Projects
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Project and
ownership |
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Capital expenditure US$M |
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Initial production target date |
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Capacity |
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Progress |
Jansen Stage 1
(Canada)
100% |
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5,723 |
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End-CY26 |
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Design, engineering and construction of an underground potash mine and surface infrastructure, with capacity to produce 4.35 Mtpa. |
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Project is 26% complete |
Minerals exploration
Minerals exploration and evaluation expenditure increased by 37 per cent for the year ended 30 June 2023 to US$350 million, of which
US$294 million was expensed.
At BHPs recently identified copper porphyry mineralised system, Ocelot, located in the Miami-Globe copper
district of the United States, the final hole of a 6-hole program was completed in May 2023. The project remains at an early exploration stage and data from the recent drill program will be used to update the
overall resource range estimation at Ocelot.
At Oak Dam in South Australia, we have defined an Exploration Target3 (refer to Appendix 1) and commenced
the next phase of drilling as we work towards defining a first Mineral Resource5. In line with the environmental approvals received in March 2023, we plan to increase from nine drill rigs to eleven and to establish core processing facilities and an
accommodation camp of up to 150 rooms by the end of the 2023 calendar year. We are continuing community and stakeholder engagement in preparation for submission of our application to convert the Oak Dam tenement from an exploration licence to a
retention lease, enabling progression of an early access decline.
In addition, we have commenced exploratory drilling beneath the Olympic Dam mine, at
depths between 900m and 1,500m, with nine surface exploration rigs.
In June 2023, BHP signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement to acquire 100 per cent
of Ragnar Metals Sweden AB, for a cash payment of A$9.8 million. Ragnars assets include the Granmuren Nickel project, an early-stage nickel-copper tenement package located 110 km north-west of Stockholm, Sweden. BHP intends to undertake
additional drilling to determine whether the known mineralisation has continuous high grade nickel sulphide and to test additional targets.
The inaugural
BHP Xplor accelerator program was completed, with a number of the early-stage mineral exploration companies selected for further investment. Applications for the programs second year will open at the end of August 2023.
Elsewhere, we continue to progress exploration activities in Australia, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Serbia and the United States.
Variance analysis relates to the relative performance of BHP and/or its operations during the 12 months ended June 2023 compared with the 12 months ended June
2022, unless otherwise noted. Production volumes, sales volumes and capital and exploration expenditure from subsidiaries are reported on a 100 per cent basis; production and sales volumes from equity accounted investments and other operations
are reported on a proportionate consolidation basis. Numbers presented may not add up precisely to the totals provided due to rounding.
The following
footnotes apply to this Operational Review:
1 |
2023 financial year unit cost guidance: Escondida US$1.25-1.45/lb, WAIO
US$18-19/t, BMA US$100-105/t and NSWEC US$84-91/t; based on exchange rates of AUD/USD 0.72 and USD/CLP 830.
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2 |
Throughout this report, production volumes for the operations acquired from OZL are for the period of
1 May to 30 June 2023, whilst the acquisition completion date was 2 May 2023. |
3 |
An Exploration Target is a statement or estimate of the exploration potential of a mineral deposit in a defined
geological setting where the statement or estimate, quoted as a range of tonnes and a range of grade (or quality), relates to mineralisation for which there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource. |
4 |
803mm of rainfall recorded at Moranbah for the year ended 30 June 2023 compared to 648mm in the prior
year. |
5 |
The potential quantity and grade of an Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and as such there has been
insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration or analysis will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. |
The following abbreviations may have been used throughout this report: cost and freight (CFR); cost, insurance and freight (CIF); dry metric tonne unit
(dmtu); free on board (FOB); grams per tonne (g/t); kilograms per tonne (kg/t); kilometre (km); megawatt (MW); metre (m); millimetre (mm); million tonnes (Mt); million tonnes per annum (Mtpa); ounces (oz); pounds (lb); thousand ounces (koz);
thousand tonnes (kt); thousand tonnes per annum (ktpa); thousand tonnes per day (ktpd); tonnes (t); and wet metric tonnes (wmt).
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BHP Operational Review for the year ended 30 June 2023 |
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