CANNINGTON Mine is one of the smaller assets the world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton, will offload into a new company that will join the local sharemarket in 2015.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The company’s Cannington assets president said there would be “minimal changes” at the lead-silver mine near McKinlay in the North West.
“Minimal changes are expected for Cannington operational employees as a result of the demerger,” the assets president said.
“Employees who join the new company would have similar employment conditions that honour existing contractual obligations and all collective agreements would remain in place.”
BHP is demerging the majority of its aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel and silver assets into a new entity dubbed NewCo.
“As the world’s largest producer of silver, Cannington would become a significant part of a new global metals and mining company with assets in five countries and over 24,000 employees world-wide,” the assets president said.
“The new company, of which Cannington would be a part, would benefit from a dedicated board and management team that would develop a strategy, operating model and culture to further enhance the competitive position of Cannington.”
The assets president said the move would give the company “the flexibility to consider a broader set of options, including low-risk brownfield investment opportunities”.
“BHP Billiton’s existing community commitments will be fulfilled, while the new company would foster its own partnerships and establish its own community programs,” the assets president said.
McKinlay Mayor Belinda Murphy
said she had no concerns with
the demerger and said “anything
that keeps the mine open is a positive for the region”.
The announcement came as
BHP lifted its full-year profit 23 per cent to $US13.8 billion ($14.93 billion), broadly in line with market expectations.
‘‘The demerger is unquestionably the best option,’’ chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said.
‘‘We’ve been wanting to concentrate BHP Billiton on our four pillars of iron ore, coal, copper and petroleum, and that effectively meant that long-term the other businesses we would seek to exit.’’
Other assets selected for the new company include Illawarra Coal in New South Wales, a manganese mine in the Northern Territory, an alumina refinery in Western Australia, plus other operations in South Africa, Mozambique and Colombia.
