The world’s biggest mining company, BHP, is sticking with its ‘Plan A’ of growing organically, CEO Mike Henry told investors this week.

“We have been clear throughout that we are not driven by M&A [mergers and acquisitions] at all. Plan A for us is to grow organically,” he says.

Henry stresses that BHP is not going to be pressured into acquisitions. “We’ll be opportunistic about them, and we’ll only pursue them where we can see value being unlocked for BHP shareholders in absolute terms.”

Reflecting on BHP’s £38.6-million bid to buy Anglo American earlier this year, Henry notes there was “certainly” an opportunity for BHP shareholders, but with Anglo shareholders choosing to pursue their own strategy, BHP has “continued with our Plan A”.

The commitment to organic growth was evident in BHP’s results presentation this week, where Henry outlined plans to double copper production in Australia, while continuing investments in South American.

In South Australia, BHP’s strategy aims to ramp up production to 650 000 t/y by the mid-2030s – up from the current output of between 310 000 t/y to 340 000 t/y.

Beyond Australian growth, BHP has made significant strides in narrowing down its expansion plans at its Chilean copper operations. At Escondida, Henry sees the potential for an additional 200 000 t/y of copper production. BHP is also exploring the expansion of the concentrator at Spence and extending the life of its leaching operations. At Cerro Colorado, 1.7-billion tonnes of inferred resources could justify restarting operations.

BHP has also strengthened its copper portfolio in Argentina, acquiring a 50% stake in the Filo del Sol and Josemaria copper projects.

“I am hoping that the meat we are putting on the bones of our copper growth prospects through the presentation and an upcoming site visit to Escondida will give everybody greater confidence that, when we talk about Plan A, we actually mean Plan A, and that plan is pretty attractive in its own right,” Henry concludes.