BHP has mined more iron ore than ever before, producing 264.7 million tonnes for the year while its copper operations came within a whisker of 2 million tonnes for the second year straight.
“We finished the year strongly, delivering safe and reliable operations while setting several performance records across the business,” BHP chief executive officer (CEO) Brandon Craig said in his first announcement since taking the top job this month.
“For the second consecutive year, we produced around 2 million tonnes of copper and delivered record iron ore production, demonstrating the power of a disciplined operating system and world-class assets.”
Most of the iron ore came out of Western Australia, where the miner’s Pilbara operations turned out 256.9 million tonnes. Copper finished at 1.95 million tonnes, inside the 1.9 to 2 million tonne guidance range.
“We achieved this against a backdrop of stronger realised prices for both copper and iron ore, with copper prices around 35 per cent higher than a year ago,” he said.
“Cost control was particularly strong, with every asset expected to be within unit cost guidance.”
Copper South Australia, home to Olympic Dam, lifted output 2 per cent to 320,700 tonnes and is expected to finish with unit costs at the bottom end of guidance, alongside the Escondida and Spence mines in Chile.
Coal held up its end too. The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland lifted steelmaking coal 3 per cent to 18.6 million tonnes, and NSW Energy Coal dug up 16.4 million tonnes, more than it had told the market to expect.
The Pilbara has a fresh deposit to build on as well. Capital approval for the Ministers North project let BHP declare a maiden ore reserve of 2500 million tonnes at 61.7 per cent iron. The deposit sits about 13km from the Yandi mine, close enough to run off the existing rail and port network, with Japanese partners Mitsui and Itochu holding 15 per cent between them.
“We delivered these results while continuing to build the next phase of growth,” he said.
Away from home, that growth includes an application to restart the Cerro Colorado mine in Chile, copper ground in the US, and the Jansen potash mine in Canada, which is on track to give BHP its first tonnes of the fertiliser ingredient next year.
“We remain confident in the demand for our core commodities, supported by the long-term trends shaping the world, including industrialisation, urbanisation, digitalisation, the energy transition, population growth and food security.”