By Rhiannon Hoyle


Mining giant BHP Group said it produced more iron ore and copper over the past year thanks to new and acquired mines in Australia, but that it dug up less steelmaking coal amid unexpectedly heavy rains.

The world's No. 1 miner by market value forecast steady iron-ore production for the year ahead, and said it should again produce more copper and less coal.

The company on Wednesday said it produced 259.7 million metric tons of iron ore in the 12 months through June, up 1% on a year earlier. Iron ore, used to make steel, accounts for the bulk of BHP's earnings.

The miner has been ramping up production from its newest, and biggest, iron ore mine--the South Flank operation in Australia's iron-rich Pilbara region. BHP is the world's third-biggest producer of iron ore, after Rio Tinto and Vale.

It has also been lifting its copper output, aided by last year's $6 billion takeover of Oz Minerals. The company increased annual copper production to nearly 1.9 million tons, up 9% on year, in large part because of the addition of Oz Minerals's Prominent Hill and Carrapateena mines.


Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-16-24 1906ET