Australia: BHP's iron ore production rises 3% y-o-y in CY'24

• Iron ore production guidance stable
  
  
• Sales rise y-o-y in CY'24
  
  

BHP has announced its CY'24 (January-December 2024) results, revealing that iron ore production from all its Western Australia mines totalled 289.56 million tonnes (mnt) on a 100% basis, up 3% as against 280.98 mnt in CY'23. Production, on a q-o-q basis, marginally increased by 2% to 73.07 mnt in Q4CY'24 as against 71.59 mnt in Q3CY'24.

Iron ore sales rise in CY'24

The company's total iron ore sales from Pilbara on a 100% basis were recorded at 289.79 mnt in CY'24, up 4% compared to 279.76 mnt in CY'23. Meanwhile, sales remained largely stable q-o-q at 72.59 mnt in Q4CY'24 as against 71.54 mnt in Q3CY'24.

Other highlights

• Production guidance for FY'25 remains unchanged: BHP's FY'25 iron ore production guidance from Western Australia remains unchanged at 250-260 mnt (282-294 mnt on a 100% basis).
  
  
• Contribution of South Flank: Production surged due to strong supply chain performance, record volumes from the Central Pilbara hub following South Flank's ramp-up in FY24, and a 9% increase in productive movement. The delivery of PDP1 in CY24 further enhanced car dumper and ship loader efficiency, partially offset by planned Rail Technology Program tie-ins and December's wet weather.
  
  
• Samarco's pellet production increases: Samarco's pellet production rose by 15% q-o-q to 1.5 mnt in Q4CY'24. Production guidance for FY'25 remains firm at around 5-5.5 mnt (BHP's share). Production has increased with the early restart of the second concentrator and latent pelletizing capacity, boosting production capacity to 16 mnt papa of pellets by early FY26.
  
  
• Final settlement on Brazilian dam failure: On 25 October 2024, BHP announced a comprehensive agreement with the Brazilian Federal Government, the States of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, and Samarco, BHP Brasil, and Vale. This settlement resolves all obligations under the Framework Agreement and addresses civil claims related to the dam failure. The Brazilian Supreme Court ratified the agreement on 6 November 2024.