BHP posts record iron ore production in Australia

SYDNEY, July 23, (AFP): BHP Billiton posted record annual iron ore production in Western Australia for the fourteenth consecutive year Wednesday, while Queensland coal production also hit an all-time high.

The Anglo-Australian mining giant’s operational review for the year ended June 30 also showed copper production rose two percent year on year and petroleum up four percent.

“Our focus on productivity has resulted in a significant improvement in operating performance at each of our major businesses this year, with a nine percent increase in group production and record output at 12 operations,” chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said.

Rival mining giant Rio Tinto last week said its iron ore production and shipments strips out volatile items and is more closely watched by the Reserve Bank, rose 0.7 percent for a year-on-year rate of 2.8 percent.

Barclays’ chief economist for Australia Kieran Davies said the figures were broadly similar to the RBA’s forecasts and its focus now turns to June retail sales surged to record highs in the first-half of the year as it boosted output despite a recent fall in commodity prices.

Iron ore prices have dropped almost 30 percent this year — falling below US$100 a tonne in May for the first time since 2012 — owing to a supply glut as miners lift output on expectations of continued Chinese demand for the steel-making material.

BHP said iron ore production in Western Australia significantly exceeded initial full-year production guidance with volumes increasing to 225 million metric tons (Mt).

“We now expect production of 245 Mt (100% basis) from the Pilbara (region) in the 2015 financial year,” the world’s biggest diversified miner said in a statement. numbers, which come out next month.

“The retail sales number will be important because we’ve had weakness there recently and we had that big drop in consumer confidence from the budget, although the weekly consumer confidence numbers have shown a rebound,” Davies told AFP.