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BHP Billiton shareholders will not vote on results
BHP Billiton would not allow shareholders to vote on its sets of financial accounts at the group's annual general meetings in Oct 01. A rating agency alerted investors and institutions that the group's decision was a breach of codes on corporate governance. The group said that the decision arose as a result of the need to produce two sets of accounts to meet different regulatory requirements in Australia and the UK. Shareholders would not receive both sets of accounts (unless specifically requested) and it would therefore be unreasonable to ask them to vote on accounts that they had not seen. It was thought that this would be a "one-off" occurrence which would disappear once the companies were reporting jointly for a full financial year.
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BHP Billiton disposes of interest in Ok Tedi
BHP Billiton finalised talks on the sale of its Ok Tedi copper mine in Papua New Guinea on 26 Sep 01 to a company partly representing landowners in the western province, near the border with Indonesia. The transfer of the 52% interest would be effective from Jan 02 and would end an association dogged with law suits from landowners on environmental and economic issues. The law suits would however continue for some time with a case expected to go to trial in the Victoria Supreme Court, Australia in the early part of 02. The deal remained subject to approval by the cabinet (Papua New Guinea's interest in the mine would rise to 82% on finalisation of the agreement) and Canada's Inmet Mining which holds the remaining 18%. BHP Billiton conceded that the environmental damage caused by the mine was greater than originally anticipated.
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BHP Billiton secures multicurrency facility
Billiton concluded the securing of a US$2.5bn syndicated multicurrency revolving facility to replace the US$1.2bn facility previously in the name of BHP Ltd and the US$1.5bn and US$1.25bn facilities previously in the name of BHP plc. The facility would be available in various currencies and jurisdictions and represents the enhanced risk profile and creditworthiness of the group.
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Update on BHP Billiton’s Richards Bay project
Richards Bay Minerals, the world's largest sand mining operation in which BHP Billiton had a 50% interest, would begin offshore prospecting in Jan 02 to establish the viability of mining heavy mineral deposits off the KwaZulu-Natal coast. Approval of a five year prospecting lease was anticipated from the department of minerals and energy during Oct 01. Data collection and interpretation would begin in 02 but it was unlikely that full scale offshore mining would begin before 2006.
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BHP Billiton production affected by snowfall
BHP Billiton said that power disruption to its Bayside and Hillside aluminium smelters as a result of snowfalls in KwaZulu Natal on 14 Sep 01 were succinct. The Bayside smelter returned to normal production soon after the interruption but about 20 000 tonnes of production could be lost as a result of closure of some of the pots at the Hillside operation. Hillside's annual production capacity was around 500 000 tonnes.
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BHP Billiton plans to list diamond division
BHP Billiton plans to spin off and list its diamond division within five years. The company could offer shares in its Aurias diamond marketing unit to the public within five years. The share sale would be part of a bid to become the world's biggest diamond marketer after De Beers. Lindsay Hughson, the president of Aurias, was quoted as saying the public float was a key long-term goal for BHP Billiton. He said the share sale would first involve the roll-out of 500 North American retail stores, probably in a joint venture. That move would put Aurias in direct competition with the De Beers-LVMH joint venture, which could create a new company focused on the premium diamond jewellery market. While BHP Billiton had embarked on a non-core asset disposal programme, it has made its intention clear to stay in the diamond business. It had, however, not clarified whether it would continue as a diamond miner or a luxury goods brand owner.
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