|
|
BHP - operational review nine months March 20221
All guidance is subject to further potential impacts from COVID-19 during the 2021 financial year.
Highlights:
- Record production was achieved at Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) and record average concentrator throughput was delivered at Escondida.
- Production guidance for the 2021 financial year remains unchanged for petroleum and iron ore. Copper guidance has increased to between 1,535 kt and 1,660 kt and reflects stronger than expected performance at Escondida. Metallurgical coal guidance has been reduced to between 39 and 41 Mt as a result of significant wet weather impacts during the December 2020 and March 2021 quarters. Energy coal guidance has been reduced to between 18 and 20 Mt as a result of significant weather impacts at New South Wales Energy Coal (NSWEC) and lower than expected volumes at Cerrejon.
- Full year unit cost guidance/(1)/ (based on exchange rates of AUD/USD 0.70 and USD/CLP 769) remains unchanged for Petroleum and WAIO. Unit costs for Escondida have been lowered to be between USD0.95 and USD1.10/(1)/ per pound, reflecting strong production and lower deferred stripping costs. Unit costs for Queensland Coal have been increased to be between USD74 and USD78/(1)/ per tonne, reflecting lower expected volumes for the full year.
- The Bass Strait West Barracouta gas project achieved first production in April 2021, and is on schedule and budget. Our major projects under development are also progressing to plan. The Ruby project in Trinidad and Tobago is progressing ahead of schedule and on budget, with first production on track for May 2021. South Flank is tracking well with commissioning activities planned for the June 2021 quarter and is on schedule for first production in the middle of the 2021 calendar year. Jansen Stage 1 project remains on track for Final Investment Decision in the middle of the 2021 calendar year.
|
|
Click here for original article
|
| |
BHP - Samarco filing of judicial reorganisation
On 9 April 2021, Samarco Mineração S.A. (Samarco) announced that it filed for judicial reorganisation (JR) with the Commercial Courts of Belo Horizonte, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Samarco’s JR filing is a last-resort response to multiple legal actions filed by certain Samarco financial creditors in the U.S. and Brazil which have resulted in freezing orders against Samarco’s accounts and which threaten Samarco’s operations. It was filed after unsuccessful attempts by Samarco to negotiate a debt restructure with these creditors. Samarco’s shareholders, BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda (BHP Brasil) and Vale S.A (Vale), support Samarco’s JR filing in this context.
The JR is a means for Samarco to restructure its financial debts in order to establish a sustainable independent financial position in order for Samarco to continue to rebuild its operations safely and meet its Renova Foundation (Renova) obligations. Samarco’s restarted operations provide jobs, local economic activity and community support as well as continuing the remediation and compensation programs underway through the legally approved programs. Samarco’s operations will continue through the JR and restructure process.
The JR does not affect Samarco’s obligation or commitment to make full redress for the 2015 Fundão dam failure, and it does not impact Renova’s ability to undertake that remediation and compensation.
The extensive work undertaken by Renova will continue. Renova has spent approximately BRL12.2 billion (approximately USD3 billion) on its remediation and compensation programs. Compensation and financial assistance of approximately BRL3.5 billion (approximately USD870 million) has been paid to support approximately 320,000 people affected by the Fundão dam failure. In addition, more than 10,000 claims have been settled over the seven months to March 2021 under the court- mandated “Novel payment” system designed to ensure compensation for claimants who had struggled to prove their damages in the most informal sectors of the economy across 23 territories.
Samarco, BHP Brasil and Vale expect to continue negotiations in the coming months with the Brazilian authorities on the programs undertaken by Renova to progress settlement of the BRL155 billion public civil claim commenced by the Federal Prosecutors Office against BHP Brasil, Vale and Samarco.
BHP Brasil and Vale S.A. each hold a 50 per cent interest in Samarco.
|
|
Click here for original article
|
| |
| |
|
| Closing price data source: JSE Ltd. All other statistics calculated by ProfileData. |
| |
|
|
