Australia: BHP's iron ore production rises 4% y-o-y in H1CY'24

• Samarco's pellet production guidance rises to 5-5.5 mnt for FY'25
  
  
• Iron ore guidance for Western Australian operations unchanged
  
  

BHP Group has announced its H1CY'24 (January-June 2024) results recently. Iron ore production in the half year of 2024 from its Western Australia mines was recorded at 144.9 million tonnes (mnt) on 100% basis, up 4% y-o-y as against 138.87 mnt in H1CY'23. The above-mentioned figure relates to production from all the company's mines.

This increase in production is due to strong supply chain performance with increased capacity unlocked by the Port Debottlenecking Project 1 (PDP1) and record production at South Flank.

On a quarterly basis, BHP's output rose by 13% q-o-q to 76.77 mnt in Q2 CY'24 compared to 68.13 mnt in Q1CY'24.

Iron ore sales up in H1CY'24

The company's total iron ore sales from Pilbara on 100% basis were recorded at 145.66 mnt in H1, up y-o-y by 6% as compared to 137.68 mnt in H1CY'23. Sales increased by 9% q-o-q to 75.89 in Q2CY'24 as against 69.77 mnt in Q1CY'24.

Other highlights

• Production guidance for FY'25 unchanged: BHP's FY'25 iron ore production guidance from Western Australia remains unchanged at 250 and 260 mnt (282 and 294 mnt on a 100% basis).
  
  
• South Flank to reach full capacity in 3 years: The successful ramp up of South Flank to its maximum production capacity of 80 mnt/year in FY'24 contributed to BHP's WAIO achieving record iron ore lump sales for the year as per plan.
  
  
• Samarco pellet production guidance increased: Samarco's pellet production so far has reached 1 mnt (BHP's share), up 17% y-o-y compared to 1.2 mnt in H1CY'23. Production guidance for FY'25 has increased to around 5-5.5 mnt (BHP's share) against 4-4.5 mnt earlier.