TIDMBHP
RNS Number : 2703K
BHP Group PLC
20 April 2020
Release Time IMMEDIATE
Date 21 April 2020
Release Number 4/20
BHP OPERATIONAL REVIEW
FOR THE NINE MONTHSED 31 MARCH 2020
Note: All guidance is subject to potential impacts from COVID-19
during the June 2020 quarter.
-- Our highest priority is the safety, health and wellbeing of
our workforce and communities. We have taken action to reduce the
spread of COVID-19.
-- Our financial position is strong. Underpinned by our low-cost
operations, our business is resilient and expected to continue to
generate solid cash flow.
-- Strong underlying operational performance across the
portfolio offset the impacts of planned maintenance, natural field
decline and wet weather in Australia. Group copper equivalent
production was broadly unchanged over the nine months ended March
2020, with volumes for the full year now expected to be in line
with last year.
-- R ecord production was achieved at Western Australia Iron Ore
(WAIO) and Caval Ridge, while record average concentrator
throughput was delivered at Escondida and record ore was stacked at
Spence.
-- Production guidance for the 2020 financial year remains unchanged for petroleum, iron ore and metallurgical coal. Copper guidance for our operated assets is broadly unchanged and Antamina guidance is under review following temporary suspension of operations due to COVID-19. Energy coal production guidance is under review with Cerrejón placed on temporary care and maintenance due to COVID-19.
-- Full year unit cost guidance(1) remains unchanged for the 2020 financial year.
-- Our major projects under development in petroleum and iron
ore are tracking to plan. As a result of measures put in place to
reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Spence Growth Option schedule
and timing for completion of the shafts at Jansen are under
review.
-- We have flexibility in our capital and exploration
expenditure. We are reviewing our guidance for the 2021 financial
year and it will be lower than the current guidance of around US$8
billion. We will provide updated guidance with our full year
results.
-- An update on COVID-19 measures and our short-term economic
and commodities outlook is included on pages 3 to 5.
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20
(vs Mar (vs Dec
Production YTD19) Q19) Mar Q20 vs Dec Q19 commentary
-------------- --------- -------- ---------------------------------------------
Petroleum 82 25 Lower production due to increased downtime
(MMboe) at Bass Strait caused by adverse weather
conditions, planned maintenance at
Atlantis and lower seasonal gas sales.
(10%) (11%)
Lower production at Escondida due to
the impact of expected lower copper
grades, partially offset by continued
strong concentrator throughput. Lower
volumes at Olympic Dam due to unplanned
Copper (kt) 1,310 425 downtime at the smelter.
5% (7%)
Production was broadly flat at WAIO
despite weather impacts from Tropical
Cyclone Blake and Tropical Cyclone
Iron ore Damien, reflecting increased car dumper
(Mt) 181 60 availability and reliability.
3% (1%)
Metallurgical 30 9 Lower volumes at Queensland Coal due
coal (Mt) to substantially higher rainfall in
January and February 2020, by a factor
of almost two at Peak Downs and almost
three at Blackwater compared with historical
averages.
(3%) (16%)
Energy coal 18 6 Volumes broadly flat at New South Wales
(Mt) Energy Coal (NSWEC), while lower volumes
at Cerrejón as a result of a focus
on higher quality products.
(13%) (5%)
Higher volumes following completion
of major maintenance activities at
the Kwinana refinery and Kalgoorlie
Nickel (kt) 56 21 smelter in the prior quarter.
(4%) 53%
1
Summary
BHP Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry:
"We have operated safely for the quarter and have achieved
another strong operational performance.
We have implemented extensive measures across our operations to
keep our people and communities safe from COVID-19. Working closely
with relevant authorities and medical experts, strict travel and
working practice arrangements have been established, including
deferral of non-critical activity on our operating sites to support
social distancing, revised rosters to reduce people travelling to
site, more intensive site cleaning and health checks. I am
encouraged to know that the small number of colleagues from our
72,000 strong global workforce who have tested positive for the
virus have recovered or are recovering well.
The coupling of our disciplined controls, the commitment of
people across BHP, and our financial strength has enabled us to
continue to safely operate and supply our customers with the
critical resources they require, and to continue to provide jobs
and an underpinning of economic activity both locally and around
the world. We have accelerated payments to many of our suppliers
and have established COVID-19 relief funds to help our communities
and local health and social services. BHP is committed to playing
its part in the collective, global response to this pandemic. Our
business continuity plans have been effective and our operations
have continued to perform well, thanks to the effort of our
employees, contractors and suppliers. We have delivered strong
performance across the portfolio despite the impacts of planned
maintenance, natural field decline and wet weather in Australia.
Western Australia Iron Ore achieved record year-to-date production,
while Escondida production also increased supported by record
concentrator throughput.
While demand in China has strengthened in recent weeks, we
expect other major economies, including the US, Europe and India,
to contract sharply in the June 2020 quarter. The situation remains
fluid, however, with our strong financial position and low-cost
operations, our business is resilient, with capacity to generate
solid cash flow through this period and emerge well placed as the
global economy recovers.
Our priorities are the continued safety of our people,
continuing reliable operations and supporting our customers,
suppliers and communities in these challenging times."
Operational performance
Production and guidance are summarised below.
Note: All guidance is subject to potential impacts from COVID-19
during the June 2020 quarter.
Mar Mar
Mar YTD20 Q20 Q20
vs vs vs Previous Current
Mar Mar Mar Mar Dec FY20 FY20
Production YTD20 Q20 YTD19 Q19 Q19 guidance guidance
-------------------- ------ ---- --------- ------ ------ --------- ---------
110 - 110 - Bottom of
Petroleum (MMboe) 82 25 (10%) (13%) (11%) 116 116 range
1,705 Under
Copper (kt) 1,310 425 5% 1% (7%) - 1,820 review
1,160 1,160
Escondida (kt) 891 290 5% 8% (6%) - 1,230 - 1,230 Unchanged
230 - 230 -
Pampa Norte (kt) 188 64 9% (4%) 7% 250 250 Unchanged
180 -
Olympic Dam (kt) 124 38 8% (24%) (24%) 205 170 Lowered
Under
Antamina (kt) 107 33 (3%) (5%) (9%) 135 review
242 - 242 -
Iron ore (Mt) 181 60 3% 7% (1%) 253 253
WAIO (100% basis) 273 - 273 -
(Mt) 205 68 4% 7% 0% 286 286 Unchanged
Metallurgical coal
(Mt) 30 9 (3%) (7%) (16%) 41 - 45 41 - 45
Queensland Coal Lower end
(100% basis) (Mt) 52 16 (3%) (8%) (18%) 73 - 79 73 - 79 of range
Under
Energy coal (Mt) 18 6 (13%) (14%) (5%) 24 - 26 review
NSWEC (Mt) 11 4 (13%) (16%) 1% 15 - 17 15 - 17 Unchanged
Cerrejón Under
(Mt) 6 2 (12%) (10%) (15%) 9 review
Nickel (kt) 56 21 (4%) 9% 53% 87 80 - 83 Lowered
2
Major development projects
At the end of March 2020, BHP had six major projects under
development in petroleum, copper, iron ore and potash, with a
combined budget of US$11.4 billion over the life of the projects.
Our major projects under development in petroleum and iron ore are
currently tracking to plan and are subject to potential impacts
from COVID-19.
The Spence Growth Option is continuing to progress, however the
schedule is under review with first production potentially a few
months later than December 2020 as a result of the measures taken
to facilitate social distancing protocols. First production is
still expected to be in the 2021 financial year.
In March 2020, final shaft lining work at Jansen for two shafts
was reduced to focus on one shaft at a time, with reduced crews.
This reduction in activity was taken as part of our COVID-19
response plan and was aligned with the Provincial and Federal
Government of Canada's emergency measures for COVID-19. It reflects
a reduction in the number of contractors and in the need for
out-of-Province workers on site. Timing for completion of the
shafts continues to be under review. BHP will continue to assess
the impacts of COVID-19 and the temporary reduction in
activity.
COVID-19 update on operations
At this time, among our global workforce of 72,000 people, BHP
has had a small number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, all of whom
have either recovered or are recovering well. Our protocols have
functioned effectively and there has not been any transmission from
these individuals to co-workers.
BHP has taken action to help keep its people, their families and
communities safe. Strict health and travel guidelines have been put
in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19. While each of our
operated sites is different, these measures include:
-- Reduced number of people at mine sites and other operational
facilities to business critical employees and contractors only.
-- Changed rosters to reduce workforce movements. In addition,
some non-residential workers have temporarily relocated to the
jurisdiction of operation to meet tighter border controls.
-- Regular health screenings and temperature checks for workers,
for example before boarding planes or buses and when entering
sites.
-- Strong uptake of social distancing practices and changes to
the way we travel to work, operate at work and run accommodation
camps including hygiene practices and deep cleaning to reduce the
risk of transmission.
-- Further information on the measures we have implemented is available at: bhp.com/covid-19.
We continue to monitor the situation and to update our measures
based on advice from country-specific health authorities and
governments.
Our operations continue to run well. The changes we have put in
place have resulted in the deferral of non-critical activity. Our
supply chains remain open and we have adequate supplies to operate
and maintain critical equipment, with alternative suppliers
identified for many of these.
Our financial position is strong. As at 31 December 2019(2), net
debt was US$12.8 billion, at the lower end of our target range, and
cash and cash equivalents were US$14.3 billion. This strong
position, combined with our low-cost operations, means our business
is resilient and expected to generate solid cash flow through the
cycle.
3
We are in a differentiated position to be able to continue to
provide regional jobs, products to customers and payments to
suppliers. In doing so, we can help underpin continued economic
activity. We have accelerated payments to many of our suppliers and
established funds to help support regional and Indigenous
communities and health and community services. We are committed to
playing our part in the collective response to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Our strong position allows us to continue to invest through the
cycle and we have flexibility in our capital and exploration
expenditure. We are reviewing our capital and exploration
expenditure guidance for the 2021 financial year and it will be
lower than the current guidance of around US$8 billion. We will
provide updated guidance with our full year Results Announcement to
be released on 18 August 2020.
Marketing update (3)
Short term economic outlook
The global economy has been dramatically impacted by COVID-19.
Many major economies will contract heavily in the June 2020
quarter, including the United States (US), Europe and India. In
contrast, China has moved from intensive viral suppression to early
indications of economic recovery. The majority of heavy industrial
activity had restarted as of the end of March 2020, albeit with
considerable variation across provinces and sectors. We note that
the developed world in aggregate may have tentatively passed the
peak in new COVID-19 cases for wave one infections, while the
developing world is unfortunately still in the escalation phase(4)
.
The arc of recovery will vary widely across countries. Where
"hibernation policies"(5) have been enacted, we anticipate a
smoother resumption of activity after the first wave than would
otherwise have been the case. A considerable amount of monetary,
liquidity and fiscal policy support has been mobilised in response
to COVID-19. Early indications are that liquidity support measures
have been effective in dampening financial volatility. It is still
uncertain whether traditional monetary and fiscal stimulus policies
will have below-average or above-average multiplier effects. A
lower multiplier could result from depressed consumer and business
confidence due to the deleterious impact of COVID-19 on both jobs
and profitability. A higher multiplier could occur if the lagged
impact of stimulus coincides with the release of pent-up demand as
economies wake from hibernation, with the important caveat that
major second waves are averted. Each is a plausible book-end for
assessing where the global economy might be as the 2021 calendar
year approaches.
Chinese domestic industrial activity has been improving, spurred
on by supportive credit and fiscal policy. The major risk to
maintaining that positive trajectory is the possibility of a second
wave of infections emerging. That is among the range of pathways
that we consider and it is the key caveat for each of our regional
outlooks. Indications are that the US and Europe will see a more
protracted period of activity disruption, a deeper labour market
impact and a flatter trajectory for the recovery once it arrives.
India, Japan and South Korea will see negative impacts on
industrial activity from their own suppression efforts and those of
their trading partners. Negative feedback loops to China from the
downturn in the rest of the world are factored in to our range
analysis.
Short term commodities outlook
Exchange traded commodities have been sold rapidly down close
to, or even through, cash cost support. Bulk prices have been more
resilient. Across the portfolio, a combination of economic
curtailments and COVID-19 induced disruptions are a partial offset
to the demand shock.
4
Based on our bottom-up analysis, informed by engagement with our
customers, we expect that steel production ex-China could contract
by a double-digit percentage in the 2020 calendar year. Steel
makers from a variety of regions, including Europe, the Americas,
India and Japan have announced or signalled full shutdowns or
curtailments in the June 2020 quarter. This reflects both
logistical difficulties created by COVID-19 (e.g. inter-state
labour availability in India) as well as collapsing demand in
downstream industries such as automotive (e.g. Europe, where at one
stage every major auto plant on the Continent was constrained).
Some of our customers are choosing to reduce production at their
blast furnaces in the face of this demand shock.
In China, blast furnace utilisation rates have increased from
around 73 per cent earlier in the year to almost 79 per cent in
April. Daily rebar transactions are now at or above normal seasonal
levels. Finished inventories are falling as downstream activity
improves, although the level is still very high relative to
history. While we note that only about 10 per cent of Chinese
apparent steel demand(6) is exported in finished products (for
example in excavators, ships or wind turbines), the depth of the
weakness in global demand will weigh on Chinese flat products
manufacturers. Electric-arc furnace utilisation fell as low as 12
per cent, but has now recovered to 56 per cent. If China can avoid
a second wave of COVID-19, steel production may rise slightly in
the 2020 calendar year.
The Platts 62% Fe Iron Ore Fines price index has been resilient
to the COVID-19 shock so far. This outcome reflects solid Chinese
pig iron production in the year-to-date (1.7 per cent increase from
last year), and a continuation of the relatively soft seaborne
supply picture that was in evidence prior to the shock. Port
outflows have been roughly 10 per cent higher year-on-year from
March 2020 through mid-April 2020. Chinese domestic production had
fallen back to less than 190 Mtpa in February 2020, but has since
recovered to around 202 Mtpa. That compares to 211 Mtpa in December
2019. Chinese port stocks have declined consistently since February
2020, with the latest weekly data showing an 18 per cent decline
(26 Mt) year-on-year. Weakness ex-China is less consequential for
price formation in iron ore than in other commodities, with China's
1.1 billion tonne import requirement set against Japan's 120 Mt,
Europe's 100 Mt and South Korea's 75 Mt, for example (all figures
rounded).
The Platts Premium Low-Volatile Metallurgical Coal price index
actually increased during the first few weeks of the COVID-19
outbreak, partly reflecting supply disruptions in China, Mongolia,
Australia and elsewhere. However, as COVID-19 began to spread to
the major importing regions of Europe, India and developed Asia,
the demand side of the equation has begun to outweigh constrained
supply. As the velocity of demand disruption accelerated in late
March 2020 and early April 2020, prices have returned to the lows
seen in the second half of the 2019 calendar year. The geographic
diversification of metallurgical coal demand is a long term
advantage but an impediment under today's unique circumstances.
Copper prices fell sharply to levels close to cost support in
March 2020 amidst depressed macro investor sentiment. They have
since stabilised a little above the March lows. Our judgement,
informed by our regular customer engagements, is that the decline
in ex-China demand will be less severe than for steel. Conversely,
in China, copper demand could be marginally weaker than steel in
the 2020 calendar year, based partly on copper's greater exposure
to indirect exports (approximately 20 per cent versus approximately
10 per cent), although recent trends within our customer base have
been promising relative to top-down expectations. On the supply
side, evidence of both economic curtailments and COVID-19 related
disruptions have emerged. We note that marginal sources of supply
behaved quite rationally during the 2015/16 downturn, with a number
of smaller, higher cost operations across multiple continents
choosing to curtail(7) . Additionally, we observe that prices that
are challenging for higher cost mines are also associated with
lower availability of scrap. This is another mechanism whereby the
copper market dynamically rebalances at times of stress.
5
Crude oil fundamentals shifted abruptly in March 2020 as the
result of collapsing transport activity on the demand side and the
unexpected flip of the OPEC Plus grouping from supply discipline to
a price war. After crashing in March 2020, prices have exhibited
considerable two-way volatility in April 2020, with speculation of
a grand bargain to curtail global supply offset by the physical
reality of the current glut. Notwithstanding the 9 April 2020
agreement by OPEC Plus to cut output by 10 MMbpd, with possibly
more to come from G-20 producers, such is the scale of the demand
loss that global storage capacity is expected to be tested over
coming weeks and months. It is possible that differentials for
inland crudes that are disadvantaged with respect to storage
availability will remain historically wide over this phase of
market adjustment. Large and small producers alike have announced
sharp cuts in capital spending in response to the price
decline.
Average realised prices
The average realised prices achieved for our major commodities
are summarised below.
Mar Q20 Mar YTD20
vs vs
Average realised prices(i) Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Dec H19 FY19 Dec H19 FY19
------------------------------------- ---------- -------- -------- ------ --------- ---------
Oil (crude and condensate) (US$/bbl) 57.63 51.19 60.64 66.59 (16%) (13%)
Natural gas (US$/Mscf)(ii) 4.07 3.56 4.26 4.55 (16%) (11%)
LNG (US$/Mscf) 7.62 7.61 7.62 9.43 0% (19%)
Copper (US$/lb) 2.43 2.08 2.60 2.62 (20%) (7%)
Iron ore (US$/wmt, FOB) 76.97 74.28 78.30 66.68 (5%) 15%
Metallurgical coal (US$/t) 138.31 132.72 140.94 179.67 (6%) (23%)
Hard coking coal (US$/t)(iii) 151.35 145.69 154.01 199.61 (5%) (24%)
Weak coking coal (US$/t)(iii) 98.59 93.36 101.06 130.18 (8%) (24%)
Thermal coal (US$/t)(iv) 59.42 61.13 58.55 77.90 4% (24%)
Nickel metal (US$/t) 14,552 12,644 15,715 12,462 (20%) 17%
(i) Based on provisional, unaudited estimates. Prices exclude
sales from equity accounted investments, third party product and
internal sales, and represent the weighted average of various sales
terms (for example: FOB, CIF and CFR), unless otherwise noted.
Includes the impact of provisional pricing and finalisation
adjustments.
(ii) Includes internal sales.
(iii) Hard coking coal (HCC) refers generally to those
metallurgical coals with a Coke Strength after Reaction (CSR) of 35
and above, which includes coals across the spectrum from Premium
Coking to Semi Hard Coking coals, while weak coking coal (WCC)
refers generally to those metallurgical coals with a CSR below
35.
(iv) Export sales only; excludes Cerrejón. Includes thermal coal
sales from metallurgical coal mines.
The oil sales were linked to West Texas intermediate (WTI) or
Brent based contracts, with price differentials applied for
quality, locational and transportation costs. The large majority of
iron ore shipments were linked to the index price for the month of
shipment, with price differentials predominantly a reflection of
market fundamentals and product quality. The large majority of
metallurgical coal and energy coal exports were linked to the index
price for the month of shipment or sold on the spot market at fixed
or index-linked prices, with price differentials reflecting product
quality.
6
Petroleum
Production
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar Q20
vs vs vs
Mar Mar Mar Dec
Mar YTD20 Q20 YTD19 Q19 Q19
---------- ---- --------- ------- -------
Crude oil, condensate and
natural gas liquids (MMboe) 38 12 (10%) (12%) (14%)
Natural gas (bcf) 270 81 (10%) (13%) (9%)
Total petroleum production
(MMboe) 82 25 (10%) (13%) (11%)
Petroleum - Total petroleum production decreased by 10 per cent
to 82 MMboe. Guidance for the 2020 financial year remains unchanged
at between 110 and 116 MMboe, with volumes expected to be at the
bottom of the guidance range. Potential impacts from COVID-19,
including weakness in customer demand, in the June 2020 quarter
represent possible downside risk to full year guidance.
Crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids production
declined by 10 per cent to 38 MMboe due to the impacts of Tropical
Storm Barry in the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Cyclone Damien at our
North West Shelf operations and natural field decline across the
portfolio. This decline was partially offset by higher uptime at
Pyrenees following the 70 day dry dock maintenance program during
the prior year.
Natural gas production decreased by 10 per cent to 270 bcf,
reflecting a decrease in tax barrels at Trinidad and Tobago in
accordance with the terms of our Production Sharing Contract,
impacts of maintenance and Tropical Cyclone Damien at North West
Shelf, reduced domestic gas sales in Western Australia and natural
field decline across the portfolio.
Projects
Initial
Capital production
Project and expenditure target
ownership US$M date Capacity Progress
--------------------- ------------ ----------- ------------------------- -----------------------
Atlantis Phase 696 CY20 New subsea production On schedule and budget.
3 system that will The overall project
(US Gulf tie back to the existing is 53% complete.
of Mexico) Atlantis facility,
44% (non-operator) with capacity to
produce up to 38,000
gross barrels of
oil equivalent per
day.
Ruby 283 CY21 Five production wells On schedule and budget.
(Trinidad tied back into existing The overall project
& Tobago) 68.46% operated processing is 23% complete.
(operator) facilities, with
capacity to produce
up to 16,000 gross
barrels of oil per
day and 80 million
gross standard cubic
feet of natural gas
per day.
Mad Dog Phase 2,154 CY22 New floating production On schedule and budget.
2 facility with the The overall project
(US Gulf of capacity to produce is 70% complete.
Mexico) up to 140,000 gross
23.9% (non-operator) barrels of crude
oil per day.
The Bass Strait West Barracouta project is on schedule and
budget, and is expected to achieve first production in the 2021
calendar year.
Across each of our projects currently in execution, additional
measures have been put in place to protect workforce health and
safety as a result of COVID-19. These projects are tracking to plan
and at this point, we do not expect an impact on the timing of
first production.
In light of the recent significant disruption to oil and gas
markets and heightened risk of interruption to field activity, we
are reviewing our capital, operating, exploration and appraisal
expenditure programs, and where relevant, together with our joint
venture partners.
7
While we are completing our five year plan, we can highlight the
following flexibility for the 2021 financial year:
-- The confirmed delay of the Scarborough gas development to the
2021 calendar year, as announced by Woodside (the operator) on 27
March 2020. A final investment decision by BHP is now expected to
be approximately 12 months later than the original timing, which
was from the middle of the 2020 calendar year.
-- The potential deferral of approximately US$200 million
non-committed exploration and appraisal expenditure in the 2021
financial year, representing approximately 30 per cent of the
average annual exploration spend over the last two years.
-- In conjunction with joint venture partners, the potential
delay of several small and medium sized projects with short
lifecycles, to a time when we expect prices to be higher.
These actions will result in the deferral of production in the
2021 and 2022 financial years, however the reduction in capital
projects across the sector may provide the opportunity to further
enhance the cost competitiveness of these options.
Beyond these projects, our Petroleum growth portfolio includes
many attractive opportunities progressing through development
studies and related activities, which do not have material
investment levels in the 2021 financial year, including Trion and
Trinidad and Tobago North.
We will provide updated capital and exploration expenditure
guidance for the 2021 financial year with our full year Results
Announcement released on 18 August 2020.
Petroleum exploration
No exploration and appraisal wells were drilled during the March
2020 quarter.
During the March 2020 quarter, the Deepwater Invictus rig
completed regulatory abandonment work on Shenzi appraisal and
exploration boreholes and is currently in the US Gulf of Mexico
undergoing maintenance. The Deepwater Invictus rig is anticipated
to mobilise to Trinidad and Tobago in the middle of the 2020
calendar year to drill one exploration well, Broadside, in our
Southern licences as part of Phase 5 of our Deepwater drilling
campaign, subject to any potential COVID-19 constraints on
mobilisation .
In the US Gulf of Mexico, we were the apparent high bidder on
blocks GC80 and GC123 in the central Gulf of Mexico, building on
our Green Canyon position. Additionally, we were the apparent high
bidder on blocks AC36, AC80, AC81 and GB721, which would expand our
position in the western Gulf of Mexico.
Petroleum exploration expenditure for the nine months ended
March 2020 was US$405 million, of which US$246 million was
expensed. A US$0.6 billion exploration and appraisal program is
being executed for the 2020 financial year and reflects a reduction
of US$0.1 billion from prior guidance as a result of slightly later
timing for the commencement of our Phase 5 Deepwater drilling
campaign in Trinidad and Tobago.
Copper
Production
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar Q20
vs vs vs
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Dec Q19
--------- -------- ---------- -------- --------
Copper (kt) 1,310 425 5% 1% (7%)
Zinc (t) 74,726 31,789 (1%) 52% 41%
Uranium (t) 2,662 776 3% (30%) (18%)
8
Copper - Total copper production increased by five per cent to
1,310 kt. Guidance for the 2020 financial year is broadly unchanged
for our operated assets and reflects lower volumes at Olympic Dam.
Guidance for Antamina is under review due to impacts from COVID-19
.
Escondida copper production increased by five per cent to 891
kt, supported by record average concentrator throughput of 367
ktpd, which offset expected grade decline. Strong concentrator
throughput was driven by ongoing improvements in maintenance and
operational performance and was achieved despite Escondida
operating with a reduced headcount on site during March 2020.
Guidance for the 2020 financial year remains unchanged at between
1, 160 and 1,230 kt. Continued improvements in concentrator
throughput are expected to offset a reduction of approximately five
per cent in the copper grade of concentrator feed in the 2020
financial year versus the prior year.
Pampa Norte copper production increased by nine per cent to 188
kt, with record ore stacked at Spence in the nine months to March
2020. Guidance for the 2020 financial year remains unchanged at
between 230 and 250 kt, including expected grade decline of
approximately 10 per cent.
For the June 2020 quarter, our Chilean copper operations are
expected to operate with a reduction of more than 30 per cent in
their operational workforces as we have prioritised critical roles
for operational continuity and incorporated a series of planned
preventative measures for COVID-19.
Olympic Dam copper production increased by eight per cent to 124
kt as a result of the prior period acid plant outage, partially
offset by the impact of planned preparatory work undertaken in the
September 2019 quarter related to the replacement of the refinery
crane and unplanned downtime at the smelter during the March 2020
quarter. Production for the 2020 financial year is now expected to
be approximately 170 kt. The physical replacement of the refinery
crane and commissioning planned for commencement in the March 2020
quarter, has been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, and completion
is now expected by the end of the 2020 calendar year.
Antamina copper production decreased by three per cent to 107 kt
and zinc production decreased by one per cent to 75 kt, reflecting
lower copper head grades. During March 2020, Antamina operated with
a reduced workforce in response to COVID-19, before being given
Government approval to demobilise the workforce and then taking a
decision on 14 April 2020 to temporarily suspend operations. Timing
on resuming operations at Antamina is uncertain and guidance for
the 2020 financial year is under review. The Peruvian state of
emergency has been extended until 26 April 2020.
Projects
Initial
Capital production
Project and expenditure target
ownership US$M date Capacity Progress
------------- ------------ ----------- ------------------------ ---------------------
Spence Growth 2,460 Under New 95 ktpd concentrator On budget.
Option review is expected to increase
payable copper in
concentrate production
by 185 ktpa in the
first 10 years of
operation and extend
the mining operations
by more than 50 years.
(Chile) The schedule is
under review.
100% The overall project
is 91% complete.
The Spence Growth Option is continuing to progress, however the
schedule is under review with first production potentially delayed
until early in the 2021 calendar year as a result of lower
headcount on site, reflecting the decision to reduce the occupancy
at the construction camp, to facilitate social distancing
protocols. As a result of the reduction of the on-site workforce,
the commissioning of the desalination plant could potentially be
delayed a few months until the first half of the 2021 financial
year. The capitalisation of the lease will follow commissioning,
with an update on the timing and recognition on the balance sheet
to be provided in the June 2020 Quarter Operational Review to be
released on 21 July 2020.
9
Iron Ore
Production
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar Q20
vs vs vs
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Dec Q19
--------- ------- ---------- -------- --------
Iron ore production (kt) 181,430 60,030 3% 7% (1%)
Iron ore - Total iron ore production increased by three per cent
to 181 Mt (205 Mt on a 100 per cent basis). Guidance for the 2020
financial year remains unchanged at between 242 and 253 Mt (273 and
286 Mt on a 100 per cent basis).
WAIO achieved record production, with higher volumes reflecting
record production at Jimblebar and the impact of the train
derailment in the previous period. Weather impacts from Tropical
Cyclone Blake and Tropical Cyclone Damien were offset by strong
performance across the supply chain, including improved car dumper
reliability, with completion of a major car dumper maintenance
campaign in October 2019, implementation of improved maintenance
strategies, and delivery of consistent performance across our mine
operations. This strong performance has resulted in healthy stock
levels across our mines.
Consistent with our revised mine plan, Jimblebar fines Fe grade
has improved during the March 2020 quarter, with the typical
specification expected to return to above 60 per cent in the June
2020 quarter.
WAIO continues to focus on operating safely and has incorporated
a series of preventative measures to help reduce the spread of
COVID-19. W e have reduced the number of workers on our sites, with
those not critical to operations working from home. To meet border
controls introduced by the Western Australian Government, over 900
employees and contractors in business critical roles have been
temporarily relocated to Western Australia, including the majority
of specialist roles who are based interstate, such as train drivers
and train load out operators.
Mining and processing operations at Samarco remain suspended
following the failure of the Fundão tailings dam and Santarém water
dam on 5 November 2015. Approval of the Corrective Operating
Licence (LOC) for Samarco's operating activities at its Germano
Complex was received in October 2019. A s a result of precautions
taken for COVID-19, operation readiness activities for restart have
been slowed, with only critical activities being undertaken.
Restart can occur when the filtration system is complete and
Samarco has met all necessary safety requirements, and will be
subject to final approval by Samarco's shareholders.
Projects
Initial
Capital production
Project and expenditure target
ownership US$M date Capacity Progress
------------- ------------ ----------- -------------------- -----------------------
South Flank 3,061 CY21 Sustaining iron On schedule and budget.
ore mine to replace
production from
the 80 Mtpa (100
per cent basis)
Yandi mine.
(Australia) The overall project
is 66% complete.
85%
The South Flank project is tracking well and remains on schedule
for first production in the 2021 calendar year. As at the end of
March 2020, approximately 80 per cent of the contracts awarded are
being performed in Australia, of which 95 per cent is within
Western Australia. Some interstate employees have relocated to
Western Australia to help with the project delivery. Consistent
with our operations, the South Flank project continues to implement
increased measures to conduct safe operations in compliance with
strict health and travel guidelines put in place to help reduce the
spread of COVID-19.
10
Coal
Production
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar Q20
vs vs vs
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Dec Q19
--------- ------- ---------- -------- --------
Metallurgical coal (kt) 29,504 9,222 (3%) (7%) (16%)
Energy coal (kt) 17,513 5,788 (13%) (14%) (5%)
Metallurgical coal - Metallurgical coal production was down
three per cent to 30 Mt (52 Mt on a 100 per cent basis). Guidance
for the 2020 financial year remains unchanged at between 41 and 45
Mt (73 and 79 Mt on a 100 per cent basis), with volumes now
expected to be at the lower end of the guidance range following
significantly higher rainfall during January and February 2020, by
a factor of almost two at Peak Downs and almost three at Blackwater
compared with historical averages. Potential impacts from COVID-19,
including weak demand as a result of customer disruptions, in the
June 2020 quarter, represent possible downside risk to full year
guidance.
At Queensland Coal, strong underlying operational performance,
was offset by planned major wash plant shutdowns in the first half
of the year and significant wet weather impacts in the March 2020
quarter . Blackwater, our largest mine, was the most severely
impacted, with five site evacuations following the flooding of pits
and haul roads during January and February 2020. Mining operations
at Blackwater are expected to be stabilised in the June 2020
quarter and to return to full capacity during the September 2020
quarter as inventory levels are rebuilt. We are implementing
further measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 and meet new
restrictions on interstate travel, including temporarily relocating
workers and amending rosters to minimise travel within Queensland,
while further protecting the community and facilitating the
continuation of safe mining operations.
Energy coal - Energy coal production decreased by 13 per cent to
18 Mt. As a result of actions by the Colombian Government to
contain the spread of COVID-19, a decision has been made to place
Cerrejón on temporary care and maintenance, and guidance for the
2020 financial year is now under review.
New South Wales Energy Coal production decreased by 13 per cent
to 11 Mt as a result of the change in product strategy to focus on
higher quality products. In addition, reduced air quality at our
operations negatively impacted production in December 2019 and
January 2020, with wet weather further constraining operations
during February 2020. Guidance for the 2020 financial year remains
unchanged at between 15 and 17 Mt. The COVID-19 situation continues
to be monitored with preventative measures in place to protect the
workforce, including reduced site travel, social distancing
practices and strict hygiene protocols.
Cerrejón production decreased by 12 per cent to 6 Mt mainly due
to a focus on higher quality products, in line with the mine plan.
On 23 March 2019, following the Colombian Government's declaration
of a 15-day national quarantine to contain the spread of COVID-19,
a decision was made to ramp down operations at Cerrejón and place
it on temporary care and maintenance. Discussions about the timing
of production resumption are ongoing. Guidance for the 2020
financial year is under review.
Other
Nickel production
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar Q20
vs vs vs
Mar YTD20 Mar Q20 Mar YTD19 Mar Q19 Dec Q19
--------- ------- ---------- -------- --------
Nickel (kt) 56.2 20.9 (4%) 9% 53%
11
Nickel - Nickel West production decreased by four per cent to 56
kt due to the major quadrennial maintenance shutdowns at the
Kwinana refinery and the Kalgoorlie smelter, as well as planned
routine maintenance at the concentrators, in the December 2019
quarter. Operations ramped back up to full capacity during the
March 2020 quarter. With the transition to new mines underway,
first ore was achieved at Yakabindie, a new open-cut development at
Mt Keith, during the quarter. Production for the 2020 financial
year is now expected to be lower than the 2019 financial year due
to the extended shutdown. We continue to take action to reduce the
risk of COVID-19 and safely conduct operations in compliance with
strict health and travel guidelines, including the reduction in the
number of people at our operational facilities and sites through
flexible shifts.
Operations Services - In Australia, we have created over 2,000
permanent jobs, with Operations Services deployed at 14 locations
across WAIO, Queensland Coal and NSWEC and successfully
accelerating safety and productivity outcomes.
Potash project
Project
and Investment
ownership US$M Scope Progress
---------- ------------------------------- -----------------------------
Jansen Potash 2,700 Investment to finish The project is 85% complete.
the excavation and lining Shaft completion timing
of the production and is under review.
service shafts, and to
continue the installation
of essential surface
infrastructure and utilities.
(Canada)
100%
In March 2020, final shaft lining work at Jansen for two shafts
was reduced to focus on one shaft at a time, with reduced crews.
This reduction in activity was taken as part of our COVID-19
response plan and was aligned with the Provincial and Federal
Government of Canada's emergency measures for COVID-19 and reflects
a reduction in the number of contractors and the need for
out-of-Province workers on site. Timing for completion of the
shafts continues to be under review. BHP will continue to assess
the impacts of COVID-19 and the temporary reduction in
activity.
Minerals exploration
Minerals exploration expenditure for the nine months ended March
2020 was US$124 million, of which US$89 million was expensed.
Greenfield minerals exploration is predominantly focused on
advancing copper targets within Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru,
Canada, South Australia and the south-west United States.
At Oak Dam in South Australia, the third phase of the drilling
program remains on track to be completed in the June 2020 quarter.
This follows encouraging results from the previous drilling phases,
which confirmed high-grade mineralised intercepts of copper, with
associated gold, uranium and silver.
12
Variance analysis relates to the relative performance of BHP
and/or its operations during the nine months ended March 2020
compared with the nine months ended March 2019, unless otherwise
noted. Production volumes, sales volumes and capital and
exploration expenditure from subsidiaries are reported on a 100 per
cent basis; production and sales volumes from equity accounted
investments and other operations are reported on a proportionate
consolidation basis. Numbers presented may not add up precisely to
the totals provided due to rounding. Copper equivalent production
based on 2019 financial year average realised prices.
The following footnotes apply to this Operational Review:
(1) 2020 financial year unit cost guidance: Petroleum
US$10.50-11.50/boe, Escondida US$1.20-1.35/lb, WAIO US$13-14/t,
Queensland Coal US$67-74/t and NSWEC US$55-61/t; based on exchange
rates of AUD/USD 0.70 and USD/CLP 683.
(2) The inclusion of derivatives (US$0.4 billion) and the
application of IFRS 16 Leases (US$1.9 billion) increased net debt
by US$2.3 billion to US$12.8 billion at 31 December 2019, compared
to US$9.2 billion reported at 30 June 2019. Figures exclude cash
inflows and outflows since 31 December 2019, including the dividend
payment of US$3.3 billion determined in respect of December 2019
half year paid on 24 March 2020. In addition, the Group has access
to a US$5.5 billion undrawn revolving credit facility. There are no
covenants on our revolving credit facility.
(3) All data presented in this report is the latest available as of 13 April 2020.
(4) Based on global tracking activity conducted by Exante Data.
(5) The phrase "economic hibernation" was coined by ANU
Professor's Tourky and Pitchford. It describes the comprehensive
support that the public balance sheet can provide to mitigate the
no-fault unemployment, default and insolvency that the effort to
suppress a pandemic can bring.
(6) Incremental to apparent demand is around 35 Mt in direct net exports of steel.
(7) Wood Mackenzie documents 848 kt of annualised economic
supply disruptions, from 36 operations, across the 2015 and 2016
calendar years.
The following abbreviations may have been used throughout this
report: barrels (bbl); billion cubic feet (bcf); cost and freight
(CFR); cost, insurance and freight (CIF); dry metric tonne unit
(dmtu); free on board (FOB); grams per tonne (g/t); kilograms per
tonne (kg/t); kilometre (km); metre (m); million barrels of oil
equivalent (MMboe); million barrels of oil per day (MMbpd); million
cubic feet per day (MMcf/d); million tonnes (Mt); million tonnes
per annum (Mtpa); ounces (oz); pounds (lb); thousand barrels of oil
equivalent (Mboe); thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day
(Mboe/d); thousand ounces (koz); thousand standard cubic feet
(Mscf); thousand tonnes (kt); thousand tonnes per annum (ktpa);
thousand tonnes per day (ktpd); tonnes (t); and wet metric tonnes
(wmt).
In this release, the terms 'BHP', 'Group', 'BHP Group', 'we',
'us', 'our' and ourselves' are used to refer to BHP Group Limited,
BHP Group plc and, except where the context otherwise requires,
their respective subsidiaries as defined in note 28 'Subsidiaries'
in section 5.1 of BHP's 30 June 2019 Annual Report and Form 20-F,
unless stated otherwise. Notwithstanding that this release may
include production, financial and other information from
non-operated assets, non-operated assets are not included in the
BHP Group and, as a result, statements regarding our operations,
assets and values apply only to our operated assets unless stated
otherwise. Our non-operated assets include Antamina, Cerrejón,
Samarco, Atlantis, Mad Dog, Bass Strait and North West Shelf. BHP
Group cautions against undue reliance on any forward-looking
statement or guidance, particularly in light of the current
economic climate and the significant volatility, uncertainty and
disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
13
Further information on BHP can be found at: bhp.com
Authorised for lodgement by:
Rachel Agnew
Company Secretary
Media Relations Investor Relations
Email: media.relations@bhp.com Email: investor.relations@bhp.com
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14
Production summary
Quarter ended Year to date
BHP Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
interest 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
Petroleum (1)
Petroleum
Production
Crude oil, condensate
and NGL (Mboe) 13,236 13,366 12,507 13,412 11,589 37,508 41,820
Natural gas (bcf) 92.9 97.8 100.4 88.7 80.7 269.8 299.1
Total (Mboe) 28,719 29,666 29,240 28,195 25,039 82,475 91,670
Copper (2)
Copper
Payable metal in concentrate
(kt)
Escondida (3) 57.5% 205.4 224.1 237.0 240.3 220.1 697.4 658.0
Antamina 33.8% 34.5 37.4 37.6 36.2 32.9 106.7 109.8
Total 239.9 261.5 274.6 276.5 253.0 804.1 767.8
Cathode (kt)
Escondida (3) 57.5% 62.4 63.5 55.9 68.4 69.6 193.9 189.7
Pampa Norte (4) 100% 67.2 74.1 63.9 60.0 64.3 188.2 172.4
Olympic Dam 100% 50.2 45.2 35.1 50.5 38.4 124.0 115.1
Total 179.8 182.8 154.9 178.9 172.3 506.1 477.2
Total copper (kt) 419.7 444.3 429.5 455.4 425.3 1,310.2 1,245.0
Lead
Payable metal in concentrate
(t)
Antamina 33.8% 456 770 405 383 621 1,409 1,619
Total 456 770 405 383 621 1,409 1,619
Zinc
Payable metal in concentrate
(t)
Antamina 33.8% 20,848 22,469 20,454 22,483 31,789 74,726 75,643
Total 20,848 22,469 20,454 22,483 31,789 74,726 75,643
15
Production summary
Quarter ended Year to date
BHP Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
interest 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
Gold
Payable metal in concentrate
(troy oz)
Escondida (3) 57.5% 73,998 74,704 48,801 49,209 35,990 134,000 211,302
Olympic Dam (refined
gold) 100% 28,609 37,032 43,205 35,382 33,235 111,822 69,936
Total 102,607 111,736 92,006 84,591 69,225 245,822 281,238
Silver
Payable metal in concentrate
(troy koz)
Escondida (3) 57.5% 2,189 2,074 1,626 1,798 1,390 4,814 6,756
Antamina 33.8% 1,062 1,209 1,101 1,173 1,216 3,490 3,549
Olympic Dam (refined
silver) 100% 230 268 245 203 241 689 655
Total 3,481 3,551 2,972 3,174 2,847 8,993 10,960
Uranium
Payable metal in concentrate
(t)
Olympic Dam 100% 1,106 975 937 949 776 2,662 2,590
Total 1,106 975 937 949 776 2,662 2,590
Molybdenum
Payable metal in concentrate
(t)
Antamina 33.8% 82 178 405 527 491 1,423 963
Total 82 178 405 527 491 1,423 963
Iron Ore
Iron Ore
Production (kt) (5)
Newman 85% 15,608 17,058 16,316 15,766 16,449 48,531 49,564
Area C Joint Venture 85% 11,627 13,837 12,620 12,727 12,179 37,526 33,603
Yandi Joint Venture 85% 15,214 17,486 17,827 14,857 17,491 50,175 47,711
Jimblebar (6) 85% 13,658 14,209 14,239 17,045 13,911 45,195 44,337
Wheelarra 85% 10 5 3 - - 3 154
Samarco 50% - - - - - - -
Total 56,117 62,595 61,005 60,395 60,030 181,430 175,369
16
Production summary
Quarter ended Year to date
Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar
BHP interest 2019 2019 2019 2019 Mar 2020 2020 2019
Coal
Metallurgical coal
Production (kt) (7)
BMA 50% 7,608 9,090 6,905 8,723 6,869 22,497 23,046
BHP Mitsui Coal (8) 80% 2,269 2,804 2,453 2,201 2,353 7,007 7,461
Total 9,877 11,894 9,358 10,924 9,222 29,504 30,507
Energy coal
Production (kt)
Australia 100% 4,552 5,412 3,592 3,763 3,810 11,165 12,845
Colombia 33.3% 2,199 2,017 2,055 2,315 1,978 6,348 7,213
Total 6,751 7,429 5,647 6,078 5,788 17,513 20,058
Other
Nickel
Saleable production
(kt)
Nickel West (9) 100% 19.2 28.7 21.6 13.7 20.9 56.2 58.7
Total 19.2 28.7 21.6 13.7 20.9 56.2 58.7
Cobalt
Saleable production
(t)
Nickel West 100% 194 302 211 120 132 463 597
Total 194 302 211 120 132 463 597
(1) LPG and ethane are reported as natural gas liquids (NGL).
Product-specific conversions are made and NGL is reported in
barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Total boe conversions are based on
6 bcf of natural gas equals 1,000 Mboe.
(2) Metal production is reported on the basis of payable metal.
(3) Shown on a 100% basis. BHP interest in saleable production is 57.5%.
(4) Includes Cerro Colorado and Spence.
(5) Iron ore production is reported on a wet tonnes basis.
(6) Shown on a 100% basis. BHP interest in saleable production is 85%.
(7) Metallurgical coal production is reported on the basis of
saleable product. Production figures include some thermal coal.
(8) Shown on a 100% basis. BHP interest in saleable production is 80%.
(9) Production restated to include other nickel by-products.
Throughout this report figures in italics indicate that this
figure has been adjusted since it was previously reported.
17
Production and sales report
Quarter ended Year to date
Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
Petroleum (1)
Bass Strait
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 893 1,246 1,409 1,427 926 3,762 3,947
NGL (Mboe) 849 1,299 1,810 1,405 958 4,173 4,136
Natural gas (bcf) 21.0 30.6 36.6 27.8 18.4 82.8 81.3
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 5,242 7,645 9,319 7,465 4,957 21,741 21,633
North West Shelf
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 1,431 1,357 1,337 1,376 1,266 3,979 4,465
NGL (Mboe) 193 189 202 200 191 593 641
Natural gas (bcf) 36.6 34.8 32.1 32.9 35.0 100.0 110.7
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 7,724 7,346 6,889 7,059 7,287 21,235 23,556
Pyrenees
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 940 1,001 979 934 917 2,830 2,323
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 940 1,001 979 934 917 2,830 2,323
Other Australia
(2)
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 6 7 8 1 1 10 21
Natural gas (bcf) 13.0 12.2 12.0 11.4 11.2 34.6 40.7
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 2,173 2,040 2,008 1,901 1,874 5,783 6,804
Atlantis (3)
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 3,888 3,607 2,759 3,525 2,769 9,053 10,880
NGL (Mboe) 275 248 192 245 178 615 758
Natural gas (bcf) 2.0 2.2 1.4 1.8 1.3 4.5 5.4
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 4,496 4,222 3,184 4,070 3,170 10,424 12,538
Mad Dog (3)
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 1,258 1,246 1,096 1,202 1,272 3,570 3,686
NGL (Mboe) 58 23 49 52 55 156 173
Natural gas (bcf) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.6
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 1,349 1,302 1,178 1,287 1,355 3,821 3,959
Shenzi (3)
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 1,881 1,725 1,345 1,671 1,645 4,661 5,921
NGL (Mboe) 112 (2) 70 94 94 258 355
Natural gas (bcf) 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.8 1.2
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 2,060 1,790 1,448 1,815 1,791 5,054 6,476
Trinidad/Tobago
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 284 235 175 166 97 438 931
Natural gas (bcf) 19.5 17.3 17.9 14.2 14.0 46.1 57.5
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 3,534 3,118 3,158 2,533 2,427 8,118 10,514
Other Americas
(3) (4)
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 284 272 185 230 344 759 709
NGL (Mboe) 18 3 2 4 22 28 25
Natural gas (bcf) 0.2 0.1 - 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.3
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 335 292 187 251 412 850 784
18
Production and sales report
Quarter ended Year to date
Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
UK (5)
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) - - - - - - 72
NGL (Mboe) - - - - - - 42
Natural gas (bcf) - - - - - - 1.4
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) - - - - - - 347
Algeria
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 866 910 889 880 854 2,623 2,735
Total petroleum
products (Mboe) 866 910 889 880 854 2,623 2,735
Petroleum (1)
Total production
Crude oil and
condensate (Mboe) 11,731 11,606 10,182 11,412 10,091 31,685 35,690
NGL (Mboe) 1,505 1,760 2,325 2,000 1,498 5,823 6,130
Natural gas (bcf) 92.9 97.8 100.4 88.7 80.7 269.8 299.1
Total (Mboe) 28,719 29,666 29,240 28,195 25,039 82,475 91,670
(1) Total boe conversions are based on 6 bcf of natural gas
equals 1,000 Mboe. Negative production figures
represent finalisation adjustments.
(2) Other Australia includes Minerva and Macedon.
(3) Gulf of Mexico volumes are net of royalties.
(4) Other Americas includes Neptune, Genesis and Overriding Royalty Interest.
(5) BHP completed the sale of its interest in the Bruce and
Keith oil and gas fields on 30 November 2018.
The sale has an effective date of 1 January 2018.
Copper
Metals production is payable metal unless
otherwise stated.
Escondida, Chile
(1)
Material mined (kt) 103,936 100,693 101,026 100,057 107,268 308,351 316,776
Sulphide ore milled (kt) 32,027 32,519 33,956 33,659 33,440 101,055 93,047
Average concentrator
head grade (%) 0.82% 0.86% 0.86% 0.87% 0.82% 0.85% 0.88%
Production ex
mill (kt) 216.9 230.9 245.0 246.1 230.0 721.1 678.7
Production
Payable copper (kt) 205.4 224.1 237.0 240.3 220.1 697.4 658.0
Copper cathode
(EW) (kt) 62.4 63.5 55.9 68.4 69.6 193.9 189.7
- Oxide leach (kt) 20.9 23.4 21.9 28.3 29.3 79.5 63.8
- Sulphide leach (kt) 41.5 40.1 34.1 40.1 40.2 114.4 125.8
Total copper (kt) 267.8 287.6 292.9 308.7 289.7 891.3 847.7
(troy
Payable gold concentrate oz) 73,998 74,704 48,801 49,209 35,990 134,000 211,302
Payable silver (troy
concentrate koz) 2,189 2,074 1,626 1,798 1,390 4,814 6,756
Sales
Payable copper (kt) 212.0 223.4 222.2 248.3 212.0 682.5 657.7
Copper cathode
(EW) (kt) 56.6 67.5 52.3 70.6 65.9 188.8 182.1
(troy
Payable gold concentrate oz) 73,999 74,704 48,801 49,209 35,990 134,000 211,303
Payable silver (troy
concentrate koz) 2,189 2,074 1,626 1,798 1,390 4,814 6,756
(1) Shown on a 100% basis. BHP interest in saleable production is 57.5%.
19
Production and sales report
Quarter ended Year to date
Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
Pampa Norte, Chile
Cerro Colorado
Material mined (kt) 15,561 13,534 15,071 18,102 18,710 51,883 53,924
Ore milled (kt) 4,277 4,740 3,995 5,009 4,574 13,578 14,148
Average copper
grade (%) 0.63% 0.64% 0.54% 0.57% 0.54% 0.55% 0.59%
Production
Copper cathode
(EW) (kt) 18.2 23.4 16.4 13.8 20.4 50.6 51.8
Sales
Copper cathode
(EW) (kt) 15.5 26.8 14.5 15.8 18.3 48.6 48.3
Spence
Material mined (kt) 18,632 19,213 21,040 23,132 23,304 67,476 63,300
Ore milled (kt) 4,376 5,224 5,635 5,133 5,191 15,959 15,446
Average copper
grade (%) 1.03% 1.02% 0.95% 0.90% 0.87% 0.91% 1.12%
Production
Copper cathode
(EW) (kt) 49.0 50.7 47.5 46.2 43.9 137.6 120.6
Sales
Copper cathode
(EW) (kt) 46.1 55.0 46.7 44.3 44.8 135.8 114.9
Copper (continued)
Metals production is payable metal
unless otherwise stated.
Antamina, Peru
Material mined
(100%) (kt) 57,900 58,994 59,299 63,224 52,872 175,395 183,220
Sulphide ore milled
(100%) (kt) 11,466 12,864 13,121 13,637 12,906 39,664 37,575
Average head grades
- Copper (%) 1.04% 1.02% 0.99% 0.96% 0.88% 0.94% 1.01%
- Zinc (%) 0.87% 0.86% 0.80% 0.82% 1.09% 0.90% 0.94%
Production
Payable copper (kt) 34.5 37.4 37.6 36.2 32.9 106.7 109.8
Payable zinc (t) 20,848 22,469 20,454 22,483 31,789 74,726 75,643
(troy
Payable silver koz) 1,062 1,209 1,101 1,173 1,216 3,490 3,549
Payable lead (t) 456 770 405 383 621 1,409 1,619
Payable molybdenum (t) 82 178 405 527 491 1,423 963
Sales
Payable copper (kt) 33.3 36.0 33.1 43.6 30.8 107.5 107.6
Payable zinc (t) 20,595 21,750 20,196 23,808 31,007 75,011 78,489
(troy
Payable silver koz) 1,027 937 954 1,396 815 3,165 3,456
Payable lead (t) 749 296 844 432 151 1,427 2,010
Payable molybdenum (t) 256 127 173 400 531 1,104 999
20
Production and sales report
Quarter ended Year to date
Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
Olympic Dam, Australia
Material mined
(1) (kt) 2,191 2,425 2,477 2,347 1,920 6,744 6,669
Ore milled (kt) 2,371 2,195 2,200 2,153 2,178 6,531 5,770
Average copper
grade (%) 2.22% 2.30% 2.31% 2.36% 2.31% 2.33% 2.14%
Average uranium
grade (kg/t) 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.71 0.69 0.68 0.63
Production
Copper cathode
(ER and EW) (kt) 50.2 45.2 35.1 50.5 38.4 124.0 115.1
Payable uranium (t) 1,106 975 937 949 776 2,662 2,590
(troy
Refined gold oz) 28,609 37,032 43,205 35,382 33,235 111,822 69,936
(troy
Refined silver koz) 230 268 245 203 241 689 655
Sales
Copper cathode
(ER and EW) (kt) 47.4 50.5 32.1 49.0 41.4 122.5 107.9
Payable uranium (t) 550 1,427 778 638 702 2,118 2,143
(troy
Refined gold oz) 27,574 36,133 40,073 36,507 36,956 113,536 66,531
(troy
Refined silver koz) 241 257 250 202 259 711 634
(1) Material mined refers to run of mine ore mined and hoisted.
Iron Ore
Iron ore production and sales are
reported on a wet tonnes basis.
Pilbara, Australia
Production
Newman (kt) 15,608 17,058 16,316 15,766 16,449 48,531 49,564
Area C Joint Venture (kt) 11,627 13,837 12,620 12,727 12,179 37,526 33,603
Yandi Joint Venture (kt) 15,214 17,486 17,827 14,857 17,491 50,175 47,711
Jimblebar (1) (kt) 13,658 14,209 14,239 17,045 13,911 45,195 44,337
Wheelarra (kt) 10 5 3 - - 3 154
Total production (kt) 56,117 62,595 61,005 60,395 60,030 181,430 175,369
Total production
(100%) (kt) 63,609 71,133 69,257 68,044 68,168 205,469 198,466
Sales
Lump (kt) 13,603 15,568 14,785 15,982 15,617 46,384 42,637
Fines (kt) 41,981 48,064 45,509 45,785 44,764 136,058 132,567
Total (kt) 55,584 63,632 60,294 61,767 60,381 182,442 175,204
Total sales (100%) (kt) 62,853 72,173 68,291 69,481 68,439 206,211 198,032
(1) Shown on a 100% basis. BHP interest in saleable production is 85%.
Samarco, Brazil
(1)
Production (kt) - - - - - - -
Sales (kt) - - - - - - 10
(1) Mining and processing operations remain suspended following
the failure of the Fundão tailings dam and Santarém water dam on 5
November 2015.
21
Production and sales report
Quarter ended Year to date
Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
Coal
Coal production is reported on the basis
of saleable product.
Queensland Coal
Production (1)
BMA
Blackwater (kt) 1,484 1,735 1,045 1,734 1,063 3,842 4,868
Goonyella (kt) 2,141 2,620 1,489 2,662 1,963 6,114 5,943
Peak Downs (kt) 1,468 1,649 1,423 1,386 1,339 4,148 4,284
Saraji (kt) 1,250 1,243 1,214 1,325 1,025 3,564 3,649
Daunia (kt) 470 669 556 579 447 1,582 1,509
Caval Ridge (kt) 795 1,174 1,178 1,037 1,032 3,247 2,793
Total BMA (kt) 7,608 9,090 6,905 8,723 6,869 22,497 23,046
Total BMA (100%) (kt) 15,216 18,180 13,810 17,446 13,738 44,994 46,092
BHP Mitsui Coal
(2)
South Walker Creek (kt) 1,429 1,624 1,378 1,196 1,577 4,151 4,570
Poitrel (kt) 840 1,180 1,075 1,005 776 2,856 2,891
Total BHP Mitsui
Coal (kt) 2,269 2,804 2,453 2,201 2,353 7,007 7,461
Total Queensland
Coal (kt) 9,877 11,894 9,358 10,924 9,222 29,504 30,507
Total Queensland
Coal (100%) (kt) 17,485 20,984 16,263 19,647 16,091 52,001 53,553
Sales
Coking coal (kt) 7,221 7,932 7,299 7,775 7,084 22,158 22,091
Weak coking coal (kt) 3,282 2,942 2,466 2,475 2,335 7,276 9,153
Thermal coal (kt) 379 350 94 30 224 348 677
Total (kt) 10,882 11,224 9,859 10,280 9,643 29,782 31,921
Total (100%) (kt) 19,176 19,789 17,145 18,459 16,928 52,532 56,096
(1) Production figures include some thermal coal.
(2) Shown on a 100% basis. BHP interest in saleable production
is 80%.
NSW Energy Coal,
Australia
Production (kt) 4,552 5,412 3,592 3,763 3,810 11,165 12,845
Sales
Export thermal coal (kt) 3,529 5,181 3,075 3,952 3,403 10,430 11,887
Inland thermal coal (kt) 302 975 567 - - 567 1,027
Total (kt) 3,831 6,156 3,642 3,952 3,403 10,997 12,914
Cerrejón, Colombia
Production (kt) 2,199 2,017 2,055 2,315 1,978 6,348 7,213
Sales thermal coal
- export (kt) 2,200 2,245 2,069 2,261 2,028 6,358 7,086
22
Production and sales report
Quarter ended Year to date
Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Mar Mar
2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019
Other
Nickel production is reported on the
basis of saleable product
Nickel West, Australia
Mt Keith
Nickel concentrate (kt) 52.5 52.8 43.7 31.5 42.8 118.0 147.6
Average nickel grade (%) 19.2 19.5 18.3 17.3 15.8 17.1 19.3
Leinster
Nickel concentrate (kt) 51.8 48.3 67.2 56.6 57.8 181.6 195.9
Average nickel grade (%) 9.3 10.8 10.0 8.6 9.8 9.5 8.6
Saleable production
Refined nickel (1)
(2) (kt) 17.6 19.9 17.4 11.1 16.6 45.1 53.7
Intermediates and
nickel by-products
(1) (3) (kt) 1.6 8.8 4.2 2.6 4.3 11.1 5.0
Total nickel (1) (kt) 19.2 28.7 21.6 13.7 20.9 56.2 58.7
Cobalt by-products (t) 194 302 211 120 132 463 597
Sales
Refined nickel (1)
(2) (kt) 17.9 19.9 17.0 10.6 16.8 44.4 54.5
Intermediates and
nickel by-products
(1) (3) (kt) 0.1 8.4 5.7 2.7 2.9 11.3 4.4
Total nickel (1) (kt) 18.0 28.3 22.7 13.3 19.7 55.7 58.9
Cobalt by-products (t) 194 302 212 131 132 475 597
(1) Production and sales restated to include other nickel by-products.
(2) High quality refined nickel metal, including briquettes and powder.
(3) Nickel contained in matte and by-product streams.
23
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END
UPDSEAEESESSESL
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April 21, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
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