BHP has announced its operational review for H1 of the year ended 31 December, 2024. It reported a strong underlying operational performance, with copper production up by 10%. BHP´s Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry, said: “BHP delivered safe and reliable performance in the first half. Our flagship copper, iron ore and steelmaking coal assets delivered particularly strong production in the period. Copper volumes rose 10%, with Escondida achieving a 10-year production record, more than offsetting the impact of a weather-related power outage at Copper SA,” he added. Copper production at Escondida increased by 22% primarily due to higher concentrator feed grade of 1.03% and higher recoveries as mining progressed into areas of higher-grade ore as planned.
“WAIO – Western Australia Iron Ore – shipped record half-year tonnes through the port, enabled by supply chain improvements following the completion of major debottlenecking at the port,” said Henry. “Steelmaking coal tonnes from the BMA (BHP Mitsubishi Alliance) operations were up 14%,” he added.
In the review period, BHP made further progress on its growth pathways in future- facing commodities. In January, it completed the formation of Vicuña Corp with Lundin Mining to advance the Filo del Sol and Josemaria projects in Argentina, which BHP considers to be one of the most significant global copper discoveries in decades.
“In Canada, our Jansen Stage 1 potash project is now 63% complete, with first production scheduled for late 2026, and we continue to execute Stage 2 in parallel,” said Henry. He also noted that in Brazil, Samarco, BHP Brasil and Vale signed a comprehensive settlement agreement with the Brazilian government and public authorities for the Samarco Fundão dam failure, reflecting BHP Brasil’s commitment to support the people, communities and environment affected by the tragedy.
“Our WA Nickel operations were safely transitioned into a period of temporary suspension, with many employees moving into roles to support this phase or within other parts of BHP,” said Henry. On the subject of decarbonisation, the CEO observed that at its 2024 AGM, the company received a 92% vote in favour of its second Climate Transition Action Plan (CTAP).
In summary, Henry said BHP is well positioned to continue strong momentum into the second half with a number of assets now expected to deliver production in the upper half of their respective ranges, while maintaining tight cost control.