BHP bracing for the journey ahead

Q&A

Are there some specific commodities for which you see a bright future and would like to invest in?

As mentioned, copper is one commodity that we are bullish on. We also expect to invest significantly in oil and gas. The recent fall in the oil prices may, however, prompt us to think about the most efficient way to do that, and the timing. Over the longer term we also plan to invest in fertilizers, particularly potash-based ones. Part of the reason why we are bullish on fertilizers is that we do see a phase where energy intensity will fall. Energy efficiency, on the other hand, is growing and the biggest driver of demand that we can capitalize on will be in the growth of high-quality food with a minimal increase in arable land.

How do you plan to reduce overall costs?

By increasing the reliability, the availability, and the utilization rate of every piece of plant and equipment in our supply chain through aggressive bench marking and targeting, and the leadership of our people. We are also concentrating on parts of our ore business with low strip ratios and low amounts of ore below the water table. Our efforts are more trained on dry ore that is mined with very little waste. In the long term we will look to get further cost reductions from automation of trucks, trains and drilling.

What is your perspective on mergers, acquisition and demerging in the mining sector and do you have any plans in this area?

As far as we are concerned, we are in the process of demerging because we believe that our company has become a little bit too complex, and we think that by separating out a new company, which we call South 32, we can create two simpler companies. The biggest driver at the moment, at times of low price, is to be low cost, and we think that simplifying helps us, and the company we demerge will have lower costs.