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BHP Billiton is the world's largest mining
Mining

Mining is the extraction of value minerals or other geology materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, Sodium chloride and potash....
 company. It was created in 2001 by the merger of Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
's Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
's Billiton, which had a Dutch and South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
n background. The result is a dual-listed company
Dual-listed company

A dual-listed company or DLC is a corporate structure which involves two listed companies with different sets of shareholders sharing ownership of one set of operational businesses....
 with head offices in Melbourne and London. BHP Billiton Limited, which is the majority partner in the dual-listed structure, is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. BHP Billiton Plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a stock exchange located in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1801, it is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, with many overseas listings as well as British companies....
 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 most highly market capitalisation UK company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The index began on 3 January 1984 with a base level of 1000; the highest value reached to date is 6950.6, on 30 December 1999....
.

Broken Hill Proprietary Company or BHP was incorporated in 1885, operating the silver and lead mine at Broken Hill
Broken Hill, New South Wales

Broken Hill is an isolated mining city and Local Government Areas of Australia in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. The world's largest mining company, BHP Billiton, has roots in the town....
 in western New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
.






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BHP Billiton is the world's largest mining
Mining

Mining is the extraction of value minerals or other geology materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, Sodium chloride and potash....
 company. It was created in 2001 by the merger of Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
's Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
's Billiton, which had a Dutch and South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
n background. The result is a dual-listed company
Dual-listed company

A dual-listed company or DLC is a corporate structure which involves two listed companies with different sets of shareholders sharing ownership of one set of operational businesses....
 with head offices in Melbourne and London. BHP Billiton Limited, which is the majority partner in the dual-listed structure, is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. BHP Billiton Plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a stock exchange located in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1801, it is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, with many overseas listings as well as British companies....
 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 most highly market capitalisation UK company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The index began on 3 January 1984 with a base level of 1000; the highest value reached to date is 6950.6, on 30 December 1999....
.

History


Broken Hill Proprietary Company

The Broken Hill Proprietary Company or BHP was incorporated in 1885, operating the silver and lead mine at Broken Hill
Broken Hill, New South Wales

Broken Hill is an isolated mining city and Local Government Areas of Australia in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. The world's largest mining company, BHP Billiton, has roots in the town....
 in western New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
. In 1915, the company ventured into steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
 manufacturing, with its operations based primarily in Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the state of New South Wales and includes most of the City of Newcastle and City of Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas of Australia....
. The company's corporate offices are located in Melbourne, Victoria. It is also known by the nickname "the Big Australian".

The company began petroleum exploration in the 1960s with discoveries in Bass Strait
Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland specifically the state of Victoria ....
, an activity which became an increasing focus.

BHP began to diversify offshore
Offshoring

Offshoring describes the relocation by a company of a business process from one country to another -- typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting....
 in a variety of projects. One project was the Ok Tedi
Ok Tedi Mine

The Ok Tedi Mine is located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River, in the Star Mountains Rural LLG of the North Fly District, Western Province of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea....
 copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
 mine in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
, where the company was successfully sued by the indigenous inhabitants because of the environmental degradation
Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife....
 caused by the mine operations. BHP had better success with the giant Escondida
Escondida

Minera Escondida, which means 'hidden' in Spanish language, is a mining company that operates two open pit mining copper mines in the Atacama Desert, 170 km southeast of Antofagasta in northern Chile....
 copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
 mine in Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
 (57.5% owned) and the Ekati Diamond Mine
Ekati Diamond Mine

The Ekati Diamond MineTM is Canada's first diamond mine. It is located near Lac de Gras north-east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Northwest Territories, and about south of the Arctic circle....
 in northern Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
.
Bhp Logo
The inefficiencies of what was, by global standards, a small steel operation in Newcastle finally caught up with the company and the Newcastle operations were closed in 1999. The 'long products' side of the steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
 business was spun off to form OneSteel
OneSteel

OneSteel is an Australian-based mining, ore processing and steel manufacturing company specialising in steel-long products for the construction, mining, transport and agricultural industries....
 in 2000.

In 2001, BHP merged with the Billiton mining company to form BHP Billiton, the largest mining company in the world. In 2002, the 'flat products' steel business was spun off to form BHP Steel. In 2003, BHP Steel changed its name to BlueScope Steel
BlueScope Steel

BlueScope Steel is a flat product steel producer with operations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Pacific and North America. It was spun off from BHP Billiton in 2002 as BHP Steel and renamed BlueScope Steel on 17 November 2003....
.

Billiton


Billiton was a mining company whose origins stretch back to 29 September 1860, when the articles of association were approved by a meeting of shareholder
Shareholder

A mutual shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company that legally owns one or more share s of stock in a joint stock company....
s in the Groot Keizerhof hotel
Hotel

----A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including Bathroom#Types of bathroomss and air conditioning or clima...
 in The Hague
The Hague

The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 475,904 and an area of approximately 100 km?....
, Netherlands.

Two months later, the company acquired the mineral rights
Mineral rights

In the United States, Mineral rights, mining rights, oil rights or drilling rights, are the rights to remove minerals, oil, or sometimes water, that may be contained in and under some land....
 to tin
Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. Tin is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, where it occurs as an oxide, SnO2....
-rich islands of Banka
Bangka Island

Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. Population 626,955. Area: c.4,600 sq mi .There is an additional small island named Pulau Bangka in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia....
  and Billiton
Belitung

Belitung, formerly known as Billiton, is an Islands of Indonesia on the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in the Java Sea. The island is known for its black pepper and for its tin....
 in the Indonesian archipelago
Archipelago

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Italian language arcipelago , derived ultimately from Greek language arkhon and pelagos ....
, off the eastern coast of Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
.

Billiton's initial business forays included tin and lead
Lead

Lead is a main-group Chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metal ....
 smelting in The Netherlands, followed in the 1940s by bauxite
Bauxite

Bauxite is the most important aluminium ore. It consists largely of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite ?-AlO, and diaspore a-AlO, together with the iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase TiO2....
 mining in Indonesia and Suriname
Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname is a country in northern South America. Originally, the country was spelled Surinam by English settlers who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, and was Geographical renaming Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana....
. In 1970, Royal Dutch/Shell
Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell public limited company, commonly known simply as Shell, is a multinational corporation oil company of Netherlands and United Kingdom origins....
 acquired Billiton and accelerated the scope of progress of this growth. The tin and lead smelter in Arnhem
Arnhem

Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St....
, Netherlands was shut down in the 1980s.

In 1994 Gencor acquired the mining division of Billiton excluding the downstream metal division. Billiton was divested from Gencor in 1997. In 1997, Billiton Plc became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 most highly market capitalisation UK company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The index began on 3 January 1984 with a base level of 1000; the highest value reached to date is 6950.6, on 30 December 1999....
. Throughout the 1990s and beyond, Billiton Plc experienced considerable growth. Its portfolio included aluminium smelters in South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
 and Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
, nickel
Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element, with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge....
 operations in Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, base metals mines in South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 mines in Australia, Colombia and South Africa, as well as interests in operations in Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
, Suriname, Australia (aluminium
Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
) and South Africa (titanium
Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Sometimes called the ?space age metal?, it has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver colour....
 minerals and steel and ferroalloys).

In 2001 Billiton Plc merged with the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) to form BHP Billiton.

BHP Billiton Mergers and Acquisitions

In March 2005, Billiton announced a US$7.3 billion
1000000000 (number)

1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
 agreed bid for another mining company WMC Resources
WMC Resources

WMC Resources Limited was an Australian diversified mining and fertilizer company formerly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. WMC was an acronym for Western Mining Corporation....
, owners of the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia
South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
, nickel operations in Western Australia and Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
, and a fertiliser plant also in Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
. The takeover achieved 90% acceptance on 17 June 2005, and 100% ownership was announced on 2 August 2005, achieved through compulsory acquisition of the last 10% of the shares.

On 8 November 2007, BHP Billiton announced it was seeking to purchase rival mining group Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group

Rio Tinto is a multinational mining and resources group founded originally in 1873. It is the third-largest coal mining company in the world as of late 2008....
 in an all-share deal. The initial offer of 3.34 shares of BHP Billiton stock for each share of Rio Tinto was rejected by the board of Rio Tinto for "significantly undervaluing" the company. It was unknown at the time if BHP Billiton would attempt to purchase Rio Tinto through some form of hostile takeover; however, CEO Marius Kloppers met with many of Rio's shareholders since the announcement and reiterated that the offer for Rio was "compelling" and that BHP Billiton is very "patient." A formal hostile bid of 3.4 BHP Billiton shares for each Rio Tinto share was announced on 6 February 2008. The bid was withdrawn on 25 November 2008 due to a global recession.

On 14 May 2008, BHP Billiton shares rose to a record high of AU
Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Islandss of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu....
 $48.90 after speculation that Chinese mining firm Chinalco was considering purchasing a large stake. BHP representatives refused to comment.

On 25 November 2008. Billiton announced that it would drop its $66 billion takeover of rival Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group

Rio Tinto is a multinational mining and resources group founded originally in 1873. It is the third-largest coal mining company in the world as of late 2008....
 saying that the "risks to shareholder value" would "increase" to "an unacceptable level" due to the global financial crisis.

Recent history

On 21 January 2009 the company announced a response to the global financial crisis
Financial crisis of 2007–2009

The financial crisis of 2007?2009 began in July 2007 when a loss of confidence by investors in the value of securitization in the United States resulted in a credit crunch that prompted a substantial injection of capital into financial markets by the United States Federal Reserve, Bank of England and the European Central Bank....
; BHP Billiton plans to close the Ravensthorpe mine
Ravensthorpe, Western Australia

Ravensthorpe is a town 541 km south east of Perth, Western Australia, 40 km inland from the south coast of Western Australia. It is the seat of government of the Shire of Ravensthorpe....
 and associated Yabulu nickel plant in Australia, close the Pinto Valley mine
Copper mining in Arizona

Copper mining in Arizona, a state of the United States, has been a major industry since the 1800s. In 2007 Arizona was the leading copper-producing state in the US, producing 750 thousand tonnes of copper, worth a record $5.54 billion....
 in the United States, lay off a total of 6,000 employees, and scale back on some projects.

Operations

The company operates a wide variety of mining and processing operations in 25 countries, employing approximately 38,000 people.

The company has nine primary operational units:
  • Iron ore
    Iron ore

    Iron ores are Rock and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red....
  • Manganese
    Manganese

    Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a Oxidation state in nature , and in many minerals....
  • Petroleum
    Petroleum

    Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
  • Aluminium
    Aluminium

    Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
  • Base Metals
    Base metal

    In chemistry, the term base metal is used informally to refer to a metal that oxidation or corrosion relatively easily, and reacts variably with diluted hydrochloric acid to form hydrogen....
     (primary products include copper
    Copper

    Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
    , lead
    Lead

    Lead is a main-group Chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metal ....
    , zinc
    Zinc

    Zinc is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a first-row transition metal of the group 12 element of the periodic table....
     and uranium
    Uranium

    Uranium is a silvery-gray metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table that has the chemical symbol U and atomic number 92....
    )
  • Metallurgical Coal
    Coal

    Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
  • Thermal Coal
    Coal

    Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
  • Stainless Steel Materials
    Stainless steel

    In metallurgy, stainless steel is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10% chromium content by mass. Stainless steel does not stain, corrode, or rust as easily as ordinary steel , but it is not stain-proof....
     (nickel
    Nickel

    Nickel is a chemical element, with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge....
     and cobalt
    Cobalt

    Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, grey metal, a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. Although cobalt-based colors and pigments have been used since ancient times, and miners have long used the name kobold ore for some minerals, cobalt was only discovered in 1735 by Georg Brandt....
    )
  • Diamonds & Speciality Products (diamond
    Diamond

    In mineralogy, diamond is the Allotropes of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice. After graphite, diamond is the second most stable form of carbon....
    s and titanium
    Titanium

    Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Sometimes called the ?space age metal?, it has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver colour....
     minerals)


Corporate structure

The Australian BHP Billiton Limited and the British BHP Billiton Plc list separately with separate shareholder bodies but they operate as one business with identical boards of directors and a single management structure. The headquarters are in Melbourne
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. The company has other key offices in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the List of Australian capital cities and largest city of the Australian States and territories of Australia of Western Australia. With a population of 1,554,769 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Joburg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the province Capital of Gauteng the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa....
, Santiago
Santiago, Chile

Santiago , is the Capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m Above mean sea level....
, Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
, Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
, Houston and The Hague
The Hague

The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 475,904 and an area of approximately 100 km?....
.

The company's shares trade on the following exchanges:
  • BHP Billiton Limited
    • Australia
    • Germany (Frankfurt)
    • Switzerland (Zurich)
    • US
  • BHP Billiton plc
    • UK
    • South Africa
    • US


Management

After the merger between BHP and Billiton in 2001, Brian Gilbertson of Billiton was appointed CEO. In 2003, after just six months at the helm, he abruptly stepped down, citing irreconcilable differences with the boards.

Upon Gilbertson's resignation, Chip Goodyear
Chip Goodyear

Charles Waterhouse "Chip" Goodyear IV is a fourth generation descendant of Charles Goodyear, the American inventor of vulcanized rubber, and is part of the Goodyear lumber and railway family of New York and Pennsylvania....
 was announced as the new CEO. He continued in that role until his retirement on 30 September 2007. Marius Kloppers
Marius Kloppers

Dr Marius Kloppers is CEO of BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company. He is presently the group president of BHP's non ferrous metals division....
 is his immediate successor CEO.

Angola accident

Inclement weather caused a BHP Billiton helicopter to crash in Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
 on 16 November 2007, killing the helicopter's five passengers, including BHP's chief operation officer in Angola, David Hopgood. The helicopter went down about 80 km/50 miles from Alto Cuilo Camp, a diamond mining site the employees wanted to visit. BHP Billiton responded by suspending operations in the country. The company is investigating the incident.

Mines and processing facilities

  • Algeria
    Algeria

    Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
    • Ohanet gas field
    • ROD gas field
  • Angola
    Angola

    Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
    • Diamond exploration
  • Australia
    Australia

    Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
    • Appin, New South Wales
      Appin, New South Wales

      Appin is a town in the eastern part of New South Wales. It is situated about 16 kilometres south from Campbelltown, New South Wales and 35 kilometres north west from Wollongong, New South Wales....
    • Bass Strait, Victoria
      Bass Strait

      Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland specifically the state of Victoria ....
      , 50% owned
    • Blackwater, Queensland
      Blackwater, Queensland

      Blackwater is the major town of a significant coal mining area in Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census in Australia, Blackwater had a population of 5,031....
    • Broadmeadow, Queensland
    • Cannington, Queensland
    • Dendrobium, New South Wales
    • Elouera, New South Wales
    • Goonyella/Riverside, Queensland
    • Gregory/Crinum, Queensland
    • Griffin, Western Australia, 45% owned
    • Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory
      Groote Eylandt

      Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people ....
    • Hunter Valley, New South Wales
    • Jimblebar , Western Australia
    • Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
      Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

      Kalgoorlie-Boulder is a Western Australian city located east-northeast of Perth, Western Australia located in the Eastern Goldfields.The city was founded in 1893 during the Yilgarn-Goldfields gold rush, and is located close to the so-called "Golden Mile"....
    • Kambalda, Western Australia
      Kambalda, Western Australia

      Kambalda is a small mining town about 60 kilometres from the mining city of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, within the Goldfields-Esperance. It is split into two townsites 4 kilometres apart, Kambalda East and Kambalda West; and is located on the western edge of a giant salt lake, Lake Lefroy....
    • Kwinana, Western Australia
      Kwinana, Western Australia

      Kwinana is a Local Government Areas of Western Australia of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 118 square kilometres in List of Perth suburbs Perth, Western Australia, and lies about 40 km south of the Perth CBD, via the Kwinana Freeway....
    • Leinster, Western Australia
      Leinster, Western Australia

      Leinster is a town in the northern goldfields area of Western Australia. The town is located 4km east of the Goldfields Highway, in the Shire of Leonora Local Government Areas of Australia, northeast of the state capital, Perth, Western Australia....
    • Minerva offshore, Victoria, 90% owned
    • Mining Area C , Western Australia
    • Mount Keith, Western Australia
      Mount Keith, Western Australia

      Mount Keith is the location of an open-pit mining site run by BHP Billiton in Western Australia.The site's closest landmark is the town of Kalgoorlie which is located 450km to the south....
    • Mount Whaleback, Western Australia
    • North West Shelf Venture
      North West Shelf Venture

      The North West Shelf Venture, situated in the North West Shelf of Western Australia, is Australia's largest resource development project. It involves the extraction of petroleum at offshore production platforms, onshore processing and export of liquefied natural gas, and production of natural gas for industrial, commercial and domestic use...
      , Western Australia
      Western Australia

      Western Australia is a States and territories of Australia occupying the entire western third of the Australia . The nation's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.1 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state....
      , 16.67% LNG phase, 8.33% domestic gas phase
    • Norwich Park, Queensland
    • Olympic Dam, South Australia
      Olympic Dam, South Australia

      Olympic Dam is a mining centre in South Australia located some 550 km NNW of Adelaide the capital city of South Australia. It is the site of an extremely large deposit of copper, uranium, gold and silver, which supports an underground mine as well as an integrated metallurgical processing plant....
    • Ore Body 18 , Western Australia
    • Ore Body 23/25 , Western Australia
    • Peak Downs, Queensland
      Peak Downs, Queensland

      Shire of Peak Downs is a Local Government Areas in Australia located in the Central Highlands of Queensland, Australia, 320km west of both Rockhampton, Queensland and Mackay, Queensland....
    • Port Hedland, Western Australia
      Port Hedland, Western Australia

      Port Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 ....
    • Ravensthorpe, Western Australia
      Ravensthorpe, Western Australia

      Ravensthorpe is a town 541 km south east of Perth, Western Australia, 40 km inland from the south coast of Western Australia. It is the seat of government of the Shire of Ravensthorpe....
    • Saraji, Queensland
    • George Town, Tasmania
    • West Cliff, New South Wales
    • Worsley, Western Australia
      Worsley, Western Australia

      Worsley is a town in Western Australia located in the South West region near the town of Collie, Western Australia.The town is part of the Collie Shire....
    • Yabulu, Queensland
      Yabulu, Queensland

      Yabulu Yabulu is a small residential suburb approximately 25 kilometres north of the Townsville and Thuringowa urban centres, in Queensland, Australia....
      , nickel refinery
    • Yandi, Western Australia
    • Yarrie , Western Australia
  • Brazil
    Brazil

    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
    • Alumar
      Alumar

      Alumar is a village in Ancuabe District in Cabo Delgado Province in northeastern Mozambique.ReferencesExternal links...
       aluminum smelter/refinery - Sao Luis
    • Samarco iron ore mine and pelletizing plant - Belo Horizonte
  • Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    • Ekati Diamond Mine
      Ekati Diamond Mine

      The Ekati Diamond MineTM is Canada's first diamond mine. It is located near Lac de Gras north-east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Northwest Territories, and about south of the Arctic circle....
    • Potash
      Potash

      Potash is the common name given to potassium carbonate and various mined and manufactured salts that contain the element potassium in water-soluble form....
       Development, Saskatchewan
      Saskatchewan

      Saskatchewan is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres and a population of 1,015,895 , mostly living in the southern half of the province....
  • Chile
    Chile

    Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
    • Escondida
      Escondida

      Minera Escondida, which means 'hidden' in Spanish language, is a mining company that operates two open pit mining copper mines in the Atacama Desert, 170 km southeast of Antofagasta in northern Chile....
    • Cerro Colorado
    • Spence
      Spence

      Spence may refer to:* Spence, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra, Australia* Spence, Ontario, a ghost town in Ontario, Canada...
  • Colombia
    Colombia

    Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
    • Cerrejón
      Cerrejón

      Cerrej?n is a Coal mining located in the Guajira Department department in the north of Colombia. It is the largest mining operation in Colombia and among the largest Open-pit_mining coal mines in the world....
      , 33.3% owned coal mine in Guajira department
    • Cerro Matoso, ferronickel mine in Córdoba
      Córdoba Department

      C?rdoba is a departments of Colombia of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. C?rdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bolivar Department and south with the Antioquia Department....
       department
  • Guinea
    Guinea

    Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea. The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
    • Sangaredi
      Sangarédi

      Sangar?di is mining town and sub-prefectures of Guinea in western Guinea, where bauxite is mined. The ore is shipped by a railway to the port of Kamsar....
       33.3% interest in bauxite mine and alumina refinery (currently in feasibility study)
  • Indonesia
    Indonesia

    The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
    • Wetar
      Wetar

      The tropical island Wetar belongs to the Indonesian province Maluku and is the largest island of the Barat Daya Islands . It lies east of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which include nearby Alor Island and Timor, but is considered part of the Maluku Islands....
       gold mine
  • Iraq
    Iraq

    Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
    • Halfaya oil field
  • Mozambique
    Mozambique

    Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
    • Mozal
      Mozal

      Mozal is the largest aluminium producer in Mozambique and the second-largest in Africa having a total annual production of around 530,000 tonnes....
      , aluminum smelter
  • New Zealand
    New Zealand

    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
    • Glenbrook
      Glenbrook, New Zealand

      Glenbrook is a rural and industrial area in the Franklin , New Zealand of New Zealand.The industrial site, that of New Zealand's major steel mill, New Zealand Steel, is not located close to any towns - the surrounding countryside is occupied by huge farms....
      , steel mill
  • Pakistan
    Pakistan

    Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
    • Zamzama
      Zamzama

      The Zamzama Gun, also known as Kim?s Gun or Bhangianwala Toap is a large bore cannon. It was cast in 1757 in Lahore, now in Pakistan but at the time part of the Durrani Empire....
       gas field
  • Papua New Guinea
    Papua New Guinea

    Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
    • (until 2002) Ok Tedi Mine
      Ok Tedi Mine

      The Ok Tedi Mine is located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River, in the Star Mountains Rural LLG of the North Fly District, Western Province of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea....
      , copper, cause of a large-scale ecological disaster down the Ok Tedi and Fly
      Fly River

      The Fly at , is the second longest river, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. It rises in the Star Mountains, and crosses the south-western lowlands before flowing into the Gulf of Papua in a large River delta....
       rivers
  • Peru
    Peru

    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
    • Antamina
  • South Africa
    South Africa

    The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
    • Bayside
      Bayside

      Bayside may refer to a number of places:In the United States:*Bayside, California*Bayside High School, several schools in the U.S. and Canada...
      , 100% owned aluminium smelter in Richards Bay
    • Hillside
      Hillside

      Hillside may refer to:...
      , 100% owned aluminium smelter in Richards Bay
    • Ingwe Coal, comprises several coal mines in the Witbank
      Witbank

      Witbank is situated on the highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested....
       area in Mpumalanga
      Mpumalanga

      Mpumalanga, , is a Provinces of South Africa South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Nguni languages....
    • Manganese Metal Company, largest electrolytic manganese production facility in the world situated in Nelspruit
      Nelspruit

      Nelspruit is a city of 221,474 people situated in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province . Located on the Crocodile River , Nelspruit lies about 100 kilometres west of the Mozambique border and 330 kilometres east of Johannesburg....
      , Mpumalanga
      Mpumalanga

      Mpumalanga, , is a Provinces of South Africa South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Nguni languages....
    • Metalloys manganese production facility in Meyerton
      Meyerton

      Meyerton may refer to:* Meyerton, Gauteng* Meyerton, Baker Island...
       area in Gauteng
      Gauteng

      Gauteng is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994....
    • HMM
      HMM

      HMM may mean:* Hammerton railway station, England; National Rail station code HMM.* Hidden Markov model, a statistical model.* Heroes of Might and Magic, a series of turn-based strategy games by New World Computing....
       (Hotazel Manganese Mines) including Mamatwan and Wessels mines near Hotazel in the Northern Cape
  • Suriname
    Suriname

    Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname is a country in northern South America. Originally, the country was spelled Surinam by English settlers who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, and was Geographical renaming Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana....
    • Kaaimangrassie bauxite mine
    • Coermotibo bauxite mine
    • Caramacca bauxite mine
    • Klaverblad bauxite mine
  • Trinidad & Tobago
    • Angostura
      Angostura

      Angostura may refer toThings*Angostura , a plant genus in the Rutaceae family*Angostura bitters*House of Angostura, a company manufacturing angostura bitters....
       oil & gas field
  • United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
    • Liverpool Bay
      Liverpool Bay

      Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between north-east Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence....
       oil & gas field
  • USA
    • New Mexico Coal Company, coal mine in New Mexico
      New Mexico

      New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
       consisting of San Juan and Navajo mine
    • Southwest Copper, Arizona
    • San Manuel, Arizona
    • Pinto Valley, Arizona
    • Gulf of Mexico, Oil and Gas field (Shenzi & Neptune fields)
    • Resolution
      Resolution copper

      Resolution Copper is a joint venture underground mining copper mining project owned by both Rio Tinto Group, and BHP Billiton. the project is located in Superior, Arizona....
      , Arizona


The United Nations Environment Programme has noted that BHP’s Ok Tedi mine site’s “uncontrolled discharge of 70 million tonnes of waste rock and mine tailings annually has spread more than 1 000 km (621 miles) down the Ok Tedi and Fly rivers, raising river beds and causing flooding, sediment deposition, forest damage, and a serious decline in the area's biodiversity. The resulting devastation caused by the mining of Ok Tedi has included the loss of fish, a vital food source for the local community; loss of forest and crops due to flooding and; the loss of “areas of deep spiritual value for villagers are now submerged in mine tailings.”

See also

  • Ok Tedi Environmental Disaster
    Ok Tedi Environmental Disaster

    The effect of mining pollution of the Ok Tedi River has been the source of much publicity and a large legal battle concerning the Ok Tedi River in Papua New Guinea, particularly a collapse of the Ok Tedi tailings dam system, and the seepage of tailings into the river itself....


External links

  • London Stock Exchange
    London Stock Exchange

    The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a stock exchange located in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1801, it is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, with many overseas listings as well as British companies....
     
  • Australian Securities Exchange