BHP HAS delivered record iron ore tonnes from its central Pilbara hub.
In its operational review for the nine months ended 31 March 2025 it said the WA operation demonstrated its resilience in offsetting the impact of Tropical Cyclone Zelia and Tropical Storm Sean.
It recorded a year-on-year increase of 7%, with production guidance for FY25 at between 250 and 260 million tonnes.
“The record volumes delivered from the Central Pilbara hub (South Flank and Mining Area C) following the completion of the ramp up of South Flank in FY24 and a 13% increase in productive movement,” the report said.
“The Port Debottlenecking Project 1 (PDP1), which was delivered in CY24, has continued to unlock improved car dumper and ship loader performance with record nine-month shipments of iron ore.
“This strong performance was partially offset by the impact of Tropical Cyclone Zelia and Tropical Storm Sean, and the planned increase in tie-in activity of the multi-year Rail Technology Programme (RTP1).”
The report also outlined record copper production with a record nine-month group copper production of 1.5 million tonnes, driven by a 20% increase at Escondida and strong underlying performances across all other operated copper assets.
BHP CEO, Mike Henry, said BHP’s performance in FY25 to date demonstrates the resilience of the business amid challenging operating and market conditions.
“At BMA in Queensland, in the highest rainfall wet season in more than a decade, steelmaking coal volumes rose by 5% following a strong performance across the open cut mines,” Mr Henry said.
“BHP recently achieved 40% female representation across our global employee base, a 23% point increase since 2016. The efforts that have underpinned this have made BHP a safer, more productive, and better performing business. We have a distinctive competitive advantage in responding to labour and skills shortages across our sector.
“Despite the limited direct impact of tariffs on BHP, the implication of slower economic growth and a fragmented trading environment could be more significant. China’s ability to shift toward a consumption-led economy and for trade flows to adapt to the new environment will be key to sustaining the global outlook.
“In the face of global volatility and policy uncertainty, BHP is poised to benefit from a flight to quality with tier one assets, industry-leading margins and high-return organic growth opportunities that will underpin value and returns through the cycle.”
Leave a Reply