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BIL 201512010034A
Copper Briefing and Site Tour - Building Momentum in Copper
BHP Billiton Plc
Registration number 3196209
Registered in England and Wales
Share code: BIL
ISIN: GB0000566504
Issued by: BHP Billiton Plc
Date: 1 December 2015
To: London Stock Exchange
JSE Limited
For Release: Immediately
Contact: Elizabeth Hobley +44 207 802 4054
BHP Billiton Plc – Copper Briefing and Site Tour
UK Listing Authority Submissions
BHP Billiton President, Copper, Danny Malchuk, will host a Copper briefing and site tour
on Tuesday, 1 December 2015.
The following document has today been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism
and will shortly be available for inspection at www.hemscott.com/nsm.do:
• Copper Briefing and Site Tour Presentation
The document may also be accessed via BHP Billiton’s website - www.bhpbilliton.com
BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209
Registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: Neathouse Place London SW1V 1LH United Kingdom
A member of the BHP Billiton Group which is headquartered in Australia
NEWS RELEASE
Release Time IMMEDIATE
Date 1 December 2015
Number 30/15
BUILDING MOMENTUM IN COPPER
BHP Billiton President Copper, Daniel Malchuk, today announced plans to lower copper
unit costs to US$1.08 per pound in the 2017 financial year, supporting strong cash
margins even at today’s prices. Over this period, the release of latent capacity across the
portfolio will also help annual Group copper production grow to approximately 1.7 Mt at
very low cost. This strong recovery will be supported by our differentiated water and
power solutions in Chile which will provide us with a significant competitive advantage.
Mr Malchuk reinforced BHP Billiton’s commitment to sustainability saying, “We value
safe, sustainable operations above all else. We are enhancing verification for critical
controls across all our assets and have brought forward our regular review of our tailings
facilities.
Referring to the copper market, he said while near-term oversupply is weighing on current
prices, attractive long-term fundamentals continue to support our positive outlook. “We
see a number of factors creating the conditions for a significant supply deficit by the end
of the decade. Grade decline, falling investment across the sector, the lack of greenfield
projects and challenges accessing sustainable power and water are all likely to constrain
industry supply. Meanwhile we expect robust demand from China and non-OECD
countries to add to the deficit.
Mr Malchuk said BHP Billiton’s Copper portfolio comprised of large, long life assets
competitively positioned on the cost curve. “We have the industry’s largest copper
resource and our business will gain momentum over the next two years with lower costs
and higher production across our major assets as we safely improve productivity.
“At Escondida, no major investment is required to sustain an average 1.2 million tonnes
per annum of production capacity for the decade from the 2016 financial year, and the
asset is expected to generate strong free cash flow through the cycle.
“Olympic Dam unit costs are expected to fall 48 per cent1 by the end of the 2017 financial
year to US$1.00 per pound, repositioning the asset at the low end of the cost curve. Over
the same period, Spence unit costs are expected to fall 10 per cent to 87 US cents per
pound. Low cost debottlenecking projects will release latent capacity, supporting
sustainable production of approximately 200 ktpa at both Olympic Dam and Spence from
the 2016 financial year.
“We are also pursuing further growth opportunities which offer attractive returns. The
Spence Growth Option has advanced to the feasibility stage with the potential for first
production in the 2020 financial year. And we continue to create staged optionality for
substantial long-term growth at Olympic Dam. These opportunities will enable us to bring
on production at a time that coincides with an expected price recovery.”
Further information on BHP Billiton can be found at: www.bhpbilliton.com.
Media Relations Investor Relations
Australia Australia
Emily Perry Tara Dines
Tel: +61 3 9609 2800 Mobile: +61 477 325 803 Tel: +61 3 9609 2222 Mobile: +61 499 249 005
email: Emily.Perry@bhpbilliton.com email: Tara.Dines@bhpbilliton.com
Paul Hitchins Andrew Gunn
Tel: + 61 3 9609 2592 Mobile: + 61 419 315 001 Tel: +61 3 9609 3575 Mobile: +61 402 087 354
email: Paul.Hitchins@bhpbilliton.com email: Andrew.Gunn@bhpbilliton.com
Eleanor Nichols United Kingdom and South Africa
Tel: +61 3 9609 2360 Mobile: +61 407 064 748
email: Eleanor.Nichols@bhpbilliton.com Jonathan Price
Tel: +44 20 7802 4131 Mobile: +44 7990 527 726
United Kingdom and Americas email: Jonathan.H.Price@bhpbilliton.com
Ruban Yogarajah Dean Simon
Tel: +44 20 7802 4033 Mobile: +44 7827 082 022 Tel: +44 20 7802 7461 Mobile: +44 7717 511 193
email: Ruban.Yogarajah@bhpbilliton.com email: Dean.Simon@bhpbilliton.com
Jennifer White Americas
Tel: +44 20 7802 7462 Mobile: +44 7827 253 764
email: Jennifer.White@bhpbilliton.com James Agar
Tel: +1 212 310 1421 Mobile: +1 347 882 3011
email: James.Agar@bhpbilliton.com
Joseph Suarez
Tel: +1 212 310 1422 Mobile: +1 646 400 3803
email: Joseph.Suarez@bhpbilliton.com
BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209
Registered in Australia Registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: Level 16, 171 Collins Street Registered Office: Neathouse Place
Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia London SW1V 1LH United Kingdom
Tel +61 1300 55 4757 Fax +61 3 9609 3015 Tel +44 20 7802 4000 Fax +44 20 7802 4111
Members of the BHP Billiton Group which is headquartered in Australia
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