Melbourne-based BHP Group Ltd. will focus on boosting returns from its burgeoning copper portfolio, the world’s biggest miner reported at its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings release on Aug. 27, as it bets long-term gains for the crucial new-energy metal will help offset declining returns from iron ore as Chinese demand cools.
CEO Mike Henry announced full-year profit broadly in line with market expectations and highlighted the mining giant’s efforts to double down on its own projects and mines. Underlying attributable profit came in at $13.66 billion for the year through June, up 2% from the year earlier and just above analysts’ estimate of $13.49 billion. The company’s share price rose as much as 2.7% in Sydney following the earnings release.
BHP’s overall revenue rose 3%. Higher sales volumes and relatively strong prices for iron ore and copper were partially offset by lower coal prices and a crash in nickel, caused by a surge of cheap Indonesian material that ultimately prompted the miner to shutter its Nickel West business.
Potash may prove another bright spot for BHP. Its $14 billion Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan is expected to produce 4.15 million mt/y, with first production targeted for the end of calendar year 2026. BHP in July reported that its Jansen Stage 1 (JS1) project remains ahead of schedule and is now 52% complete (GM July 19, p. 27). Jansen Stage 2, which reached final approval in October 2023, is now 2% complete and expected to be up in fiscal year 2029.
“Reaching the halfway milestone for JS1 is a testament to the dedication of our Team Jansen workforce, our contractors and procurement partners, and the local and Indigenous communities surrounding the Jansen area,” Karina Gistelinck, BHP’s Asset President Potash, said in July.
“Building one of the largest potash mines in the world requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and the province has really come together to make a project of this magnitude possible,” Gistelinck added. “Delivering Jansen safely remains our top priority as we get ready for Jansen operations in 2026.”
BHP said the focus at JS1 is now on the completion of the mill building and processing plant, port construction, finalizing infrastructure, and gearing up to handover the project to operations.
The company reported that it spent $9.3 billion in capital and exploration for the full year, up 31% from the year before. It aims to expand that spending to $11 billion by fiscal 2026, with two-thirds of the amount on copper and potash.
Henry also addressed BHP’s failed bid to acquire Anglo American Plc for $49 billion (GM May 31, p. 1). “The Plan A for BHP was never about acquisitions and it wasn’t about that specific opportunity,” Henry told Bloomberg Television, when asked if the company could revive its Anglo bid. “It was about everything that you see in this set of results, which is focusing – first and foremost – on ensuring that we’re getting the most out of our capital.”
BHP said it will pay a final dividend of 74 cents per share, compared with 80 cents a year ago.