Heavy rains and a prolonged strike at its Queensland coal mines have taken their toll on the world’s biggest miner.
BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) said today that production of coking coal was down 8% from the previous quarter, though up slightly (1%) from the same period last year. Workers at the company’s Queensland coal operations, which it owns jointly with Mitsubishi, have been on strike since mid-February; force majeure was declared in mid-April. BHP warned that continued strike action would likely tear chunks out of the bottom line:
“The extent to which industrial action will continue to affect production, sales and unit costs is difficult to predict, however with inventories now severely depleted, the impact on future quarters may be significant.”
BHP’s other top mined commodity, iron ore, was also hurt due to cyclones. Production was down 8%, but increased 14% compared to the same period a year ago. Year-to-date, BHP sported record production for the nine months ended March 31, at 118.5 million tonnes.
“Consistently strong operating performance, combined with the continued ramp up of Ore Handling Plant 3 at Yandi, dual tracking of the company’s rail infrastructure and additional ship loading capacity at Port Hedland, contributed to the record result.”
Diamond production was beaten down by 10% compared to the last quarter, and 21% lower against the same period in 2011. BHP blamed lower ore grades at its Ekati mine in northern Canada for the poor results.
Copper production was unchanged from the previous quarter while silver and uranium declined a respective 11% and 1%.
BHP’s oil business had a good quarter, with total petroleum production rising 58% compared to a year ago, although the numbers were down 3% from last quarter.
Link to the the full news release here
