BHP Says 1Q Copper Output Up 11%; Whitehaven Preferred Bidder for Coal Assets
October 17 2023 - 6:23PM
Dow Jones News
By Rhiannon Hoyle
BHP Group on Wednesday said it produced more copper but less
iron ore in the first three months of its fiscal year. It also
named Australia's Whitehaven as the preferred bidder for two coal
mines it owns with Japan's Mitsubishi.
The miner said in February that the joint venture was seeking a
buyer for the Daunia and Blackwater mines in Australia's Queensland
state.
"BHP confirms that Whitehaven Coal has been selected as the
preferred bidder in the divestment process," the miner said.
In a quarterly report, BHP said it produced 63.2 million metric
tons of steel-ingredient iron ore in the three months through
September, down 3% on the year-earlier period. It cited maintenance
and work on its rail infrastructure.
BHP is the world's third-biggest producer of iron ore, with
large mining operations in remote northwest Australia.
The company produced 16% less metallurgical coal, also used in
steelmaking. Quarterly production of that commodity totaled 5.6
million tons, as BHP undertook planned plant maintenance.
The company, also a major producer of industrial metal copper,
said its copper production was up by 11% over the same period to
457,000 tons, underpinned by increased production from its biggest
operations. BHP operates and has a majority stake in Chile's
Escondida operation, the world's largest producer of copper
concentrates and cathodes.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2023 18:08 ET (22:08 GMT)
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