BHP Billiton to Forge Ahead with Expansions Despite Low Commodity Prices

By Alex MacDonald

LONDON--Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) said Tuesday it will forge ahead with investments to boost production capacity, particularly in copper and oil, despite the protracted rout in commodity prices.

The world's largest diversified miner by market value said it aims to added over 1 million metric tons of copper equivalent production capacity at a cost of less than $1.5 billion without specifying a time frame, marking a 10% expansion on its current production capacity. It also said it plans to extract $3.6 billion in productivity gains from the business by the end of its financial year ending June 30, 2017.

"We are not waiting for prices to recover," said BHP's Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie in a prepared Miami conference speech. "We have everything we need in our portfolio right now to significantly increase the value of the company," he said.

The company also plans to make an investment decision on its Mad Dog 2 and Spence oil and gas projects within 18 months.

-Write to Alex MacDonald at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 10, 2016 08:22 ET (12:22 GMT)

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