Mining Giant BHP Billiton: Iron Ore Shipments Down 8% Double-digit Declines in Copper And Nickel Production.

BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, reported on Thursday that iron ore shipments fell 8% in the first quarter from the previous quarter as production was hit by COVID-19 related manpower issues and planned maintenance.

BHP billiton also reported a decline in copper and nickel production in its third quarter of fiscal 2022, which ended March 31.

BHP's copper production fell 6% year-on-year to 369,700 tonnes in the third quarter, up 1% from the previous quarter. Copper production in the first to third quarter fell 10 per cent year on year to 1.117m tonnes. The company also lowered its copper production guidance for fy2022 to 1.57m-1.62 million tonnes from the previous 1.59m-1.76 million tonnes.

In nickel, BHP's nickel production in the third quarter was 18,700 mt, down 8% from the previous quarter and 13% from the previous quarter. Nickel production in the fiscal first - third quarter was 58,000 tonnes, down 13% from a year earlier. The company lowered its nickel production guidance to 80,000-85,000 tonnes for fy2022.

在铁矿石、必和必拓的结合起来d-quarter iron ore production rose 1% year on year to 59.7 million tons, but fell 10% from the previous quarter. Iron ore production in the first to third quarter was 189 million tonnes, flat from a year earlier. The company kept its fy2022 iron ore production guidance unchanged at 249-259 million tonnes.

BHP also said iron ore sales from its Western Australian operations totalled 67.1 million tonnes in the three months ended March 31, in line with market expectations. Although the company cut its forecasts for copper and nickel production, it kept its forecast for attributable production at 249m to 259m tonnes for the full year.

BHP chief Executive Mike Henry said in a statement that the decline reflected "temporary Labour constraints due to COVID-19, train driver shortages and planned maintenance activities" :

Market volatility and inflationary pressures have increased further due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and while we expect the situation to improve during the 2023 calendar year, we expect the skills shortages and overall labor market tightness to persist in Australia and Chile.

The Wall Street Journal also reported earlier that BHP had cut its production forecast for the Chilean copper mine after workers and environmentalists protested operations at its Escondida project, as well as labor shortages caused by the pandemic.

Earlier this month, Chile, the world's largest copper producer, filed a lawsuit against BHP for environmental damage caused by its operations in the Atacama Salt Marsh, while a union rejection of a contract agreement, blocked roads and a surge in COVID-19 infections near Escondida have hampered production.

BHP billiton was down 6.7 percent to $71.69 on Thursday after rising nearly 19 percent so far this year due to volatile commodity prices amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.