BHP To Retain Australian Coal Project For Another 8 Years As It Failed To...

BHP Group Ltd BHP will retain New South Wales Energy Coal (NSWEC) in its portfolio. The sale process of NSWEC did not result in a viable offer.
The company said that moving to closure in 2030 provides the optimal financial outcome compared to alternate options.
BHP will seek the relevant approvals to continue mining beyond its current mining consent expiring in 2026 and proceed with a managed process to cease mining at the asset by the end of 2030.
The decision follows BHP's review of its lower-grade metallurgical and energy coal assets announced in August 2020. It has also resulted in divesting interests in Cerrejón and BHP Mitsui Coal in January and May 2022, respectively.
Work is underway to prepare the application for the relevant approvals with the New South Wales and Australian governments to support mining until 2030.
It will also include plans for the closure of the asset, including rehabilitation and determining the most appropriate post-mining land use, which is expected to take 10 to 15 years following the cessation of mining.
The provision for closing the mine was approximately $700 million (31 Dec 2021).
"The current $700 million provision for closure does not appear to match the enormous scale of the likely clean-up bill," Reuters reported citing Harriet Kater, Climate Lead (Australia) at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.
Price Action: BHP shares are down 3.21% at $59.96 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday.
Photo by Michael Coghlan via Flickr

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Comments

Popular Channels

Tools & Features

Partners & Contributors

About Benzinga