【The Four Major Iron Mines】： BHP Billiton

1. Background of the Company its Industry Status

• BHP Group Limited

BHP was founded in 2001 through the merger of BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary) and Billiton. Founded as two small mining companies in the mid-19th century, it has grown into a leading global integrated resources company. It is a renowned multinational corporation primarily focused on oil and mineral resources. BHP Billiton is currently divided into three business units: Minerals Australia and Minerals Americas, each geographically distinct, and Petroleum. Mineral resources mined include iron ore, coal, nickel, copper, lead, silver, molybdenum, uranium, zinc, and gold . The company's major mining projects include iron ore in Brazil and Australia , copper mines in Peru, Australia, and Chile, potash projects in Canada, and coal mines in Australia, the United States, and Colombia. The company also explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Algeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom. BHP Billiton is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. According to the company's financial report, BHP Group's operations are divided into five business units: oil, copper, iron ore, coal , and group and other businesses. BHP Billiton's iron ore business is second only to Rio Tinto iron ore production in Australia, making it the second-largest iron ore producer in Australia and the third-largest in the world .

• Business in China

China is BHP Billiton's largest market, accounting for 63% of the company's total revenue, and the Asian market as a whole accounts for 88% of the company's revenue. BHP's relationship with China began in 1888 with a visit from a company director. The first recorded business transaction between the two countries occurred in 1891, when BHP exported lead to Fuzhou, China. In 1983, BHP established the BHP Oil Office in Guangzhou, its first office in China. In late 1997, a mineral market office was established in Shanghai, with the company's China headquarters located in Beijing. BHP Billiton is currently one of China's largest suppliers of mineral products.

2. Iron Ore Production, Shipments and Main Products

BHP's iron ore business has a long history that can be traced back to before the company's official establishment. Silver, lead and zinc deposits were discovered in Broken Hill, Australia, and the company was officially established in 1885. Iron ore development began in Newman, Pilbara, Western Australia in 1968. Since then, the company has been primarily engaged in the development, production and sales of iron ore, copper, potash, petroleum and natural gas, diamonds, silver, lead, zinc and a series of other natural resources, and is also a producer of rolled steel products.

• Main Producs

Data source: BHP Group quarterly report SMM

3. Mines Under the Group

Subordinate Mines

Western Australia's iron ore consists of 5 mines:
Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) is an integrated system composed of four processing centers and five mines, connected through more than 1,000 kilometers of railway and port infrastructure extending across the Pilbara region in northern Western Australia. BHP's WAIO has four main joint ventures: Newman, Yandi, Mt Goldsworthy, and Jimblebar. BHP holds an 85% stake in each joint venture, with the remaining 15% held by Mitsui and ITOCHU.

Samarco Iron Mine in Brazil:

Samarco Mining Company was established in 2000 as a joint venture operated by Vale and BHP Billiton, with each company holding a 50% stake. Located in the Iron Quadrangle region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, it consists of two mines (Alegria and Germano), three beneficiation plants, three transport pipelines, four pelletizing plants, and one port, with an annual production capacity of 30 million tons of pellets.

On November 5, 2015, one of Samarco's tailings dams (Fundao) suffered a dam failure accident, after which production came to a standstill. It wasn't until December 23, 2020, that Samarco began gradually resuming operations, and on December 17, 2024, successfully restarted its second beneficiation plant. As of June 2025, production reached 12.8 million tons per year, approximately 49% of total capacity, with plans to restart the third beneficiation plant in FY2029 to fully restore capacity.

After nearly 30 years of mining, the Yandi mine is facing depletion. According to BHP Billiton's 2020 financial report, Yandi mine has total reserves of only 150 million tons. Its future production is expected to continue declining, while the newly commissioned South Flank mine will replace Yandi's gradually diminishing 80 million tons annual capacity. South Flank mine began production on May 20, 2021, with an expected lifespan of about 20 years, reaching full production of 80 million tons in FY2025.

4. Futures Project

Samarco Iron Mine Recovery Project

Since obtaining approval to resume mining operations in 2020, the Samarco project has invested substantial funds in environmental restoration and production recovery.

The recovery project includes tailings dam safety reconstruction, improved tailings disposal systems, environmental restoration and community compensation measures, committed to eliminating environmental impacts and ensuring safe mining operations. The recovery project includes restarting three concentrators, of which the first and second concentrators have been successfully restarted in 2020 and at the end of 2024 respectively, while the third concentrator is planned to restart in FY2029, restoring all production capacity.