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BHP Billiton 20-F 2008 Documents found in this filing:Table of ContentsUNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 20-F (Mark One)
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Date of event requiring this shell company report For the transition period from to
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to section 12(b) of the Act.
* Evidenced by American Depositary Receipts. Each American Depositary Receipt represents two ordinary shares of BHP Billiton Limited or BHP Billiton Plc, as the case may be. ** Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of the applicable American Depositary Shares. Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act. None Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act. None Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No ¨
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Table of ContentsIf this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ¨ No x Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨ Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 ¨ Item 18 ¨ If this is an annual report, indicate by checkmark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
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Table of ContentsForm 20-F Cross Reference Table
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Table of ContentsInformation Relating to the US Offer for Rio Tinto plc BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc (“BHP Billiton”) plan to register the offer and sale of securities it would issue to Rio Tinto plc US shareholders and Rio Tinto plc ADS holders by filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a Registration Statement (the “Registration Statement”), which will contain a prospectus (the “Prospectus”), as well as other relevant materials. No such materials have yet been filed. This communication is not a substitute for any Registration Statement or Prospectus that BHP Billiton may file with the SEC. U.S. INVESTORS AND U.S. HOLDERS OF RIO TINTO PLC SECURITIES AND ALL HOLDERS OF RIO TINTO PLC ADSs ARE URGED TO READ ANY REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS MADE AVAILABLE TO THEM AND/OR FILED WITH THE SEC REGARDING THE POTENTIAL TRANSACTION, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain a free copy of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as well as other relevant documents filed with the SEC at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), once such documents are filed with the SEC. Copies of such documents may also be obtained from BHP Billiton without charge, once they are filed with the SEC. Information for US Holders of Rio Tinto Limited Shares BHP Billiton Limited is not required to, and does not plan to, prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement in respect of the Rio Tinto Limited Offer. Accordingly, Rio Tinto Limited shareholders should carefully consider the following: The Rio Tinto Limited Offer will be an exchange offer made for the securities of a foreign company. Such offer is subject to disclosure requirements of a foreign country that are different from those of the United States. Financial statements included in the document will be prepared in accordance with foreign accounting standards that may not be comparable to the financial statements of United States companies. Information Relating to the US Offer for Rio Tinto plc and the Rio Tinto Limited Offer for Rio Tinto shareholders located in the US It may be difficult for you to enforce your rights and any claim you may have arising under the U.S. federal securities laws, since the issuers are located in a foreign country, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of foreign countries. You may not be able to sue a foreign company or its officers or directors in a foreign court for violations of the U.S. securities laws. It may be difficult to compel a foreign company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. court’s judgment. You should be aware that BHP Billiton may purchase securities of either Rio Tinto plc or Rio Tinto Limited otherwise than under the exchange offer, such as in open market or privately negotiated purchases. This Report is issued subject to the Important Notices appearing on page 188 of this Report.
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Table of Contents1.1 Our business We are the world’s largest diversified natural resources company, our objective being to create long-term value through the discovery, development and conversion of natural resources, and the provision of innovative customer and market-focused solutions. We have significant businesses producing alumina and aluminium, copper, energy (thermal) coal, iron ore, nickel, manganese, metallurgical coal, oil and gas and uranium, as well as gold, zinc, lead, silver and diamonds. We have approximately 41,000 employees, and 61,000 contractors, working in more than 100 operations in over 25 countries. The Group is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and consists of the BHP Billiton Limited Group and the BHP Billiton Plc Group as a combined enterprise, following the completion of the Dual Listed Company (DLC) merger in June 2001. BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc have each retained their separate corporate identities and maintained their separate stock exchange listings, but they are operated and managed as if they are a single unified economic entity, with their boards and senior executive management comprising the same people. BHP Billiton Limited has a primary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Australia and secondary listings on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany and the Zurich Stock Exchange in Switzerland. BHP Billiton Plc has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in the UK and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa. In addition, BHP Billiton Limited American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and BHP Billiton Plc ADRs trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the US. As at 30 June 2008, we had a market capitalisation of approximately US$225 billion. For the year ended 30 June 2008, we reported revenue of US$59.5 billion, profit from operations of US$24.1 billion, net profit attributable to shareholders of US$15.4 billion and net operating cash flow of US$18.2 billion. We operate nine Customer Sector Groups (CSGs) aligned with the commodities which we extract and market, being:
Pre-conditional offers for Rio Tinto On 6 February 2008, we announced the terms of two inter-conditional offers for the entire ordinary share capital of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited, which, together with their respective subsidiaries operate as a single economic entity under a dual listed company structure known as Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group, producing alumina and aluminium, bauxite, copper, diamonds, iron ore, metallurgical and energy coal and uranium as well as other base metals and industrial minerals. In 2007, Rio Tinto acquired Alcan, Inc., making its aluminium product group a global leader in aluminium. The total cost of the acquisition amounted to US$38.7 billion in cash, including fees. Under the announced offers, we will offer 3.4 BHP Billiton shares for each Rio Tinto share tendered. The offers are subject to certain pre-conditions relating to merger control and regulatory approvals in a number of jurisdictions, including the approval of anti-trust authorities in the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and South Africa and foreign investment authorities in Australia. On 2 July 2008, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period for the offers, which satisfied part of the merger control pre-conditions. We
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Table of Contentscan only invoke a pre-condition to allow the offers not to proceed or to be withdrawn where it is of material significance to us in the context of the offers and the UK Panel on Takeovers and Mergers has given its prior approval. Once the pre-conditions have been satisfied or waived, we will be obliged to make the offers on the terms announced (or terms not substantially less favourable to Rio Tinto shareholders). The offers will be subject to certain conditions being satisfied or waived, including:
We believe the combination of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto is a logical and compelling combination for both companies and will unlock unique value and substantial benefits to BHP Billiton shareholders and Rio Tinto shareholders. If we are successful in acquiring all of the shares of Rio Tinto on the announced terms, our current intention is to return up to US$30 billion to shareholders through a share buyback within 12 months of completion of the acquisition. 1.2 Chairman’s Review This year, we reported another record profit of US$15.4 billion, the seventh consecutive full-year profit increase. This represents a 602 per cent increase in attributable profit since 2001. Over the same period, Total Shareholder Returns, the movement in our share price plus dividends, have increased by 863 per cent, reflecting progressive dividend increases and the market value of the Company. We also rebased our dividend for the second successive year. This represents a 150 per cent increase over the past three years. Unfortunately, mining stocks have seen a significant de-rating since May this year on the back of short-term uncertainty. This is disappointing for the management and shareholders of BHP Billiton. While we expect commodity markets to remain volatile in the short term, we are confident that longer-term market fundamentals should support growth in commodity demand and, therefore, our revenues. Margins and cash flow will be impacted by cost inflation. But our strategy to ensure we have a suite of long-life, low-cost assets, diversified by geography and commodity, that can be expanded and are largely export oriented, is proving successful at delivering consistent results for all our stakeholders. To fully appreciate the role BHP Billiton and the resources industry generally is playing today, it is essential to look at what is happening to the world’s economies. Central to the world’s economic growth is the development of the new economies – China in particular, Russia, India and, to a lesser extent, Brazil. Counteracting these forces is the relative shrinkage of the United States’ economy and the lessening influence of the United Kingdom and Europe. Asia is becoming increasingly dominant, today accounting for nearly 30 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These economic shifts are having many consequences. For BHP Billiton, rapid and continuing Asian growth has put pressure on demand for our products, which are essential for the building and production of city infrastructure and personal goods that characterise Asia’s urbanisation and industrialisation. I have no doubt that economic growth in the Asian region will slow at some point but, if I look at China specifically, the slow down is concentrated in regions oriented to the light export sector. The sectors of the economy oriented more towards domestic consumption are still performing well despite increasing input costs, particularly for energy. We expect Asian demand for our products to continue. Our response has been to streamline our business to enable us to produce as much product as fast as possible within the non-negotiable framework of the highest safety and environmental standards. In operating our business at full capacity and continually seeking opportunities to increase the volumes of product available to our customers, it is the Board’s duty to ensure we are creating real and tangible value for shareholders. We are proud to report that during the year we continued to deliver new projects to boost product volumes and we achieved strong profit margins across our businesses. It is not only demand for our products that is being impacted by global economic shifts. As the world’s largest diversified resources company, we are watching the creation of competitor companies that are spearheading the economic emergence of countries like Russia, Brazil and China.
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Table of ContentsIt is in this global context that the Board endorsed a proposal to combine BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, two leading resources companies that together could help meet the developing economies’ demand for resources better and faster than the two companies do apart. A combined company would have a greater ability to develop the next generation of large-scale projects to provide greater volumes of product for the benefit of its customers, the communities in which it operates and its shareholders. In making the pre-conditional offer for Rio Tinto, the Board remains absolutely focused on value for shareholders. We are confident that both sets of shareholders would share the value of a combined company. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank our senior management team for their efforts this year. They have performed magnificently and, under the new leadership of Marius Kloppers, the Company has stepped up efforts to meet a new realm of global challenges and opportunities. BOARD RENEWAL Building an exceptional board is a cornerstone of an effective corporate governance system and planning for board renewal is a continuous process. The process of putting together the best board for the business has to start with the business strategy and an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current members. New non-executive Directors must fill an essential role in line with the strategic intent of the business and bring to the Company the skills determined by the Board. Attracting exceptional people will not of itself create exceptional directors; the candidates have to fit together as a team. BHP Billiton has an exceptional group of high-performing, skilful, professional people, diverse in knowledge, gender and geography, who have overseen incredible growth in the business over the last seven years. The tone at the top and within the Board has fostered an environment in which we are committed to high ethical standards, fairness, full compliance with legal requirements and resistance to market pressures for short-term results. During the year, we engaged external search firms to assist with Board renewal, which resulted in the appointment of David Morgan, Keith Rumble and Alan Boeckmann. These non-executive Directors have the required functional expertise; they are independent of thought and satisfy the independence test of the various jurisdictional codes of corporate governance. We also completed a review of the Board Committees, including an examination of the respective Committee charters, and a performance review of each Director, including the Chairman, to ensure that our Board criteria is maintained. These reviews were facilitated by external advisers. In conclusion, it has been a stellar year for the Company and its stakeholders and I compliment my Board colleagues and senior management team for their commitment and dedication to the delivery of our strategy. 1.3 Chief Executive Officer’s Report BHP Billiton shareholders can look back on the 2008 financial year with a real sense of pride in what we’ve achieved and in the performance of our people. Since my appointment as CEO in October 2007, we have continued to follow our strategy to own and operate world-class assets across a diverse range of mineral, metal and energy products, focused on the upstream end of the production process. From the combination of our strategy, the efforts of our people and a favorable commodity price environment, we have been able to deliver record financial performance. While we can report financial success, I regret to report we have not performed well on safety. In FY2008, 11 of our employees died at work. Many more lives will have been impacted, some forever, by these tragic and avoidable events. We have reflected deeply on what more we must do to reach our goal of Zero Harm. In FY2009, we are making even greater efforts to improve our safety performance. Despite turbulent global economic conditions, we continue to see enormous opportunity for the Company. While continuing to further our existing strategy, we have refined our operational focus in order to give maximum clarity of responsibility to our operating units. We are also embracing the concept of ‘simplicity’ even more deeply, ensuring that we focus our effort and resources on key opportunities and value drivers. For our shareholders, this means the Company is easier to understand, more focused and more valuable. In the past year, our strategy has produced stronger annual production in 13 of our commodities, with record production in seven of those. This was achieved in an environment of industry-wide supply disruptions and input cost pressures. Our strong track record of project delivery also continued through the year, enabling, for example, our Western Australia Iron Ore business to post an eighth consecutive annual production record. A record performance in our Petroleum business reflected the successful commissioning of three new major projects. We expect volume growth from our Petroleum business to continue at around 10 per cent a year, a significant value creator at a time of historically high oil prices.
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Table of ContentsTen major projects, spanning five commodities, started production during the year. The Board approved a further seven for development, bringing our total number of projects in either execution or feasibility to 28, representing an expected capital investment of US$24.8 billion. We also have other medium-term growth options with expected capital commitments in excess of US$90 billion, spanning our existing commodity range and beyond. Our results were outstanding in the context of a challenging supply environment which was characterised by unexpected disruptions, rising input prices, skills shortages and the further devaluation of the US dollar. Our strong performance demonstrates the power of our uniquely diversified and high-margin portfolio across the energy, steelmaking and non-ferrous product suites. Given this future growth pipeline, you may question why we are pursuing a combination with Rio Tinto. Within our industry, the two companies are uniquely complementary, and, as such, we believe a combined company would unlock synergies and provide greater value than the two companies can provide separately. BHP Billiton does not need Rio Tinto to have a great future, but we believe the two companies combined will be better placed to meet the world’s future need for our products. We have a critical role in providing the raw materials for growth that so many economies need; economies going through industrialisation and urbanisation on a scale and intensity not experienced before. We are resourcing the future. I have been fortunate to take the helm of a well-run business, focused on its customers’ needs, with a great team responding well to the opportunities for our sector. In a year’s time, I hope to report we have been able to improve our Company even further. 1.4.1 Financial information Our selected financial information reflects the operations of the BHP Billiton Group, and should be read in conjunction with the 2008 financial statements, together with the accompanying notes. We prepare our financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, and as outlined in note 1 ‘Accounting Policies’ to the financial statements. We publish our consolidated financial statements in US dollars.
1.4.2 Operational information Our Board and Group Management Committee monitor a range of financial and operational performance indicators, reported on a monthly basis, to measure performance over time. We also monitor a comprehensive set of health, safety, environment and community contribution indicators.
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1.5 Risk factors We believe that, because of the international scope of our operations and the industries in which we are engaged, there are numerous factors which may have an effect on our results and operations. The following describes the material risks that could affect the BHP Billiton Group. Fluctuations in commodity prices may negatively impact our results The prices we obtain for our oil, gas, minerals and other commodities are determined by, or linked to, prices in world markets, which have historically been subject to substantial variations. The Group’s usual policy is to sell its products at the prevailing market prices. The diversity provided by the Group’s broad portfolio of commodities may not fully insulate the effects of price changes. Fluctuations in commodity prices can occur due to sustained price shifts reflecting underlying global economic and geopolitical factors, industry demand and supply balances, product substitution and national tariffs. Additionally, the volatility in prices for most of our commodities will occur. The synchronisation of global commodity markets and influence of demand from China has in recent years impacted and may continue to impact price volatility. The impact on global economic growth, particularly in the developed economies, of the US sub-prime-induced global liquidity crisis may impact demand and prices for commodities. The influence of hedge and other financial investment funds participating in commodity markets has increased in recent years contributing to higher levels of price volatility. The impact of potential longer-term sustained price shifts and shorter-term price volatility creates the risk that our financial and operating results and asset values will be materially and adversely affected by unforeseen declines in the prevailing prices of our products. Our profits may be negatively affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations Our assets, earnings and cash flows are influenced by a wide variety of currencies due to the geographic diversity of the countries in which we operate. Fluctuations in the exchange rates of those currencies may have a significant impact on our financial results. The US dollar is the currency in which the majority of our sales are denominated. Operating costs are influenced by the currencies of those countries where our mines and processing plants are located and also by those currencies in which the costs of imported equipment and services are determined. The Australian dollar, South African rand, Chilean peso, Brazilian real and US dollar are the most important currencies influencing our operating costs. Given the dominant role of the US currency in our affairs, the US dollar is the currency in which we present financial performance. It is also the natural currency for borrowing and holding surplus cash. We do not generally believe that active currency hedging provides long-term benefits to our shareholders. We may consider currency protection measures appropriate in specific commercial circumstances, subject to strict limits established by our Board. Therefore, in any particular year, currency fluctuations may have a significant impact on our financial results. Failure to discover new reserves, maintain or enhance existing reserves or develop new operations could negatively affect our future results and financial condition The increased demand for commodities in recent years has resulted in existing reserves being depleted at an accelerated rate. Because our revenues and profits are related to our oil and gas and minerals operations, our results and financial conditions are directly related to the success of our exploration and acquisition efforts, and our ability to replace existing reserves. The depletion of reserves has necessitated increased exploration adjacent to established operations and development of new operations in less-developed countries. Additionally these activities may increase land tenure, infrastructure and related political risks. The rapid growth in demand for mining and petroleum industry related technical skills, supplies and critical equipment has led to shortages and delays in these areas. A failure in our ability to discover new reserves, enhance existing reserves or develop new operations in sufficient quantities to maintain or grow the current level of our reserves could negatively affect our results, financial condition and prospects.
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Table of ContentsThere are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating ore and oil and gas reserves and geological, technical and economic assumptions that are valid at the time of estimation may change significantly when new information becomes available. Reserve restatements could negatively affect our reputation, results, financial condition and prospects. Reduction in Chinese demand may negatively impact our results The Chinese market has become a significant source of global demand for commodities. China now represents in excess of 53 per cent of global seaborne iron ore demand, 25 per cent of copper demand, 24 per cent of nickel demand and 16 per cent of energy demand. China’s demand for these commodities has been driving global materials demand over the past decade. While this increase represents a significant business opportunity, our exposure to China’s economic fortunes and economic policies has increased. Sales into China generated US$11.7 billion or 19.8 per cent of revenue in the year ended 30 June 2008. In recent years, strong economic growth and infrastructure development in China has resulted in higher prices for the commodities we produce. A slowing in China’s economic growth, potentially impacted by slowing developed economies, could result in lower prices for our products and therefore reduce our revenues. In response to its increased demand for commodities, China is increasingly seeking strategic self-sufficiency in key commodities, including investments in additional developments in other countries. These investments may impact future commodity demand and supply balances and prices. Actions by governments or political events in the countries in which we operate could have a negative impact on our business We have operations in many countries around the globe some of which have varying degrees of political and commercial stability. We operate in emerging markets, which may involve additional risks that could have an adverse impact upon the profitability of an operation. These risks could include terrorism, civil unrest, nationalisation, renegotiation or nullification of existing contracts, leases, permits or other agreements, and changes in laws and policy as well as other unforeseeable risks. Risks relating to bribery and corruption may be prevalent in some of the countries in which we operate. If one or more of these risks occurs at one of our major projects, it could have a negative effect on the operations in those countries as well as the Group’s overall operating results and financial condition. Our business could be adversely affected by new government regulation such as controls on imports, exports and prices, new forms or rates of taxation and royalties. Increasing requirements relating to regulatory, environmental and social approvals can potentially result in significant delays in construction and may adversely impact upon the economics of new mining and oil and gas projects, the expansion of existing operations and results of our operations. Infrastructure such as rail, ports, power and water is critical to our business operations. We have operations or potential development projects in countries where government provided infrastructure or regulatory regimes for access to infrastructure, including our own privately operated infrastructure, may be inadequate or uncertain. These may adversely impact the efficient operations and expansion of our businesses. In South Africa, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (2002) (MPRDA) came into effect on 1 May 2004. The law provides for the conversion of existing mining rights (so called ‘Old Order Rights’) to rights under the new regime (‘New Order Rights’) subject to certain undertakings to be made by the company applying for such conversion. The Mining Charter requires that mining companies achieve 15 per cent ownership by historically disadvantaged South Africans of South African mining assets within five years and 26 per cent ownership within 10 years. If we are unable to convert our South African mining rights in accordance with the MPRDA and the Mining Charter, we could lose some of those rights. We operate in several countries where ownership of land is uncertain and where disputes may arise in relation to ownership. In Australia, the Native Title Act (1993) provides for the establishment and recognition of native title under certain circumstances. In South Africa, the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (1997) and the Restitution of Land Rights Act (1994) provide for various landholding rights. Such legislation could negatively affect new or existing projects. We may not be able to successfully integrate our acquired businesses We have grown our business in part through acquisitions. We expect that some of our future growth will stem from acquisitions. There are numerous risks encountered in business combinations. These include adverse regulatory conditions and obligations, commercial objectives not achieved due to minority interests, unforeseen liabilities arising from the acquired businesses, retention of key staff, anticipated synergies and cost savings being delayed or not being achieved, uncertainty in sales proceeds from planned divestments, and planned expansion projects are delayed or higher cost than anticipated. These factors could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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Table of ContentsWe may not recover our investments in mining and oil and gas projects Our operations may be impacted by changed market or industry structures, commodity prices, technical operating difficulties, inability to recover our mineral, oil or gas reserves and increased operating cost levels. These may impact the ability for assets to recover their historical investment and may require financial write-downs adversely impacting our financial results. Our non-controlled assets may not comply with our standards Some of our assets are controlled and managed by joint venture partners or by other companies. Some joint venture partners may have divergent business objectives which may impact business and financial results. Management of our non-controlled assets may not comply with our management and operating standards, controls and procedures (including health, safety, environment). Failure to adopt equivalent standards, controls and procedures at these assets could lead to higher costs and reduced production and adversely impact our results and reputation. Operating cost pressures and shortages could negatively impact our operations and expansion plans The strong commodity cycle and large numbers of projects being developed in the resources industry has led to increased demand for and shortages in skilled personnel, contractors, materials and supplies that are required as critical inputs to our existing operations and planned developments. Labour unions may seek to secure an increased share of the economic rent in the current environment. A number of key cost inputs consumed in our operations are commodity price-linked and have consequently been impacted by the higher commodity price environment. A number of our operations are energy or water intensive and, as a result, the Group’s costs and earnings could be adversely affected by rising costs or by supply interruptions. These could include: the unavailability of energy, fuel or water due to a variety of reasons including fluctuations in climate, significant increase in costs, inadequate infrastructure capacity, interruptions in supply due to equipment failure or other causes, and the inability to extend supply contracts on economical terms. These factors have led, and could continue to lead to, increased capital and operating costs at existing operations, as well as impacting the cost and schedule of projects under development. Industrial action may impact our operations resulting in lost production and revenues. Health, safety and environmental exposures and related regulations may impact our operations and reputation negatively The nature of the industries in which we operate means that our activities are highly regulated by health, safety and environmental laws. As regulatory standards and expectations are constantly developing, we may be exposed to increased litigation, compliance costs and unforeseen environmental remediation expenses. Potential health, safety and environmental events that may materially impact our operations include rockfall incidents in underground mining operations, aircraft incidents, light vehicle incidents, explosions or gas leaks, incidents involving mobile equipment, uncontrolled tailings breaches or escape of polluting substances. Longer-term health impacts may arise due to unanticipated workplace exposures by employees or site contractors. These effects may create future financial compensation obligations. We provide for mine and site remediation. We have mine closure plans for all of our operating and closed mine sites. Changes in regulatory or community expectations may result in the relevant plans not being adequate. This may impact financial provisioning and costs at the affected operations. We contribute to the communities in which we operate by providing skilled employment opportunities, salaries and wages, taxes and royalties and community development programs. Notwithstanding these actions, local communities may become dissatisfied with the impact of our operations, potentially affecting costs and production, and in extreme cases viability. Legislation requiring manufacturers, importers and downstream users of chemical substances, including metals and minerals, to establish that the substances can be used without negatively affecting health or the environment may impact our operations and markets. These potential compliance costs, litigation expenses, regulatory delays, remediation expenses and operational costs could negatively affect our financial results. We may continue to be exposed to increased operational costs due to the costs and lost time associated with the HIV/AIDS and malaria infection rate mainly within our African workforce. Because we operate globally, we may be affected by potential avian flu outbreaks in any of the regions in which we operate. Despite our best efforts and best intentions, there remains a risk that health, safety and/or environmental incidents or accidents may occur that may negatively impact our reputation or licence to operate.
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Table of ContentsUnexpected natural and operational catastrophes may impact our operations We operate extractive, processing and logistical operations in many geographic locations both onshore and offshore. Our operational processes and geographic locations may be subject to operational accidents such as port and shipping incidents, fire and explosion, pitwall failures, loss of power supply, railroad incidents and mechanical failures. Our operations may also be subject to unexpected natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, flood, hurricanes and tsunamis. Existing business continuity plans and insurance arrangements may not provide protection for all of the costs that may arise from such events. The impact of these events could lead to disruptions in production and loss of facilities adversely affecting our financial results. Climate change and greenhouse effects may adversely impact our operations and markets We are a major producer of energy-related products such as energy coal, oil, gas, liquefied natural gas and uranium. Energy is also a significant input in a number of the Group’s mining and processing operations. There is a substantial weight of scientific evidence concluding that CO2 emissions from fossil fuel based energy consumption contribute to global warming, greenhouse effects and climate change. A number of governments or governmental bodies have introduced or are contemplating regulatory change in response to the impacts of climate change. The December 1997 Kyoto Protocol established a set of greenhouse gas emission targets for developed countries that have ratified the Protocol. The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), which came into effect on 1 January 2005, has had an impact on greenhouse gas and energy-intensive businesses based in the EU. Our Petroleum assets in the UK are currently subject to the EU ETS as are our EU based customers. Elsewhere, there is current and emerging climate change regulation that will affect energy prices, demand and margins for carbon intensive products. The Australian Government’s plan of action on climate change includes the introduction of a national emissions trading scheme by 2010 and a mandatory renewable energy target of 20 per cent by the year 2020. From a medium and long-term perspective, we are likely to see changes in the margins of our greenhouse-gas-intensive assets and energy-intensive assets as a result of regulatory impacts in the countries in which we operate. These regulatory mechanisms may be either voluntary or legislated and may impact our operations directly or indirectly via our customers. Inconsistency of regulations particularly between developed and developing countries may also change the attractiveness of the locations of some of our assets. Assessments of the potential impact of future climate change regulation are uncertain given the wide scope of potential regulatory change in the many countries in which we operate. The physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain and will be particular to the geographic circumstances. These may include changes in rainfall patterns, water shortages, rising sea levels, increased storm intensities, and higher average temperature levels. These effects may adversely impact the cost, production and financial performance of our operations. Our human resource talent pool may not be adequate to support the Group’s growth The current strong commodity cycle and our pipeline of development projects have increased demand for highly skilled executives and staff with relevant industry and technical experience. The inability of the Group and industry to attract and retain such people may adversely impact our ability to adequately resource development projects and fill roles and vacancies in existing operations. Similar shortages have also impacted and may continue to affect key engineering, technical service, construction and maintenance contractors utilised by us in development projects and existing operations. These shortages may adversely impact the cost and schedule of development projects and the cost and efficiency of existing operations. Breaches in our information technology (IT) security processes may adversely impact the conduct of our business activities We maintain global IT and communication networks and applications to support our business activities. IT security processes protecting these systems are in place and subject to assessment as part of the review of internal control over financial reporting. These processes may not prevent future malicious action or fraud by individuals or groups, resulting in the corruption of operating systems, theft of commercially sensitive data, misappropriation of funds and disruptions to our business operations. A breach in our governance processes may lead to regulatory penalties and loss of reputation We operate in a global environment straddling multiple jurisdictions and complex regulatory frameworks. Our governance and compliance processes, which include the review of control over financial reporting, may not prevent future potential breaches of law, accounting or governance practice. Our business conduct and anti-trust protocols may not prevent instances of fraudulent behaviour and dishonesty nor guarantee compliance with legal or regulatory requirements. This may lead to regulatory fines, litigation, loss of operating licences or loss of reputation.
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Table of Contents1.6 Forward looking statements This Annual Report contains forward looking statements, including statements regarding:
Forward looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as ‘intend’, ‘aim’, ‘project’, ‘anticipate’, ‘estimate’, ‘plan’, ‘believe’, ‘expect’, ‘may’, ‘should’, ‘will’, ‘continue’ or similar words. These statements discuss future expectations concerning the results of operations or financial condition, or provide other forward looking statements. These forward looking statements are not guarantees or predictions of future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, and which may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements contained in this Annual Report. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward looking statements. For example, our future revenues from our operations, projects or mines described in this Annual Report will be based, in part, upon the market price of the minerals, metals or petroleum produced, which may vary significantly from current levels. These variations, if materially adverse, may affect the timing or the feasibility of the development of a particular project or the expansion of certain facilities or mines. Other factors that may affect the actual construction or production commencement dates, costs or production output and anticipated lives of operations, mines or facilities include our ability to profitably produce and transport the minerals, petroleum and/or metals extracted to applicable markets; the impact of foreign currency exchange rates on the market prices of the minerals, petroleum or metals we produce; activities of government authorities in some of the countries where we are exploring or developing these projects, facilities or mines, including increases in taxes, changes in environmental and other regulations and political uncertainty; and other factors identified in the description of the risk factors above. We cannot assure you that our estimated economically recoverable reserve figures, closure or divestment of such operations or facilities, including associated costs, actual production or commencement dates, cost or production output or anticipated lives of the projects, mines and facilities discussed in this Annual Report, will not differ materially from the statements contained in this Annual Report. Except as required by applicable regulations or by law, the Group does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events.
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Table of Contents2.1 BHP Billiton locations We extract and process minerals, oil and gas from our production operations located primarily in Australia, the Americas and southern Africa. We sell our product globally with our marketing activities centralised in Singapore, The Hague and Antwerp.
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BHP Billiton Locations
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Table of Contents2.2.1 History and development Since 29 June 2001, we have operated under a Dual Listed Companies (DLC) structure. Under the DLC structure, the two parent companies, BHP Billiton Limited (formerly BHP Limited and before that The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited) and BHP Billiton Plc (formerly Billiton Plc) operate as a single economic entity, run by a unified Board and management team. More details of the DLC structure are located under section 2.12 ‘Organisational structure’ of this Report. BHP Billiton Limited was incorporated in 1885 and is registered in Australia with ABN 49 004 028 077. BHP Billiton Plc was incorporated in 1996 and is registered in England and Wales with registration number 3196209. The registered office of BHP Billiton Limited is 180 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia, and its telephone number is 1300 55 47 57 (within Australia) or +61 3 9609 3333 (outside Australia). The registered office of BHP Billiton Plc is Neathouse Place, London SW1V 1BH, UK, and its telephone number is +44 20 7802 4000. 2.2.2 Petroleum Customer Sector Group Our Petroleum CSG is a global oil and gas business with producing assets in six countries across six continents and exploration opportunities in a further six countries. If it were a stand-alone business, our Petroleum CSG would rank approximately 25th among listed oil and gas exploration and production companies (based on production volumes). We believe that being part of the BHP Billiton Group gives the business the financial resources, risk tolerance and global reach of a much larger company, enabling us to compete for access to large, complex opportunities with the industry super-majors. In addition, we have developed highly specialised capabilities in a number of areas, including deep water exploration and development. As a result, we are able to focus our exploration and development activities on large, potentially high-return opportunities, such as our current development projects in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Western Australia. We organise our Petroleum CSG on a functional basis, with exploration, development, production and marketing functions all led out of our Houston headquarters, using common systems and standards. Our total oil and gas production in FY2008 was 129.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, an increase of 13 per cent over our total production of 115.05 million barrels of oil equivalent from continuing operations in FY2007. Given that our Atlantis project was ramping up during FY2008, our Neptune project in the Gulf of Mexico produced first oil in July 2008 and the Angel and North West Shelf Train 5 projects off Western Australia and the Shenzi project in the Gulf of Mexico are scheduled to commence operations in FY2009, we expect that our total production will continue to increase. We sell our crude oil production to refiners around the world at market prices. Gas is generally marketed under long-term domestic contracts and we export LNG under long-term contracts. Almost three-quarters of our contracted LNG sales volumes are subject to contracts that are either within four years of expiry or contain provisions allowing prices to be reset. However, more than a quarter of our currently contracted volumes are subject to long-term fixed-price contracts, some of which were priced in a lower price environment. Our production assets are as follows: Bass Strait Together with our 50-50 joint venture partner, Esso Australia, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, we have been producing oil and gas from Bass Strait, off the southeastern coast of the Australian mainland, for almost 40 years, having participated in the original discovery of hydrocarbons there in 1965. We dispatch the majority of our Bass Strait crude oil and condensate production to refineries along the east coast of Australia. Gas is piped ashore to our Longford processing facility, from where we sell our production to domestic distributors under inflation-linked contracts with periodic price reviews. North West Shelf We are a joint venture participant in the North West Shelf Project in Western Australia. The North West Shelf Project was developed in phases: the domestic gas phase, which supplies gas to the Western Australian domestic market mainly under long-term contracts, and a series of LNG expansion phases, which supply LNG to buyers in Japan, Korea and China under a series of long-term contracts. We also produce LPG and condensate. We are also a joint venture participant in four nearby oil fields. Both the North West Shelf gas and oil ventures are operated by Woodside Petroleum Ltd.
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Table of ContentsGulf of Mexico Our production in the Gulf of Mexico has expanded significantly, with the Atlantis field and the Genghis Khan portion of the Shenzi field coming on line in FY2008 and the Neptune field commencing production in July 2008. We now operate five fields in the Gulf of Mexico, and hold non-operating minority interests in a further three fields. We also own 25 per cent and 22 per cent respectively of the companies that own and operate the Caesar oil pipeline and the Cleopatra gas pipeline which transport oil and gas from the Green Canyon area, where a number of our fields are located, to connecting pipelines that transport product to the mainland. We deliver our oil production to refineries along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Our Shenzi project is scheduled to commence operations in FY2009. Liverpool Bay and Bruce/Keith The Liverpool Bay integrated development consists of six offshore gas and oil fields in the Irish Sea, the Point of Ayr onshore processing plant in North Wales, and associated infrastructure. We deliver all of the Liverpool Bay gas by pipeline to E.ON’s Connah’s Quay power station. We own 46 per cent of and operate Liverpool Bay. We also hold a 16 per cent non-operating interest in the Bruce oil and gas field in the North Sea and operate the Keith field, a subsea tie-back, which is processed via the Bruce platform facilities. Algeria Our Algerian assets consist of our effective 45 per cent interest in the Ohanet wet gas development and our 45 per cent interest in ROD, the production sharing contract which consists of six satellite oil fields that pump oil back to a dedicated processing train. Zamzama We hold a 38.5 per cent interest in and operate the Zamzama gas project in Sindh province of Pakistan. During FY2008, Phase 2 of the project was completed. The design capacity of Zamzama is 470 MMcf/d of gas and 3,150 bbl/d of condensate. Gas is sold domestically. Stybarrow During FY2008, first oil was produced at Stybarrow, a nine well subsea development in approximately 825 metres of water approximately 65 kilometres offshore north Western Australia. The project uses a floating production storage and offtake facility with capacity of approximately 80 Mbbl of oil per day. We own 50 per cent of and operate the project. Other Australia We are the operator of the Griffin project (45 per cent BHP Billiton) interest where oil and gas are produced via the Griffin venture, a floating production, storage and offloading facility. We pipe natural gas to shore, where it is delivered directly into a pipeline and sold domestically. We also operate the Minerva gas field located offshore Victoria in which we hold a 90 per cent interest. Trinidad The Angostura project is an integrated oil and gas development located offshore east Trinidad. We are the operator of the field and have a 45 per cent interest in the production sharing contract for the project. Information on Petroleum operations Significant oil and gas assets Production and reserve information for our most significant oil and gas assets are listed in the table below:
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Table of ContentsThe following table contains additional details of our production operations. This table should be read in conjunction with the production and reserve tables.
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Development projects Australia/Asia North West Shelf Train 5 expansion The expansion of the existing LNG processing facilities located on the Burrup Peninsula continues with the construction of the fifth LNG train. In June 2005, our Board approved our 16.67 per cent share of investment in a fifth LNG train expansion of the existing LNG processing facilities located on the Burrup Peninsula, which will increase total LNG production capacity to 43,500 tonnes per day. Our share of development costs, based on the operator’s estimate, is approximately US$350 million, with first production expected by end of first quarter FY2009. North West Shelf Angel development Development of the Angel gas and condensate field, approved in December 2005 is nearing completion. The development includes the installation of the venture’s third major offshore production platform, which will have a capacity to produce 800 MMcf/d of gas and 50 Mbbl of condensate per day from the North West Shelf and associated infrastructure, including a new subsea 50 kilometre pipeline, that will be tied in to the first trunk line at the North Rankin platform. Our 16.67 per cent share of development costs, based on the operator’s estimate, is approximately US$200 million. The project is on schedule and budget with first production expected by end of 2008. North West Shelf North Rankin gas compression project In March 2008, the Board approved the North West Shelf gas compression project to recover remaining lower pressure gas from the North Rankin and Perseus gas fields. A new gas compression platform, North Rankin B (NRB), capable of producing 2,500 MMcf/d of gas will be constructed adjacent to the existing North Rankin A platform, 135 kilometres offshore from Karratha on the northwest coast of Western Australia. The two platforms will be connected by a 100 metre bridge and operate as a single facility. Our 16.67 per cent share of development costs is approximately US$850 million. First gas is expected in 2012.
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Table of ContentsPyrenees – WA-12-R/WA-155-P In July 2007, the Board approved the Pyrenees project to develop the WA-12-R permit portion of the Crosby, Stickle and Ravensworth oil fields in the Exmouth Sub-basin, off the northwest coast of Western Australia. Project costs for the WA-12-R permit portion of the Pyrenees development are approximately US$1.7 billion (approximately US$1.2 billion our share). The WA-155-P permit portion of the Pyrenees project was approved by the Board in November 2007, incorporating the remainder of the Ravensworth field as it straddles both WA-12-R and WA-155-P permits. The combined development consists of subsea production and injection wells tied back to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility with an oil processing capacity of 96 Mbbl/d. First production is expected during the second half of FY2010. We own a 71.43 per cent operated interest in the WA-12-R permit, with Apache Energy Ltd owning the remaining 28.57 per cent. We own a 40 per cent operated interest in the WA-155-P permit, with Apache Energy Ltd owning 31.5 per cent and Inpex owning 28.5 per cent. Bass Strait Kipper gas field development Initial development of the Kipper gas field in the Gippsland Basin located offshore Victoria was approved by the Board in December 2007. The first phase of the project includes two new subsea wells, three new pipelines and platform modifications to supply 10 Mbbl/d of condensate and 80 MMcf/d of gas. Gas and liquids will be processed via the existing Gippsland Joint Venture facilities. Our share of development costs, based on the operator’s estimate, is approximately US$500 million. First production is expected in 2011. We own a 32.5 per cent interest in the Kipper Unit Joint Venture, with Esso Australia and Santos owning the remaining 67.5 per cent. We own a 50 per cent interest in the Gippsland Joint Venture. Bass Strait Turrum field development Further expansion of the Gippsland Basin facilities is underway with the Board approving the full field development of the Turrum oil and gas field in July 2008. Our 50 per cent share of the investment, based on the operator’s estimate, is approximately US$625 million and consists of a new platform, Marlin B, linked by a bridge to the existing Marlin A platform. The Turrum field, which will supply 10 Mbbl/d of oil and 200 MMcf/d of gas, is located 42 kilometres from shore in approximately 60 metres of water. First production is expected in 2011. Scarborough We have a 50 per cent non-operated interest in the Scarborough gas field in WA-1-R (ExxonMobil holds the remaining 50 per cent and is the operator). We are still examining a number of concepts for field development. United States Shenzi/Genghis Khan We have a 44 per cent interest, and will operate the Shenzi oil and gas project in the deepwater fields of Gulf of Mexico. Other owners of the project are Repsol (28 per cent) and Hess Corporation (28 per cent). The project is constructing a stand-alone tension-leg platform (TLP) with a nominal design capacity of 100 Mbbl/d and 50 MMcf/d of gas. The hull and topsides were installed in July 2008. Installation of subsea equipment and development drilling and completion of wells continues per the approved program. First oil through the Shenzi TLP for the Shenzi Development is expected by the end of FY2009. The Genghis Khan field is part of the same geological structure as the Shenzi project. As with Shenzi, we are the operator of Genghis Khan and hold a 44 per cent interest. Co-venturers are Hess Corporation and Repsol YPF, each with 28 per cent. The Genghis Khan development consists of a 3,841 metres tie-back to the existing Marco Polo TLP, which is owned in a joint venture by Enterprise and Helix, and is operated by Anadarko. First oil through Marco Polo occurred in October 2007. Gross costs for the Shenzi/Genghis Khan field development (net of acquisition costs) are US$4.9 billion (US$2.2 billion our share).
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Table of ContentsExploration and appraisal We are focused on finding significant discoveries through wildcat drilling. We have exploration interests throughout the world, particularly the Gulf of Mexico, Western Australia, Latin America and Malaysia. During the year, our gross expenditure on exploration was US$692 million. Our major exploration interests are as follows: Australia/Asia Thebe The Thebe-1 exploration well was drilled in July 2007 and is located approximately 300 kilometres off the northwest coast of Western Australia in water depths of 1,173 metres and approximately 50 kilometres north of the Scarborough gas field. The well and subsequent evaluation confirmed a gas column encountered in the Exmouth Plateau of the Carnarvon Basin. Thebe-2 Appraisal well was drilled in February 2008 to a depth of 2,550 metres to appraise the reservoir discovered by Thebe-1. The results confirmed the presence of a high quality reservoir. Both wells have been plugged and abandoned while further appraisal options are evaluated. BHP Billiton is the operator of Thebe-1 and Thebe-2 and holds a 100 per cent interest in the field. Browse The Browse basin is comprised of the Torosa, Brecknock and Calliance fields and is operated by Woodside Petroleum. It is divided into two joint ventures: East Browse and West Browse. We have an 8.33 per cent non-operated interest in East Browse and a 20 per cent non-operated interest in West Browse. An appraisal program is in progress and concurrently the operator is evaluating options for field development through engineering and site selection studies. Malaysia In March 2007, we were awarded two offshore blocks in Malaysia. We are the operator of the blocks under two separate Production Sharing Contracts. The minimum exploration program includes the acquisition and processing of seismic data for approximately 2,300 square kilometres across the two blocks, and the drilling of four exploration wells within the first seven years of the contracts. The initial seismic acquisition program commenced in June 2008. Americas – Gulf of Mexico Puma – Green Canyon/Western Atwater Foldbelt exploration The Puma-1 exploration well was drilled in January 2004. The well was drilled in 1,259 metres of water and encountered hydrocarbons in both the original hole and in two subsequent sidetrack bores. The first appraisal well was re-entered in January 2007 but did not encounter any commercial reserves and has been temporarily abandoned. A second appraisal well drilled in March 2007 also did not discover commercial reserves. An additional appraisal well is planned in FY2009 to further evaluate the Puma prospect. Following an interim equity agreement, we hold a 29.8 per cent interest in Puma. The other 70.2 per cent is held by BP (46.2 per cent), Chevron (21.75 per cent) and Statoil (2.25 per cent), subject to future redetermination. Knotty Head – Green Canyon/Wester Atwater Foldbelt exploration We currently own a 25 per cent interest in an exploration well on the Knotty Head Prospect, located in the Green Canyon area. Partners in the well are Nexen (25 per cent owner and operator), Anadarko (25 per cent) and Unocal (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron (25 per cent)). Unocal spudded the exploration well in March 2005. The initial well was completed in mid-December 2005 followed by a sidetrack operation that was completed in early March 2006 to further evaluate the results of the discovery well. The well was drilled in 1,088 metres of water to a total depth of 10,422 metres and encountered hydrocarbons in both the original hole and the subsequent sidetrack. Additional appraisal work to further evaluate the economic potential of the prospect is in progress. Americas – Colombia In June 2007, we signed a Joint Operating Agreement with Ecopetrol for the Fuerte Norte and Fuerte Sur blocks, located offshore in Colombia. We hold 75 per cent operated interest in each block with Ecopetrol holding the remaining 25 per cent. In October 2007 the Joint Venture entered into the second phase of the Exploration and Production Licences for the two Fuerte Blocks and subsequently undertook acquisition and processing of 3D seismic over the area.
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Table of ContentsAmericas – Falkland Islands In December 2007, we farmed into Northern and Southern area licences offshore of the Falkland Islands. We acquired a 51 per cent interest from our joint venture partner Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL) and assumed operatorship in January 2008. The minimum exploration work program includes the drilling of two wells in the first phase by the end of 2010. Europe/Africa/Middle East Namibia We hold interests in two blocks located offshore in Namibia, known as the Northern and Southern Block, which we acquired in 2005. In November 2006, we farmed out a 25 per cent interest in these two blocks. Mitsui & Co Ltd acquired 15 per cent and the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (Pty) Ltd acquired 10 per cent with an option to consider additional equity. We remain the operator and hold the remaining 75 per cent interest. 2.2.3 Aluminium Customer Sector Group Our Aluminium business is a portfolio of assets at three stages of the aluminium value chain: we mine bauxite, we refine bauxite into alumina, and we smelt alumina into aluminium metal. We are the world’s sixth-largest producer of aluminium, with total production in FY2008 of approximately 1.3 million tonnes of aluminium. We also produced approximately 16 million tonnes of bauxite and 4.6 million tonnes of alumina. Approximately 55 per cent of our alumina production is used in our aluminium smelters and we sell the balance to other smelters. Our alumina sales are a mixture of long-term contract sales at LME-linked prices and spot sales at negotiated prices. Prices for our aluminium sales are generally linked to prevailing LME prices. As with our other businesses, our strategy with bauxite and alumina is to own large, low-cost assets that provide good returns through the investment cycle and provide us with options for brownfield development. With aluminium smelters, where the availability and cost of power are critical, our investment decisions have been driven in part by the availability of stranded power generation capacity. For example, both Hillside and Mozal were originally built when there was excess electricity generating capacity in southern Africa. We have interests in two sets of integrated bauxite mining/alumina refining assets:
The Boddington bauxite mine in Western Australia supplies bauxite ore via a 51 kilometre long conveyor to the Worsley alumina refinery. Worsley is one of the largest and lowest-cost refineries in the world, and is currently undergoing a major expansion (see Development projects below). Our share of Worsley’s FY2008 production was 3.035 million tonnes of alumina. Worsley’s export customers include our own Hillside, Bayside and Mozal smelters in southern Africa. Boddington has a reserve life of 24.5 years at current production rates. We own 86 per cent of the mine and the refinery.
We own a 45 per cent interest in a joint venture that operates bauxite mines in the Onverdacht and Coermotibo areas of Suriname and the nearby Paranam alumina refinery. We are working on other mining options in the area to continue feeding Paranam after the current mines are exhausted. Our share of Paranam’s FY2008 production was 983,000 tonnes of alumina. We also own 14.8 per cent of Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN) which owns and operates a large bauxite mine in Brazil. We have interests in the Alumar integrated alumina refinery/aluminium smelter and three stand-alone aluminium smelters:
We own 36 per cent of the Alumar refinery and 40 per cent of the smelter. Alcoa operates both facilities. The operations, and their integrated port facility, are located at Sao Luis in the Maranhao province of Brazil. Alumar sources bauxite from MRN. Approximately 50 per cent of Alumar’s alumina production is used to feed the smelter, while the remainder is exported. Our share of Alumar’s FY2008 saleable production was 535,000 tonnes of alumina and 178,000 tonnes of aluminium. The Alumar refinery is currently undergoing a significant expansion (see Development projects below).
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Our Hillside and Bayside smelters are located at Richards Bay, South Africa. Hillside’s capacity of approximately 704,000 tpa makes it the largest aluminium smelter in the southern hemisphere, and it is one of the most efficient. Following the closure of potlines B and C Bayside has smelting capacity of approximately 96,000 tpa, but it also uses its own aluminium and liquid aluminium from Hillside to produce a range of value-added products such as rod, slab and extrusion. Both operations import alumina from our Worsley refinery and source power from Eskom, the South African state utility, under long-term contracts with prices linked to the LME price of aluminium except for Hillside Potline 3, the price for which is linked to the South African and US producer price indices. In January 2008, Eskom determined that it had insufficient power to meet the national demand in South Africa, and mandated an emergency 10 per cent reduction in power consumption by many large industrial users, including BHP Billiton. Although our contracts with Eskom specify that power supply to our aluminium smelters can only be interrupted approximately one per cent of the time per calendar year, we have respected the emergency situation faced by the country and reduced our demand by the requested 10 per cent. To achieve this in the most economically efficient way, we have closed the B and C potlines at Bayside, reducing production there by approximately 92,000 tpa. Across all three southern Africa smelters (including Mozal), we expect production loss to be just over 120,000 tpa. The production cuts occurred primarily at Bayside, a 100 per cent BHP Billiton owned facility. A production sharing adjustment is currently being established between the Mozal partners (47.1 per cent BHP Billiton) to compensate us for taking the majority of the power reduction at a 100 per cent owned facility.
We own 47.1 per cent of and operate the Mozal aluminium smelter in Mozambique, which has a total capacity of approximately 563,000 tpa. Mozal sources power generated by Eskom via Motraco, a transmission joint venture between Eskom and the national electricity utilities of Mozambique and Swaziland. Tarriffs are fixed through to 2012 and will be linked to the LME aluminium price thereafter. Our share of Mozal’s FY2008 production was 257,000 tonnes. Information on the Aluminium CSG’s bauxite mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. This table should be read in conjunction with the production and reserve tables.
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Development projects Alumar refinery expansion A project is underway to expand the production capacity of the Alumar refinery by 2 mtpa to 3.5 mtpa (100 per cent capacity) at a cost of US$725 million (our share). The completion schedule and budget are currently under review following advice from the operator. Worsley Efficiency and Growth Project In May 2008, we announced approval for an expansion project to lift capacity of the Worsley refinery from 3.5 mtpa of alumina to 4.6 mtpa (100 per cent capacity) of alumina through expanded mining operations at Boddington, additional refinery capacity and upgraded port facilities. The project is budgeted to cost US$1.9 billion (our share) and be completed in the first half of calendar 2011. Guinea Alumina We have a one-third interest in a joint venture that is currently undertaking a feasibility study into the construction of a 10 mtpa bauxite mine, a 3.3 mtpa alumina refinery and associated infrastructure approximately 110 kilometres from the port of Kamsar in Guinea. Bakhuis We are undertaking a feasibility study into a new bauxite mine in the Bakhuis region of western Suriname and are in negotiations with the Government of Suriname in order to obtain the exploitation rights for the Bakhuis area.
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Table of Contents2.2.4 Base Metals Customer Sector Group Our Base Metals CSG is one of the world’s top producers of copper, silver, lead and uranium, and a leading producer of zinc. Our portfolio of large, low-cost mining operations includes the Escondida mine in Chile, which is the world’s largest single producer of copper, and Olympic Dam in South Australia, which is already a major producer of copper and uranium and has the potential to be significantly expanded. In recent years, we have commissioned the Spence copper mine and the Escondida Sulphide Leach projects, and restarted operations at Pinto Valley as we have sought to maximise production during a period of high copper prices. Our total copper production in FY2008 was a record 1.3755 million tonnes, compared to 1.2501 million tonnes in FY2007, and a 58% increase over our production five years ago. In addition to conventional mine development, we are also pursuing advanced treatment technologies, such as the leaching of low-grade chalcopyrite ores, which we believe has the potential to recover copper from ores which were previously uneconomic to treat. We market five primary products:
We sell most of our copper, lead and zinc concentrates to smelters under long-term volume contracts with prices based on the LME price for the contained metal three or four months after shipment, less treatment charges and refining charges (collectively referred to as ‘TCRCs’) that we negotiate with the smelters on an annual or bi-annual basis. Some of the ores we mine contain quantities of silver and gold, which remain in the base metal concentrates we sell. We receive payment credits for the silver and gold recovered by our customers in the smelting and refining process. We sell most of our copper cathode production to rod and brass mills and casting plants around the world under annual contracts with premiums to LME prices. We sell uranium oxide to electricity generating utilities, principally in Western Europe, North America and North Asia. Traditionally, uranium sales have been under long-term fixed price contracts and the majority of our current production is committed under these contracts. Sales commitments under long term price contracts reduce over time and going forward we expect to see an increasing proportion of sales made with flexible pricing terms; for example, with a price linked to a spot index. We have seven production assets: Escondida Our 57.5% owned and operated Escondida mine is the largest and one of the lowest-cost copper producers in the world. In FY2008, our share of Escondida’s production was 679,500 tonnes of copper in concentrate and 131,600 tonnes of copper cathode. FY2008 saw the continued ramp-up of production from the sulphide leach plant, which was commissioned in July 2006. Current reserves will support mining for a further 24 years at current production rates. We have been working to address two potential limitations on future production at Escondida: power and water. Together with our Cerro Colorado and Spence operations, Escondida draws its power from the northern Chilean grid. Restrictions in the supply of gas from Argentina have resulted in higher costs and power supply fluctuations. To ensure security of supply and competitive power costs in the long term we are supporting the construction of an LNG facility to supply gas to the northern grid system, which is scheduled for completion in 2010, and have signed off-take agreements underwriting the construction of a 460MW coal-fired power station, which is scheduled for completion in 2011. To address limitations on the availability of water, we carefully manage our use and re-use of available water, explore for alternative sources, and have built a desalination plant that currently provides water only to the sulphide leach plant but which could be expanded, if necessary. We believe that there is substantial scope for further expansion at Escondida (see Development projects below). Olympic Dam While it is already a significant producer of copper cathode and uranium oxide, and a refiner of smaller amounts of gold and silver bullion, we are currently exploring a series of staged development options that would make our wholly-owned Olympic Dam operation one of the world’s largest producers of copper, the largest producer of uranium, and a significant producer of gold (see Development projects below). In FY2008, Olympic Dam produced 169,900 tonnes of copper cathode, 4,144 tonnes of uranium oxide, 80,517 ounces of gold and 780,000 ounces of silver.
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Table of ContentsAntamina We own 33.75% of Antamina, a large, low-cost, long-life copper/zinc mine in Peru. Opened in 2001, its reserves will support mining at current rates for a further 12 years. Our share of Antamina’s FY2008 production was 111,700 tonnes of copper in concentrate, and 83,521 tonnes of zinc in concentrate. In addition to its primary copper and zinc concentrate products, Antamina also produces smaller amounts of molybdenum and lead/bismuth concentrate. Spence We completed our wholly-owned greenfield Spence copper mine development in Chile and began ramping up cathode production in December 2006. During FY2008, we produced 142,700 tonnes of copper as we continue to ramp up to the nominal capacity of 200,000 tpa. Cerro Colorado Our wholly-owned Cerro Colorado mine in Chile remains a significant producer of copper cathode, although production levels have declined in recent years as grades have declined. Production in FY2008 was 106,400 tonnes of copper cathode. Production has been adversely affected by the high clay content of the ores currently being mined. Our current mine plan sees production continuing until 2016, although we are currently evaluating the extent of hypogene mineralisation that may support extension options. Cannington Our wholly-owned Cannington mine in northwest Queensland has grown to become the world’s largest and, we believe, one of the lowest cost producers of silver and lead. During FY2006 and FY2007, we undertook an extensive program of decline and stope access rehabilitation to improve safety conditions, which has positioned the mine to maintain production, offsetting natural grade decline over its remaining eight-year reserve life. In FY2008, Cannington produced concentrates containing 251,548 tonnes of lead, 60,969 tonnes of zinc, and approximately 35 million ounces of silver. Pinto Valley In addition to these assets and in response to high copper prices as a result of strong demand, during FY2008 we resumed sulphide mining, milling and concentrating operations at our previously idled Pinto Valley mine and began producing copper concentrate. In addition, we continue to produce copper cathode at the Pinto Valley site and the neighbouring Miami Unit from our ongoing Solvent Extraction Electrowinning (SXEW) operations. Current reserves will support mining for a further four years. Information on the Base Metals CSG’s mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. This table should be read in conjunction with the production and reserve tables.
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Table of ContentsDevelopment projects Olympic Dam The pre-feasibility study into expansion options at Olympic Dam is currently being undertaken and is addressing production capacities, mining methods, processing (including smelting) options and supporting infrastructure requirements. The expansion is likely to convert Olympic Dam from an underground to an open cut mine. Our conceptual studies have indicated the potential for production capacity by the end of the last stage of development of approximately 730,000 tpa of copper, 19,000 tpa of uranium oxide and 800,000 ounces per year of gold. Olympic Dam is a relatively complex orebody, so there remains uncertainty about the size, cost, timing and eventual configuration of the expansion project. The project is still in pre-feasibility and development options are still being evaluated, and ultimately, the expansion project will depend upon Board approval of the final investment case and a range of regulatory and governmental approvals and agreements. Escondida Escondida is currently undertaking a pre-feasibility study into building a third concentrator plant. It has also been undertaking extensive exploration of the Escondida lease, and early drilling results suggest that there is extensive additional mineralisation in close proximity to existing infrastructure and processing facilities, including a new prospect known as Pampa Escondida. Further study will be required before we establish whether it can be economically extracted. Escondida is planning to invest an estimated US$327 million (US$188 million our share) in drilling, assaying and metallurgical test work across the mining lease over the next five years. Resolution Copper We hold a 45 per cent interest in the Resolution Copper project in Arizona, which is operated by our partner, Rio Tinto, which owns the other 55 per cent. Resolution Copper is currently undertaking a pre-feasibility study into a substantial underground copper mine and processing facility. 2.2.5 Diamonds and Specialty Products Customer Sector Group Our Diamonds and Specialty Products CSG operates our diamonds and titanium minerals businesses, and is managing the development of a potentially substantial potash business. Diamonds The cornerstone of our diamonds business is the EKATI diamond mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada, of which we own 80 per cent. EKATI has produced an average of 3.0 million carats per year of rough diamonds over the last three years. However, the grade of ore we process fluctuates from year to year, resulting in variations in carats produced. In addition, the proportion of our production consisting of high-value carats (larger and/or higher-quality stones) and low-value carats (smaller and/or lower-quality stones) will fluctuate from year to year. Production at EKATI continues to transition from predominantly open-pit to a mix of open-pit and underground mining. During FY2008, we completed the Koala underground mine ahead of schedule and under budget. EKATI has a number of development options for future open-pit and underground mines to extend the life of the operation. The mine life based on current reserves and rate of production is 11 years. Annual sales from EKATI (100 per cent terms) represent around 2.7 per cent of current world rough diamond supply by weight and 5.3 per cent by value. We sell most of our rough diamonds to international diamond buyers through our Antwerp sales office. We also sell a smaller amount of our diamond production to two Canadian manufacturers based in the Northwest Territories. We also sell polished diamonds, manufactured through contract polishing arrangements, through our CanadaMark™ and AURIAS™ brands. We are also actively exploring for diamonds in a number of areas, particularly in Angola where we hold substantial exploration acreage. We believe there is significant potential in the diamonds business because of the increasing demand for diamond jewellery and the lack of significant new diamond discoveries. We believe that our experience operating EKATI provides us with a solid base for future operations. Titanium minerals Our interest in titanium minerals consists of our 50 per cent effective interest in Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa and our 90 per cent interest in the Corridor Sands mineral sands project in Mozambique (see Development projects below). RBM is one of the largest and lowest-cost producers of titania slag, high-purity pig iron, rutile and zircon from mineral sands. Approximately 90 per cent of the titanium dioxide slag produced by RBM is suitable for the chloride process of titanium dioxide pigment manufacture and is sold internationally under a variety of short, medium and long-term contracts. The other 50 per cent of RBM is owned by Rio Tinto.
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Table of ContentsIn July 2008, RBM announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for a 26 per cent broad-based black economic empowerment transaction. A consortium including investors, local communities and employees has been identified. Negotiations with the selected parties to agree the terms of the transaction are ongoing. Potash We believe that sound industry fundamentals, driven by rising demand for fertilisers, together with the resource attributes and capital-intensive nature of greenfield potash developments, make potash a suitable commodity for our portfolio. We have acquired substantial exploration acreage in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, home to the largest and most productive potash basin in the world. We are currently studying development alternatives (see Development projects below). Information on Diamonds and Specialty Products mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. This table should be read in conjunction with the production and reserve tables.
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Development projects Corridor Sands We are working on a pre-feasibility study for the Corridor Sands titanium minerals project in the Gaza province of southern Mozambique, which we acquired in the WMC transaction. Potash We are working on a pre-feasibility study for the Jansen project, a potentially substantial greenfield potash mine in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Jansen project envisages the development of an underground mining operation, processing plant and associated infrastructure. While we are conducting the Jansen pre-feasibility study, we plan to pursue other potash projects in the region. EKATI expansions We are working on pre-feasibility and concept studies for developments at EKATI. Because of the nature of the kimberlite pipes in which diamonds are found, individual pipes are relatively short-lived, so we are continually working on options to bring new pipes on-stream.
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Table of Contents2.2.6 Stainless Steel Materials Customer Sector Group Our Stainless Steel Materials business is primarily a supplier of nickel to the stainless steel industry. Nickel is an important component of the most commonly used types of stainless steel. In addition, we supply nickel and cobalt to other markets including the specialty alloy, foundry, chemicals, and refractory material industries. We are the world’s third-largest producer of nickel. Our nickel business has expanded rapidly with the acquisition of the former WMC nickel assets in 2005 and the development of Ravensthorpe and the Yabulu expansion. We have a number of options to continue expanding to meet the anticipated growth in stainless steel demand. We sell our nickel products under a mix of long-term, medium-term and spot contracts, with prices linked to the LME nickel price. Our nickel business comprises three sets of assets: Nickel West Nickel West is the name for our wholly-owned Western Australian nickel assets, which consist of an integrated system of mines, concentrators, a smelter and refinery, together with our new Ravensthorpe nickel operation. We mine nickel bearing sulphide ore at our Mt Keith, Leinster and Cliffs operations north of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. We operate concentrator plants at Leinster, which also concentrates ore from Cliffs, and at Mt Keith. Although its ore is relatively low grade, Mt Keith is a large open-cut nickel mine and the concentrator processes approximately 11.5 mtpa of ore. Leinster and Mt Keith have reserve lives of seven and 14 years, respectively at current rates of production, and both have options for further expansion. Cliffs is a new high grade underground mine with an expected reserve life of five years with extraction of ore commencing in FY2008. We also operate the Kambalda concentrator south of Kalgoorlie, which processes material purchased from third parties. We transport concentrate from Leinster, Mt Keith and Kambalda to our Kalgoorlie smelter, which processes it into nickel matte, containing approximately 68 per cent nickel. In FY2008, we exported approximately 31 per cent of our nickel matte production. We processed the remaining nickel matte at our Kwinana nickel refinery, which produces nickel metal in the form of LME grade briquettes and nickel powder, together with a range of saleable by-products. In June 2008, we announced that we brought forward a planned furnace rebuild at the Kalgoorlie smelter and that, as a consequence, both the smelter and the Kwinana nickel refinery were shut down. The smelter furnace rebuild was completed after approximately three months, with the refinery scheduled to resume production by the end of September 2008. Our Ravensthorpe nickel operation was commissioned during FY2008 and is in the process of ramping-up to full capacity. Ravensthorpe comprises a large open-cut laterite nickel mine and an enhanced pressure acid leach concentrator plant. We will ship the plant’s production, a mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) containing approximately 40 per cent nickel, to the expanded Yabulu refinery (see below) for refining into nickel metal. Ravensthorpe has a reserve life of 21 years based on the expected rate of production when the ramp-up is complete. Yabulu This wholly-owned nickel refinery in Queensland, Australia began operations in 1974 to service the nearby nickel laterite Greenvale mine, which closed in 1993. Since then, it has continued to process laterite ores purchased from third party mines in New Caledonia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In FY2008, we completed a significant expansion of the refinery to give it the capacity to process MHP from Ravensthorpe. The expansion more than doubled the nickel production capacity of the plant to an estimated 76,000 tpa of contained nickel. Cerro Matoso Cerro Matoso, our 99.94 per cent owned nickel operation in Colombia, combines a lateritic nickel ore deposit with a low-cost ferronickel smelter. Cerro Matoso is the world’s second-largest producer of ferronickel and one of the lowest-cost producers of ferronickel. The smelter produces high-purity, low-carbon ferronickel granules. Production in FY2008 was 41,800 tonnes of contained nickel, approximately 9,000 tonnes lower than FY2007’s production principally due to an industrial stoppage during FY2008. Cerro Matoso has an estimated reserve life of 42 years, based on current production levels. We are considering options that would expand processing capacity significantly (see Development projects below).
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Table of ContentsInformation on Stainless Steel Materials mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. This table should be read in conjunction with the production and reserve tables.
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Development projects Perseverance Deeps We are undertaking a feasibility study into extending the life of the existing high-grade sulphide Perseverance mine located at Leinster in Western Australia, by implementing a block cave mining method below 1.1 kilometres depth. If approved, the mine would deliver ore into the existing Nickel West infrastructure. Cerro Matoso expansion options We have undertaken conceptual studies on options for expanding production at Cerro Matoso, including building a third and fourth processing line and a heap leaching operation. If we successfully complete feasibility studies and BHP Billiton Board approval is given, these projects could result in Cerro Matoso’s capacity more than doubling within 10 years. 2.2.7 Iron Ore Customer Sector Group Our iron ore CSG consists of our Western Australia Iron Ore business (WAIO) and a 50 per cent interest in the Samarco joint venture in Brazil. Western Australia Iron Ore WAIO’s operations involve a complex integrated system of seven mines, more than 1,000 kilometres of rail and port facilities, located in the Pilbara region of northern Western Australia. In response to surging demand for iron ore, we have been rapidly expanding our WAIO operations. Since 2001, we have completed five expansion projects to increase our system production capacity from 69 mtpa to 129 mtpa (100 per cent basis). All of these projects have been completed on time and on budget. We now have a project underway to further increase system capacity to 155 mtpa by the end of FY2010. Additional projects now undergoing feasibility or pre-feasibility studies would, if approved and completed on schedule, increase system capacity to 300 mtpa by 2015. Our share of FY2008 production was approximately 103.8 million tonnes of ore. Our Pilbara reserve base is relatively concentrated, allowing us to plan our development around a series of integrated ‘mining hubs’ joined to the ore bodies by conveyor or spur line. The mining hub approach enables us to maximise the value of installed infrastructure by using the same processing plant and rail infrastructure for a number of ore bodies. Blending ore at the hub gives us greater flexibility to responding to changing customer requirements and changing properties in the ore being mined, as well as reducing the risk of port bottlenecks. In recent years, we have also driven operational efficiency by a number of business improvement initiatives, such as our proprietary BLASOR development planning optimisation software, increased mining and processing automation, and using technology to increase the length and frequency of trains. In conjunction with our capacity expansion, we have substantially expanded our reserve evaluation capability to improve our reserve knowledge and extend the life of our Pilbara reserves. In June 2008, we announced a 23 per cent increase in our ore reserve for our
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Table of ContentsWAIO operations and we estimate that we have significant additional mineralisation. Our proven ore reserves are high grade, with average iron content ranging from 57.4 per cent at Yandi to 63.2 per cent at Mt Newman. The reserve lives of our mines at current production levels range from 12 years at Mt Goldsworthy (Northern) to 61 years at Jimblebar. Most of our sales take place under long-term volume contracts with steel producers in North Asia. Prices are generally set through annual negotiations. In the longer term, we are promoting a shift away from annually negotiated prices to a system based on index prices. Fortescue Metals Group has applied to the Australian National Competition Council for access to our rail infrastructure in the Pilbara. See Section 8 ‘Legal Proceedings - Mt Newman and Goldsworthy railway lines.’ If FMG is successful in its application, its use of our railways may have a material adverse impact on our expected production from WAIO. Samarco We are a 50-50 joint venture partner with Vale at the Samarco operations in Brazil. During the 2008 fiscal year, Samarco completed an expansion project consisting of a third pellet plant, a mine expansion, a new concentrator, port enhancements and a second slurry pipeline. Our share of production in FY2008 was approximately 8.5 million tonnes of ore. Samarco has a reserve life of 21 years at current production rates. Information on Iron Ore mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. This table should be read in conjunction with the production and reserve tables.
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Table of ContentsDevelopment projects Western Australia Iron Ore During FY2008 the Rapid Growth Project (RGP) 3 was completed and has delivered an additional 20 mtpa of capacity, bringing the total installed capacity in the business to 129 mtpa (100 per cent share). This has seen the delivery of additional mining and processing facilities at the Area C mine, together with expansions to the rail and port infrastructure, including the rebuilding of the ‘C’ Berth at Finucane Island. The Board approved project expenditure of US$1,850 million in March of 2007 for RGP 4. The focus of this expansion project is within the Newman area and is expected to increase installed capacity to 155 mtpa (100 per cent share) by early 2010. A variety of feasibility studies are being undertaken as part of the plan to grow business capability to 300 mtpa by 2015, and of these, RGP5 is the most advanced. In January, the Board approved our share of pre-expenditure of US$1,100 million (US$930 million our share) to progress the project while the feasibility study is being completed. Samarco In October 2005, the Board approved construction of a third pellet plant at Ponta Ubu, together with a mine expansion, a new concentrator at Germano, port enhancements and a second slurry pipeline. The project has increased iron ore pellet capacity by 7.6 mtpa at a cost of US$1,480 million (US$740 million our share). Production commenced during in March 2008. Guinea We are currently carrying out concept studies in Guinea (West Africa) at our Nimba deposit to determine the economic viability, sustainability impacts and management implications of operations in this area. 2.2.8 Manganese Customer Sector Group Our Manganese CSG operations produce a combination of ores, alloys and metal from sites in South Africa and Australia. We are the world’s largest producer of seaborne manganese ore and in the top three global producers of manganese alloy. Manganese alloy is a key input into the steel making process, and demand for manganese has reflected the growth in global steel production. Our high-grade ore is particularly valuable to alloy producers because of the ‘value in use differential’ over low-grade ore, which is the degree to which high grade ore is proportionately more efficient in the alloy process than the difference in grade. Although our corporate strategy is to focus on upstream resources businesses, our low-cost alloy smelters have been significant contributors to our profit in recent years. In addition, they add value to the overall manganese business because they enable us to access markets with an optimal mix of ore and alloy, optimise production to best suit market conditions and give us insights into the performance of our ores in smelters that assist our ore marketing efforts. In recent years, we have sold approximately 80 per cent of our ore production and used the remainder as feedstock in our alloy smelters. More then 90 per cent of our ore sales are priced quarterly or, occasionally, on a spot basis while the rest are priced annually. We own all of our manganese mining assets and alloy plants through 60-40 joint ventures with Anglo-American known as Samancor Manganese. We are the operator of the assets in this joint venture. The Samancor Manganese joint venture also owns 51 per cent of the Manganese Metal Company, which operates a manganese metal plant in South Africa. Our manganese metal and alloy sales are principally to steelmakers, generally under long-term contracts that typically provide for quarterly price adjustments, either by negotiation or by reference to published market prices. We have two mines at Hotazel in the Northern Cape province of South Africa and the GEMCO mine on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria off northern Australia.
The Samancor Manganese joint venture owns the Mamatwan open-cut mine and the Wessels underground mine. These assets produced a record three million tonnes of ore during FY2008 and we have opportunities for further expansion. At current production rates, Mamatwan and Wessels have reserve lives of 14 and 20 years.
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As a result of its location near our own port facilities and its simple, open-cut mining operation, GEMCO is one of the lowest-cost manganese ore producers in the world. This, and its high-grade of ore and relative proximity to Asian export markets make it unique among the world’s manganese mines. GEMCO produced over 3.5 million tonnes of ore in FY2008. At current production rates, it has a reserve life of 17 years. GEMCO currently has an expansion project underway and is studying another (see Development projects below). We have alloy plants in Gauteng, South Africa (Metalloys/Advalloy) and Tasmania, Australia (TEMCO).
Samancor Manganese’s Metalloys alloy plant, which includes the former Advalloy joint venture operation, is one of the largest manganese alloy producers in the world. Due to its size and access to high-quality feedstock from our Hotazel operations, it is also one of the lowest-cost alloy producers. Metalloys produces high and medium-carbon ferromanganese and silicomanganese.
TEMCO produces high-carbon ferromanganese, silicomanganese and sinter from ore shipped from GEMCO, primarily using hydro-electric power. During FY2008, our South African mines and plants were affected by a mandatory 10 per cent reduction in electricity consumption as a result of generation constraints at the national power utility, Eskom. We have supplemented our power supply with additional diesel generation capacity and adjusted our product mix towards more energy efficient products. We expect to maintain overall production levels, although our costs will increase marginally. Information on Manganese mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. These tables should be read in conjunction with the production and reserve tables below.
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Information on Manganese smelters, refineries and processing plants
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Development projects GEMCO expansion We are currently expanding the capacity of GEMCO’s processing plant by an estimated 1.0 mtpa at a cost of US$110 million (our share). We are undertaking a pre-feasibility study into further expansion options. The commissioning phase is due to start 30 April 2009 and the ramp-up is estimated to take two months from this date. Hotazel Manganese Mines Two expansion projects in South Africa are expected to add 1.0 mtpa of capacity (100 per cent, or about 0.6 mtpa BHP Billiton share) for less than US$50 million capital expenditure (BHP Billiton share). 2.2.9 Metallurgical Coal Customer Sector Group Our Metallurgical Coal CSG is the world’s largest supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal. Along with iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal is a key input in the blast furnace production of steel, and, as a result, demand for metallurgical coal is exposed to the booming Chinese steel industry and the fast-growing Indian steel industry. We have production assets in two major resource basins, the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, Australia and the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. We will shortly begin Stage 1 development in a third significant basin at Maruwai on the Indonesian island of Kalimantan. Bowen Basin Compared to competitive coal producing regions, the Bowen Basin is extremely well positioned to supply the seaborne market because of:
We enjoy access to key infrastructure, including a modern, integrated electric rail network and our own coal loading terminal at Hay Point, Mackay. This infrastructure enables us to maximise throughput and blending products from multiple mines to optimise the value of our production and satisfy customers. Our Bowen Basin mines are owned through a series of joint ventures. We share 50-50 ownership with Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd of the Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs, Saraji, Norwich Park, Blackwater and Gregory Crinum mines, together with the Hay Point terminal. We own 80 per cent of the South Walker Creek and Poitrel mines, with Mitsui and Co. owning the other 20 per cent. All of these operations are managed by a BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi joint venture company known as BMA.
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Table of ContentsWe export Bowen Basin metallurgical coal, under long-term or annual volume contracts with prices negotiated yearly. Our customers are steel producers around the world, particularly in north Asia and India. During the third quarter of FY2008, north Queensland was affected by two episodes of unusually heavy rain and flooding. As a result, mining operations were temporarily suspended, and we were forced to declare force majeure on our sales contracts from late January until early June 2008. Production has recovered strongly and operations are now almost back to full capacity. Total attributable production in FY2008 was approximately 27.9 million tonnes, compared with 31.5 million tonnes in FY2007. As a result of the delayed deliveries, we will be delivering approximately 1.4 million tonnes of coal during the first quarter of FY2009 at the substantially lower Japanese fiscal year 2007 prices. Illawarra We own and operate three underground coal mines in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, which primarily supply metallurgical coal to the nearby BlueScope Port Kembla steelworks under long-term volume contracts with annually negotiated prices. Total production in FY2008 was approximately 7.3 million tonnes. Production figures for both the Bowen Basin and Illawarra include some energy coal (less than 7 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively). Information on Metallurgical Coal mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. The tables should be read in conjunction with the production and reserves tables.
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Development projects Maruwai (Lampunut) Maruwai is a large, high-quality, metallurgical coal deposit in Central and East Kalimantan provinces of Indonesia. Investment approval has been given for the Stage 1 development of the Maruwai metallurgical coal basin for a capital investment of approximately US$100 million. The initial development project is the Haju open-cut mine and associated river port. The Haju mine is a small, discrete coal deposit that is expected to initially produce 1 mtpa of metallurgical coal, with expansion potential to 2 mtpa. First production is expected mid-2009. A feasibility study is currently underway for development of a 3-5 mtpa coal mine at the larger Lampunut deposit at Maruwai.
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Table of ContentsBowen Basin Expansions BMA is investigating a number of brownfield and greenfield expansion options in the Bowen Basin. The most advanced of these are Daunia, which is in feasibility and Caval Ridge, in pre-feasibility. Daunia would produce 3 mtpa and is located to the east of the Poitrel mine, and Caval Ridge would be a 5.5 mtpa mine to the north of the Peak Downs mine. Both developments would include coal handling preparation plants. BMA is also considering the expansion of existing operations to add 2.5 mtpa to Peak Downs and up to 9 mtpa at Goonyella Riverside. In addition, BMA has finalised an agreement to acquire the New Saraji exploration project from New Hope for approximately US$1 billion (BHP Billiton share). The agreement is subject to regulatory and third party approval. New Saraji is located to the east of the Saraji mine. The deal includes a 10 mtpa entitlement at Abbott Point port expansion. 2.2.10 Energy Coal Customer Sector Group Our Energy Coal CSG is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of export energy coal (also known as thermal or steaming coal) and is also a significant domestic supplier to the electricity generation industry in Australia, South Africa and the United States. Our global portfolio of energy coal assets, our insights into the broader energy market through our sales of other fuels such as gas, uranium and oil, and our control of options for bulk freight provide our business with key advantages as a supplier. Like our other businesses, our Energy Coal CSG owns large, long-life assets with substantial options for expansion. We generally make our domestic sales under long-term fixed-price contracts with power stations that are located in close proximity to the mine. We make export sales to power generators and some industrial users in Asia, Europe and the United States, usually under contracts for delivery of a fixed volume of coal. Pricing is either index-linked, or fixed, in which case we use financial instruments to swap our fixed-price exposure for exposure to the index. We recognise that the need to control carbon dioxide emissions has substantial implications for the use of thermal coal as an energy source. Our Company has committed to invest US$300 million over the five years from June 2007 to support the research, development and demonstration of low-emissions technologies, including “clean coal” and carbon sequestration technologies. We have also developed the capacity to offer our export customers emissions credits in conjunction with their coal purchases. We operate three sets of assets: a group of mines and associated infrastructure collectively known as BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa (BECSA) our New Mexico Coal operations in the United States; and our Hunter Valley Energy Coal operations in New South Wales, Australia. We also own a one-third share of the Cerrejón Coal Company, which operates a coal mine in Colombia. BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa BECSA operates three coal mines in the Witbank region of Mpumalanga province of South Africa, which produced a total of approximately 45 million tonnes in FY2008. We have two major mine expansion projects underway in South Africa (see Development projects below). In FY2008, BECSA sold approximately 64 per cent of its production to Eskom, the government-owned electricity utility in South Africa, and exported the rest via the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, in which we own a 24 per cent share. The reserve lives of the BECSA mines at current production rates range from 12 to 27 years. In May 2008, we announced an agreement to sell our previously wholly-owned Optimum colliery, together with 6.5 mtpa of Richards Bay Coal Terminal entitlement, to an entity controlled by a broad-based black economic empowerment consortium. The sale was completed in June 2008, however the economic impact of the agreement was as if it were concluded on 1 July 2007. In July 2007, we sold our previously wholly-owned Koornfontein mine to a broad-based black economic empowerment consortium. We continue to market the export production from both mines. New Mexico Coal We own and operate the Navajo mine, located on Navajo land in New Mexico, and the nearby San Juan mine. Each of these mines transports its production directly to a nearby power station. The reserve lives of Navajo and San Juan at current production rates are 25 and 12 years, respectively. We are considering expansion options at Navajo (see Development projects below). Hunter Valley Energy Coal Our Hunter Valley operating asset is the Mt Arthur open-cut coal mine, which produced approximately 11.8 million tonnes in FY2008 and has a reserve life at current production rates of 14 years. We also have a number of projects in feasibility or pre-feasibility that, if completed, will form part of the Hunter Valley Energy Coal portfolio, including an open-cut expansion of the existing operation and an underground expansion of Mt Arthur (see Development projects below). We deliver approximately one-third of Mt Arthur’s production to local power stations and export the rest via the port of Newcastle.
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Table of ContentsCerrejón Coal Company Cerrejón Coal Company owns and operates the largest open-cut export coal mine in the world in La Guajira province of Columbia, together with integrated rail and port facilities through which the majority of production is exported. In FY2008, Cerrejón completed an expansion that increased capacity to 32 mtpa (100 per cent terms). At that rate of production, Cerrejón has a reserve life of 25 years. Information on Energy Coal mining operations The following table contains additional details of our mining operations. The tables should be read in conjunction with the production and reserves tables.
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Development projects Klipspruit We are expanding the production capacity of BECSA’s Klipspruit mine by approximately 3.2 mtpa to 8 mtpa. The project also involves the construction of a 16 mtpa coal processing plant on Klipspruit land as a 50-50 joint venture with Anglo Coal, which is constructing the plant. We expect to produce first coal in the second half of calendar 2009, and estimate our share of the cost of the project at US$450 million. We expect the expanded mine to have a reserve life of approximately 20 years.
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Table of ContentsDouglas-Middelburg Optimisation Project This project involves works to optimise the development of existing reserves across the Douglas and Middelburg collieries, the development of additional mining areas and the construction of a new 14 mtpa coal processing plant, which will replace the less efficient existing plant at Douglas. The work will enable us to maintain energy coal exports from the combined Douglas and Middelburg colliery at around current levels (approximately 10 mtpa) while also fulfilling our domestic contractual commitments. The expected capital investment is US$975 million and the new plant is scheduled to receive its first coal in mid-calendar 2010. Navajo South We are undertaking a feasibility study on a project called the Desert Rock project, which would expand the Navajo mine to supply a proposed new power station to be built immediately adjacent to the mine with up to 5.7 mtpa. The project schedule is tied to the approval process for the power station. The proposed power plant was granted a final air permit by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on 31 July 2008. Mt Arthur open-cut expansion We are undertaking a feasibility study into an open-cut expansion of the existing operation that is expected to increase export coal production by approximately 3.7 mtpa with first coal expected in the second half of calendar year 2010. Mt Arthur underground We are undertaking a feasibility study into a new underground mine that will share much of the existing Mt Arthur mine’s infrastructure, including the coal preparation plant and rail loading facility. Newcastle Third Export Coal Terminal We are a 35.5% shareholder in a joint venture company that is constructing a new 30 mtpa export coal loading facility to supplement existing public facilities in the port of Newcastle. Our share of the construction cost is estimated at US$390 million. The first ship loading of coal is scheduled for late calendar year 2010.
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Table of Contents2.3.1 Petroleum The table below details our Petroleum CSG’s historical net crude oil and condensate, natural gas and natural gas liquids production, primarily by asset, for each of the three years ended 30 June 2008, 2007 and 2006. We have shown volumes of marketable production after deduction of applicable royalties, fuel and flare. We have included in the table average production costs per unit of production and average sales prices for oil and condensate and natural gas for each of those periods.
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Table of Contents2.3.2 Minerals The table below details our mineral and derivative product production for all CSGs except Petroleum for the three years ended 30 June 2008, 2007 and 2006. Production shows our share unless otherwise stated.
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