Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining giant BHP Billiton said on Friday that a demerger of selected assets was its preferred way of simplifying its portfolio.
The miner, which had been undertaking a portfolio simplification programme over the past decade, and was pursuing options to make it simpler and more productive, said it would reveal details about its divestment plan after next week’s board meeting.
In April, BHP Billiton announced that it was “reviewing” and “assessing” its divestment options, after media outlets in Australia reported that the company was considering a $20-billion demerger plan.
Over the last two years, the company had completed a number of divestments in Australia, the US, Canada, South Africa and the UK, which included petroleum, copper, coal, mineral sands, uranium and diamond assets.
At the time, the company said that it believed a portfolio focused on its four major producing divisions, namely iron-ore, copper, coal and petroleum, would retain the benefits of diversification, generate stronger growth in cash flow and superior return on investments.
“By increasing our focus on these four pillars, with potash as a potential fifth, we will be able to more quickly improve the productivity and performance of our largest businesses,” BHP reiterated on Friday.
The company noted that since April this year, the board had continued to study various structural alternatives, and a demerger of a selection of assets had been earmarked as the preferred option.