Mining News

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging to bring you this mining bulletin.

The CEO of BHP Billington is stepping down to be replaced on October 1, 2007 by the current head of their non-ferrous division, Marius Kloppers.

BHP is currently the third largest producer of copper in the world and that's not even their primary industry. Their first love is for iron ores. Nevertheless, with the new CEO at the helm it is likely that they will be in M&A mode. I can't see them wanting to try and come back into America after their failed purchace of Magma in the late 90's (they purchased Magma when copper prices were trending downward, then closed all of their newly aquired properties permenantly and wrote off the loss only one year before copper started swinging back into profitable territory); however, I can see them ramping up foreign operations or acquisitions.

Why should you care? Actually, for the typical consumer a bigger BHP will probably translate into slightly cheaper copper products as they increase production in their most profitable operations; ie, third world operations.

Why do I care? I currently am employed at one of the least profitable copper operations in the world (but because copper prices are so high, we are still extremely profitable.) I worry that a bigger BHP will translate into a greater world supply that will lift world inventories thereby pushing prices down and price my mine out of operation.

Honestly, any big news like this in the copper business is interesting to a miner like me.

Sorry if I've bored your pants off. ... You can put them back on now, this isn't that kind of a website.