BHP Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry reported a solid first half of operations for the company.
According to the company, the FY24 production guidance ranges for all assets remain unchanged, except for BMA, which has been lowered to 23-25 Mt (46-50 Mt at 100%), except Blackwater and Daunia. Copper production increased by 7%, including a record quarter at Carrapateena, and energy coal production increased by 36%, with FY24 production now expected to be at the upper end of the guidance range.
“WA Iron Ore production was up 5% quarter-on-quarter, while first half copper production rose 7% reflecting a record half at Spence and ongoing strong performance and additional tonnes at Copper South Australia. NSW Energy Coal had its best first half in five years, while BMA had a tough six months following significant planned maintenance and low starting inventories. At Nickel West, we are evaluating options to mitigate the impacts of the sharp fall in nickel prices,” Henry said.
The company has approved US$4.9 billion in Jansen Stage 2, and plans to divest BMA’s Blackwater and Daunia mines for cash consideration of up to US$4.1 billion. An exploratory drilling was undertaken beneath Olympic Dam, showing extensive mineralisation continuity and attractive copper grades above 1% along over 2 km in strike and over 1 km in depth.
“We progressed our growth agenda during the quarter with ongoing construction of the Jansen mine in Canada and the sanction of Jansen Stage 2, which doubles our planned potash production capacity. In South Australia, we successfully integrated our Copper SA business and significant exploration drilling beneath Olympic Dam has identified attractive copper mineralisation above 1% grade along a 2 km strike, with areas above 2%,” Henry stated.
Moreover, BHP announced several changes to its executive Leadership Team in December, effective 1 March 2024.
Furthermore, BHP reported the passing of a BEP Engineering & Maintenance team member following an incident at BMA’s Saraji mine.
“Tragically, a team member from BEP Engineering & Maintenance, a contracting partner to BMA, was fatally injured in an incident at BMA’s Saraji mine earlier this week. Our deepest sympathies are with their family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time. We are committed to learning from this tragedy and investigations into the incident are underway,” Henry added.
