While the company has already had reduced costs across its Australian businesses over the past five years, it’s now hoping to lower unit costs by further 10% in the medium term, BHP Minerals Australia president Mike Henry said Tuesday.
At the same time, BHP plans to lift its Australian iron ore production "run rate" to 290 million tonnes a year by the end of fiscal 2019, Henry said during a briefing in Adelaide. This, as the mining giant sees prices for iron ore and metallurgical coal rebounding sharply in two months, as buyers look to replenish stocks.
Once again BHP showed one of its favourite commodities in which to base future growth is copper, mostly due to the expected uptake of electric vehicles and renewable energy.
The company also pointed to a shortage of the red metal emerging by the early 2020s and says $100 billion in new mine spending is needed to meet demand over the next 15 years.