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Q3 Western Australia iron ore output slips on one-day halt
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FY23 iron ore output guidance maintained
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Escondida FY23 copper output view trimmed
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Sees strong demand from customers in China, India
(Updates with more detail on results, copper guidance, Rio
Tinto graph)
By Sameer Manekar
April 21 (Reuters) - Global miner BHP Group Ltd said on Friday upbeat demand from top consumer China had
reaffirmed its positive outlook for commodity demand, even as
the company reported a near-flat third-quarter iron ore output
from Western Australia.
Prices of iron ore rose in the March quarter on optimism
related to an economic rebound in China, after the country eased
some major COVID-19 restrictions in December 2022 and shifted
its policy toward its dwindling property sector.
"Recent engagements with customers in China and India have reaffirmed our positive outlook for commodity demand," said BHP Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry. "China's economic rebound and solid momentum in India's steelmaking growth (is) helping to offset the impact of slowing growth in the U.S., Japan and Europe," Henry added. The world's largest listed miner reiterated its annual forecast of 278 million tonnes (Mt) to 290 Mt for Western Australian iron ore output, and added unit cost for the same was expected at the top end of $18 to $19 per tonne.
BHP, which is set to assume control of copper miner OZ
Minerals from May, maintained its copper output guidance of
between 1,635 thousand tonnes (kt) and 1,825 kt despite trimming
output forecast from the Escondida copper project in Chile to
between 1,050 kt and 1,080 kt.
For the third quarter ended March 31, the mining giant
reported iron ore production of 66.2 Mt from mines it operates
in Western Australia, slightly below the 66.7 Mt clocked a year
earlier, as it kept its operations closed for a day after a
fatality at the site.
Morgan Stanley was expecting quarterly iron ore output of
67.4 Mt.
On Thursday, Rio Tinto Ltd , the world's biggest
iron ore producer, reported record first-quarter iron ore
shipments from Western Australia, even as it warned of
"persistently high" inflation affecting economic activity.
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Harshita Swaminathan in
Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
