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BHPBill is upbeat about metal prices
BHPBill announced that the expansion of its southern African aluminium smelters was on track and it was thought that there would be good demand for metal despite forecasts of a global surplus. The group's aluminium production for southern Africa would rise to 1.329m tons following the commissioning of the expanded Mozal 2 and Hillside 3 projects. Analysts were of the opinion that aluminium prices would remain under pressure due to lower demand and the Reuters Metal Production Database predicted world aluminium would rise 6% to mid 2003 to 27m tons. The group's Michael Campbell said that feasibility studies were being conducted on BHPBill's involvement in energy and coal as stand alone projects that would give shareholders a decent return.
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BHPBill's Brian Gilbertson earned R52m
BHPBill released its annual report for the 2002 year detailing a rise in salary of more than 70% for Brian Gilbertson. Of his remuneration of R52m, R38.5m, was salary with the balance made up of retirement benefits and share-based compensation. For the 2001 year, Gilbertson received a total of R23m. The group's retiring CE Paul Anderson received remuneration of R50.5m, which was boosted to R52.5m as termination benefits were added. Australian media reported that Anderson acknowledged that he was overpaid relative to other employees but he said that compared to a comparable sized job in the US, it was a fraction of what one would get.
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BHPBill might sell North American Copper reserves
BHPBill said that it might consider the sale of its 55m ton zinc and copper reserve in the state of Wisconsin in the US. The group had been trying to obtain permission for a mine on the property since 1994, with the necessary permission still outstanding at Sep 02. The 5 000 acre site was thought to be worth between USD50m and USD94m.
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Kumba/Hancock not entitled to use BHPBill's line
An Australian court ruled that Kumba and Hancock were not entitled to third party access to BHPBill's Mt Newman railway line. Kumba and Hancock wanted to develop the Hope Downs iron ore deposit in the area and believed that under the Rail Transport Agreement Act, they should be allowed access to the BHPBill railway line. One local analyst was of the opinion that Kumba and Hancock would go ahead with the project. The construction of a railway line was estimated to cost AUD300m.
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BHPBill exploring Kimberley with Australian miner
BHPBill announced that it would enter into a joint venture (JV) with Australian miner Tawana Resources for the exploration of the Kimberley region. BHPBill held 70% of the JV with the exclusive right to market any mine production of diamonds and other minerals produced by the project. The deal remained subject to Tawana raising at least USD825 000 to conduct appraisal work within four months and commencing drilling within eight months. BHPBill said that it would relinquish 10% of its interest to the junior miner should a 25 ton mini-bulk sample be complete within five months of completion of stage one of the project.
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BHP Billiton's Ingwe concludes empowerment deal
BHP Billiton announced another successful empowerment deal by its subsidiary Ingwe Coal, namely the sale of the Delmas Colliery in the Mpumalanga Province to Kuyasa Mining (Pty) Ltd, one of the junior miners in the South African mining industry. The deal is worth USD3m. The operation has at least a fifteen-year life span and thus provides Kuyasa with a solid base for future development within the coal mining industry. The sale of Delmas will allow Ingwe to concentrate its strategic focus on its largest domestic customer, Eskom, as well as their large-scale export steam coal ventures.
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BHP Billiton appoints new director
BHP Billiton announced the appointment of Dr Zavareh Rustomjee to the position of director, Southern Africa Energy. He would be responsible for the group's regional energy strategy.
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| Closing price data source: JSE Ltd. All other statistics calculated by ProfileData. |
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