BHP to focus on cost cuts, patient on M&A Van Jaarsveld backed BHP’s view that nickel sulphides remain the most attractive ore to own, because conversion costs to higher purities are cheaper than with laterites, despite a steady decline in nickel production costs in Indonesia, the world’s top supplier of nickel from laterite.
He acknowledged this year’s 36% slump in LME nickel prices and said the miner regularly reviews its commodity outlook.
“There has been a lot of (price) volatility and I think there has been more coming out of Indonesia than I think a lot of folks expected. As we sit here today, we haven’t changed our view on nickel,” he said.
For BHP to engage in a buyout, it would need to consider price, ease of jurisdiction, and opportunity to add value, among other factors, but then would need to think about which assets it would have to divest.
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