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Leighton Holdings has sold mining services provider HWE Mining to BHP Billiton.
9News reports that Leighton has signed a heads of agreement for the sale of HWE, which accounts for close to 70% of BHP’s iron ore mining in Western Australia. The sale brought in about $1.1 billion, along with $1.4 billion worth of contracts in hand, the company stated.
“The potential sale would recognise the creation of substantial value by Leighton since it purchased HWE Mining out of administration in 2006,” Leighton CEO David Stewart said in a statement.
Reuters reported that the deal was part of a previously-flagged move from contract mining to owner-operator mining, a model which has also been adopted by rivals like Rio Tinto:
The move is aimed at cutting costs but the key focus for the deal was HWE’s 2,500 staff. A skilled labour shortage in Australia is making it increasingly expensive for miners to recruit new workers directly.
“Transitioning to owner operator in this way, rather than by replacing contractors through direct recruitment, is a lower risk strategy as it would be challenging to replace the highly skilled and long serving HWE employees in the current environment,” Ian Ashby, BHP President Iron Ore, said in a statement.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by the final quarter of 2011.
Leighton is the world’s largest contract miner, while BHP Billiton is the largest diversified mining company.
