its 44-per-cent stake in Chile’s Collahuasi mine, one of the world’s biggest copper reserves, propelled BHP’s pursuit of Anglo. Copper is the metal considered most critical to the energy revolution.

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Anglo American refuses to extend takeover talks with BHP, signalling end of mining megamerger attempt – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – May 30, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. BHP-N, the world’s biggest mining company, is seeing its megamerger proposal with Anglo American PLC fall apart, with the smaller company rejecting BHP’s call to extend the takeover talks.

Anglo’s rejection almost certainly kills BHP’s proposal to put the two companies together, which would have created the world’s biggest producer of copper, a metal considered critical to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Only a few days ago, it seemed the two sides were on the verge of an agreement.

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BHP walks away from proposed $49bn takeover of Anglo American – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 29, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX: BHP) has withdrawn its proposal to buy Anglo American (LON: AAL) after the takeover target rejected early on Wednesday the world’s largest miner’s request to extend talks, and said that while it believes its bid was “compelling”, the company is committed to a “disciplined approach” to mergers and acquisitions.

“BHP will not be making a firm offer for Anglo American,” chief executive Mark Henry said in a statement published minutes before the 5 p.m. UK time deadline for the mining giant to make a formal bid. “While we believed that our proposal for Anglo American was a compelling opportunity to effectively grow the pie of value for both sets of shareholders, we were unable to reach agreement with Anglo American on our specific views in respect of South African regulatory risk and cost,” Henry noted.

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BHP CEO Mike Henry says mining company will remain disciplined as it chases Anglo American acquisition – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 15, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Canadian head of BHP Group Ltd. says the world’s biggest mining company will remain disciplined as it chases an acquisition of struggling competitor Anglo American PLC, as concerns arise about the complexity and timelines around its US$43-billion takeover offer.

Speaking at a mining conference in Miami, BHP chief executive Mike Henry said that his company’s twice-rejected proposal remains “quite compelling,” and he signalled the Australian miner won’t overpay in its efforts to win over Anglo’s board. “We have a very, very hard-won reputation for discipline when it comes to capital allocation and we do not take that lightly,” he said.

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