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BHP Billiton sees quarterly iron ore output fall but still expects to hit annual production targets

Published: 08:16 18 Oct 2017 BST

Mining truck
The miner also reported a 2% fall in coal volumes and an 8% decline in petroleum volumes which reflected the impact of Hurricane Harvey

BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT) has reported a 4% drop in quarterly iron ore output following a fire at its Mount Whaleback mine in Australia in June but said it still expects to hit its annual production target.

In an operational review for the quarter ending September 30, the FTSE 100-listed global miner said its iron ore production was 64mln tonnes in the September quarter, versus 67mln tonnes a year ago. UBS had forecast a quarterly figure of about 63.6mln tonnes.

READ: BHP Billiton up as it commits to exit its underperforming US shale business and posts jump in annual profit

The group also reported a 2% fall in coal volumes and an 8% decline in petroleum volumes which reflected the impact of Hurricane Harvey in the US, but copper volumes increased by 14%.

BHP Biliton’s chief executive officer, Andrew Mackenzie, said: "Our performance in the first quarter keeps us on track to deliver seven per cent volume growth in the 2018 financial year.”

Back in August, the FTSE 100-listed firm announced that it has “determined that our Onshore US assets are non-core and we are actively pursuing options to exit these assets for value.”

The move was one of the strategic changes urged earlier this year by US activist investor Elliott Management - which has amassed a 5% holding in BHP Billiton.

READ: BHP Billiton to spend US$2.46bn to extend life of Spence copper mine in northern Chile by more than 50 years

The group said today that the divestment of a small portion of its Hawkville acreage was completed in the September 2017 quarter and added that “work is underway to exit the remaining Onshore US assets for value.”

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