Australia-based miner BHP Billiton has announced that it has shipped its one billionth mt of iron ore to Japan.
BHP Billiton iron ore president Jimmy Wilson recognized Japan's contribution to the development of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, saying, "We also owe much to Japan for their role in growing the iron ore industry in the Pilbara. Our joint venture participants ITOCHU and Mitsui contributed capital, and as trading companies they were a key link into Japanese markets."
Over the past decade, BHP Billiton has invested US$24 billion in Western Australia's mines, rail and port infrastructure and continues to adopt new technology.
According to BHP Billiton, the opening of the Jimblebar mine earlier this year has taken its Western Australia iron ore capacity to in excess of 220 million mt per year. In the longer term, a low-cost option to expand Jimblebar to 55 million mt per year and the broader debottlenecking of the supply chain is expected to underpin capital efficient growth in the Western Australian unit's capacity to approximately 270 million mt per year.