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BHPBill --AR fro BHPBill Finance
A copy of the annual report and accounts of BHP Billiton Finance Ltd for the year ended 30 June 2011 has today been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: www.hemscott.com/nsm.do.
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BHPBilliton -- document available
A copy of the annual report and accounts of BHP Billiton Finance Plc for the year ended 30 June 2011 has today been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: www.hemscott.com/nsm.do
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BHPBill exploration & development report
This report covers the group's exploration and development activities for the September 2011 quarter.
Development
Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) Rapid Growth Project 5 (RGP5) was completed on schedule during the September 2011 quarter and the ramp up of this well timed project is now underway. Subsequent expansions to 240 million tonnes per annum and beyond will leverage infrastructure installed as part of the RGP5 project scope and enable BHPBill to fully utilise its inner harbour capacity at Port Hedland. The North West Shelf CWLH Life Extension project (Australia) was also completed on 24 September 2011. These projects will not be reported in future exploration and development reports. During the September 2011 quarter, BHPBill continued to add to its approved pipeline of high return, growth projects diversified across commodity, geography and customer. Investments in energy coal totalling USD804 million (BHPBill share) will facilitate a further phase of expansion at the world class Cerrejon coal mine (Colombia) to approximately 40 million tonnes per annum (100 per cent basis) and the third stage of development of the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group's (NCIG) coal handling facility in Newcastle (Australia).
Further information on BHPBill can be found at: www.bhpbilliton.com.
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BHPBill production report for quarter 30 Sep 2011
BHPBill released a production report for the quarter ended 30 September 2011. Highlights of the quarter include:
- Western Australia Iron Ore shipments rose to a record annualised rate of 173 million tonnes per annum in the September 2011 quarter (100% basis), a 28% increase over the previous corresponding period.
- Petroleum production increased 19% in the period, reflecting the successful acquisition of the Fayetteville and Petrohawk Onshore US shale businesses on top of strong operating performance from existing assets.
- Quarterly production records were also achieved at New South Wales Energy Coal and Illawarra Coal (both Australia), Cerrejon Coal (Colombia) and the Alumar refinery (Brazil). Record material mined and milling rates at Antamina (Peru) coincided with a significant improvement in copper grades.
Petroleum
Total petroleum production - Petroleum production increased 19 per cent in the period, reflecting the successful acquisition of the Fayetteville and Petrohawk Onshore US shale businesses on top of strong operating performance from existing assets. Crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids - Liquids production increased on the June 2011 quarter following strong operated field performance, development drilling at Shenzi (USA) and new volumes from the Onshore US assets. This was partly offset by shutdowns associated with non operated maintenance and drilling deferrals in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (USA). Importantly, Mad Dog (USA) production is expected to recommence by the end of the 2011 calendar year following a period of maintenance related downtime. Natural gas - Natural gas production was higher than all comparable periods and reflected approximately 40 days of production from the recently acquired Petrohawk shale assets and a full quarter of production from the Angostura Gas Phase II project (Trinidad and Tobago).
Aluminium
Alumina - Consistent performance from the expanded refinery capacity facilitated record quarterly production at Alumar and a modest increase in total alumina production in the period. Aluminium - Production was in line with comparable periods with all operations running at, or close to, effective capacity.
Base metals
Copper - Lower ore grades and industrial action at Escondida (Chile), planned maintenance activity at Pampa Norte (Chile) and planned smelter and refinery outages at Olympic Dam (Australia) all impacted copper production in the period. Record material mined and milling rates were, however, achieved at Antamina and coincided with operations progressing through a copper rich ore zone. Due to industrial action, that impacted operations in the September 2011 quarter, Escondida production is now expected to be marginally lower in the 2012 financial year with volumes weighted to the second half. Production is expected to improve beyond the 2012 financial year as mining activities progress towards higher grade ore with completion of the Escondida Ore Access project in the main pit. Lead/zinc/silver - A broad decline in average ore grades across the Antamina and Cannington (Australia) operations resulted in lower production relative to all comparable periods. Uranium - The steady grade profile of the Olympic Dam ore body was further illustrated by the consistent production performance of the uranium circuit.
Diamonds & specialty products
Diamonds - Production was lower than all comparable periods due to the ongoing decline in average ore grades and unseasonably high rainfall that impacted operations. EKATI (Canada) production is expected to be impacted in the medium term as operations transition to lower grade material, consistent with the mine plan.
Stainless steel materials
Nickel - Contained nickel production at Cerro Matoso (Colombia) increased from the prior quarter following the successful early completion of the planned furnace replacement during the September 2011 quarter. Metal production from the Nickel West Kwinana refinery (Australia) was stronger than the June 2011 quarter as the availability of third party hydrogen supply improved in the period. This was, however, offset by lower matte production following a planned outage at the Nickel West Kalgoorlie smelter (Australia). Higher matte sales are anticipated in the December 2011 quarter as a planned outage at a third party hydrogen supplier will see production shift back towards the Nickel West Kalgoorlie smelter. BHPBill expects the construction of its wholly owned hydrogen plant to be completed before the end of the March 2012 quarter.
Iron ore
Iron ore - Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) shipments rose to a record annualised rate of 173 million tonnes per annum in the quarter (100% basis). WAIO continued to benefit from the dual tracking of the company's rail infrastructure, increasing overall system capability. The Yandi Joint Venture (Australia) achieved a significant increase in mine production following the ramp up of Ore Handling Plant 3 under the management of BHPBill's owner operator workforce. Consistently strong performance following the ramp up of the third pellet plant at Samarco (Brazil) continues to reinforce our confidence in the next phase of expansion.
Manganese
Manganese ore - Production and sales were stronger than the June 2011 quarter as plant availability at GEMCO (Australia) improved and Hotazel (South Africa) benefited from record quarterly production from the Mamatwan mine. Manganese alloy - Alloy production was in line with comparable periods.
Metallurgical coal
Metallurgical coal - Queensland Coal (Australia) volumes increased in the quarter as production continued to ramp up to pre-flood levels, despite stoppages associated with ongoing labour negotiations. Consistent with prior guidance, we expect to be impacted by the remnant effects of the wet weather, to some extent, for the remainder of the 2011 calendar year. At this stage it is not possible to determine when the labour negotiations will conclude. Illawarra Coal achieved record quarterly production following longwall moves at Dendrobium and Appin in the June 2011 quarter. Lower volumes are forecast for the December 2011 quarter with a planned shutdown at the West Cliff Coal Handling Preparation Plant to enable upgrade works to be completed.
Energy Coal
Energy coal - A significant improvement in performance was delivered across our high value, export oriented operations as quarterly production records were achieved at New South Wales Energy Coal and Cerrejon Coal. South Africa Coal recorded an equally impressive 11 per cent increase in total production from the prior quarter. Lower production at New Mexico Coal (USA) was indicative of an increase in the strip ratio at Navajo Coal and an underground fire at San Juan Coal in September 2011. The San Juan Coal mine remains closed pending an investigation into the cause of the fire. Generator demand is currently being met by available stockpiles.
Further information on BHPBill can be found at: www.bhpbilliton.com.
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BHPBill -- commitment to expand olympic dam
BHP Billiton announced today approval for USD1.2 billion in pre-commitment capital for the first phase of the olympic dam project to develop an open pit mine in South Australia. The funding will facilitate the procurement of long lead items such as trucks and accommodation, infrastructure development and early site works for the first phase of the olympic dam project. The majority of the pre-commitment capital is conditional on the successful passage of the Indenture agreement through the South Australian Parliament. The first phase of the olympic dam project is currently in feasibility and its progression into execution remains dependant on the completion of all required studies and Board approval, which is likely to be sought by mid next calendar year.
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