In About Turn, BHP Wants to Build Nickel Business
21 Mayo 2019 - 06:47PM
Noticias Dow Jones
By Rhiannon Hoyle
SYDNEY--BHP Group Ltd. (BHP.AU) wants to raise its bets on a
pending nickel boom tied to rising demand for electric vehicles, an
about-turn for the world's biggest miner which had sought to sell
its nickel business in recent years.
Peter Beaven, BHP's chief financial officer, said on Wednesday
that the world's biggest miner by market value is interested in
building its resources of nickel sulfide, which can be processed
into sulfate for use in batteries.
Last week, Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said the company has
decided to keep its Australian nickel-mining and processing
operations, for which it failed to find a buyer in recent years,
because of expected growth in battery markets and the scarcity of
nickel sulfide assets.
BHP is also seeking to increase its options for growth in copper
and oil, Mr. Beaven said in prepared remarks for an investor
briefing.
"We can, with a degree of conviction, say that adding options in
copper and nickel sulfides are likely to be a sound investment," he
said.
The miner on Tuesday raised its expectations for the number of
electric vehicles that it expects on the roads in coming decades,
citing declining battery costs and rising interest among
automakers, particularly in China.
BHP will focus on exploring for those commodities, although it
won't discount acquiring assets if needed, Mr. Beaven added.
Mr. Beaven said BHP is unlikely to increase its production of
iron ore or steelmaking coal materially, rather only increasing
volumes through its productivity campaign.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 21, 2019 19:32 ET (23:32 GMT)
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