Mining giant loses its appetite for thermal coal and will turn instead to oil, copper and nickelBHP warns investors coal could be phased out 'sooner than expected'BHP is looking to add more oil, copper and nickel resources to its portfolio, while souring on thermal coal because it thinks the fossil fuel will be phased out, “potentially sooner than expected”. BHP is looking to develop oil projects in the US, the Gulf of Mexico and Canada, Beaven said. But BHP has “no appetite for growth in energy coal regardless of asset attractiveness”, the company said in a briefing slide. BHP has two high-quality thermal coal mines that generate high margins – the Mt Arthur Coal mine in New South Wales and the Cerrejón mine in Colombia, in which BHP holds a one-third stake – but Beaven suggested they could be sold. BHP forecasts that metallurgical coal, used in steelmaking and mined by BHP in central Queensland, will still offer the company attractive returns, as will its iron ore operations.

Source: The Guardian May 22, 2019 06:45 UTC