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Australian mining giant BHP has announced an underlying profit of $6.6bn (A$10.04bn) in the second half of 2023, the same as last year despite volatility in global commodity prices and demand in China.  

“The Chinese economy has been volatile since its zero-Covid policy was eased in December 2022. Uncertainty remains high, and the officials have acknowledged that additional policies will be needed to put China’s economic recovery on firmer ground,” BHP CEO Mike Henry said.  

In its financial results published on Tuesday, the company revealed net operating cash flow had increased 30.8% to $8.9bn in H2 2023 from $6.8bn in H2 2022. BHP spent $4.7bn on capital and exploration expenditures and recorded net debt of $12.6bn. 

According to the company, the rapid growth of Indonesian supply is causing several structural changes in the nickel industry, citing a sharp price fall. BHP’s chief financial officer, David Lamont, said that “the price of nickel fell around 50% over the last year” due to structural changes.

Peru’s environment watchdog has granted Antamina, the country’s largest copper zinc mine, a permit enabling a $2bn expansion that will extend production from 2028 to 2036. 

A modification of the environmental impact study will allow the project’s owners – Glencore, Teck Resources, BHP and Mitsubishi – to expand the open pit and the optimise the mine’s dumps and tailings dam. 

Antamina’s pit will be deepened by 150m and its mine area will be increased by 25%. This constitutes an extraction of up to 173,000 tonnes of ore per day, with a waste movement of around 742,000t daily. Dam storage capacity will be increased to 1.57 billion tonnes from the current 1.1 billion tonnes.

Anglo American Platinum has announced a restructuring proposal that could potentially impact 3,700 jobs across its South African operations. The decision comes in response to a significant reduction in profits, driven by falling metal prices and exacerbated by ongoing macroeconomic pressures. 

Initiated under Section 189A of the South African Labour Relations Act, the restructuring process will involve consultations with stakeholders including trade unions and non-unionised employees. The final number of affected jobs will only be determined after these consultations, the company said.

Alongside the potential lay-offs, which will affect nearly 17% of the workforce, the company is also reviewing contracts with 620 service providers.

The Turkish Government has annulled the environmental permit for SSR Mining‘s Copler mine in eastern Türkiye following a landslide on 13 February 2024 that resulted in at least eight workers being trapped.  

As a result of the permit revocation, all operations at the Copler mine will be on hold until further notice. 

Canada-based gold miner SSR Mining noted that it has been actively involved in search and rescue operations to locate the missing workers. It is also deploying third-party contractor resources to support the recovery and remediation efforts. 

Since the 13 February incident, the Turkish Ministry of the Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change has been regularly monitoring the surface water, groundwater, soil and air quality in the region.

Australia’s Federal Government has added nickel to its list of critical minerals, opening the door to subsidies support from a A$6bn ($3.9bn) stimulus fund as the country looks to keep the ailing industry afloat. 

The announcement comes amid a drawn-out slump in global nickel prices caused primarily by an oversupply of weaker-grade ore from Indonesia, where industry is dominated by Chinese producers. 

Canberra’s intervention highlights concern for the future of the metal, which is used to make energy transition technologies such as batteries used in electric vehicles. 

With nickel added to the critical minerals list, companies will have access to financing under the A$4bn Critical Minerals Facility and critical minerals-related grants such as the International Partnerships Programme.