1. BHP Billiton
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quot;Billitonquot; redirects here. For the Indonesian island formerly known as Billiton, see Belitung.
BHP Billiton Limited & PLC
Public (LSE: BLT)
(NYSE: BHP), (NYSE: BBL),
Type
(ASX:BHP) & (JSE: BIBLT)
Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP)
1895;
Billiton plc 1860;
Founded
Merger of BHP & Billiton 2001
(creation of a DLC)
Melbourne, Australia
Headquarters
Worldwide
Area served
Marius Kloppers (CEO)
Key people
Don Argus (Chairman)
Iron, Diamonds, Coal, Manganese, Gold,
Petroleum, Aluminium, Copper, Nickel,
Products
Uranium & Silver

2. US$ 137.45 Billion (2008)
Market cap
▲ US$ 59.473 Billion (2008)[1]
Revenue
Operating
▲ US$ 23.483 Billion (2008)
income
▲ US$ 15.962 Billion (2008)
Profit
▲ US$ 75.889 Billion (2008)
Total assets
▲ US$ 39.043 Billion (2008)
Total equity
33,861 (2007)
Employees
bhpbilliton.com
Website
BHP Billiton is the world's largest mining company.[2] It was created in 2001 by the merger of
Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and the UK's Billiton, which had a Dutch
and South African background.[3] The result is a dual-listed company with head offices in
Melbourne and London. BHP Billiton Limited, which is the majority partner in the dual-listed
structure, is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. BHP Billiton Plc is listed on the
London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Contents
1 History
o 1.1 Broken Hill Proprietary Company
o 1.2 Billiton
o 1.3 BHP Billiton Mergers and Acquisitions
o 1.4 Recent history
2 Operations
3 Corporate structure
o 3.1 Management
o 3.2 Angola accident
4 Mines and processing facilities
5 See also
6 References

3. 7 External links
[edit] History
[edit] Broken Hill Proprietary Company
Former Broken Hill Proprietary Company corporate logo.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company or BHP was incorporated in 1885, operating the silver
and lead mine at Broken Hill in western New South Wales.[4] In 1915, the company ventured into
steel manufacturing, with its operations based primarily in Newcastle, New South Wales. The
company's corporate offices are located in Melbourne, Victoria.[5] It is also known by the
nickname quot;the Big Australianquot;.[6]
The company began petroleum exploration in the 1960s with discoveries in Bass Strait, an
activity which became an increasing focus.[7]
BHP began to diversify offshore in a variety of projects. One project was the Ok Tedi copper
mine in Papua New Guinea, where the company was successfully sued by the indigenous
inhabitants because of the environmental degradation caused by the mine operations.[8] BHP had
better success with the giant Escondida copper mine in Chile (57.5% owned) and the Ekati
Diamond Mine in northern Canada.[9]
The inefficiencies of what was, by global standards, a small steel operation in Newcastle finally
caught up with the company and the Newcastle operations were closed in 1999.[10] The 'long
products' side of the steel business was spun off to form OneSteel in 2000.[11]
In 2001, BHP merged with the Billiton mining company to form BHP Billiton, the largest
mining company in the world. In 2002, the 'flat products' steel business was spun off to form
BHP Steel. In 2003, BHP Steel changed its name to BlueScope Steel.[5]
[edit] Billiton
Former Billiton corporate logo.
Billiton was a mining company whose origins stretch back to 29 September 1860, when the
articles of association were approved by a meeting of shareholders in the Groot Keizerhof hotel
in The Hague, Netherlands.[12]

4. Two months later, the company acquired the mineral rights to tin-rich islands of Banka and
Billiton in the Indonesian archipelago, off the eastern coast of Sumatra.[12]
Billiton's initial business forays included tin and lead smelting in The Netherlands, followed in
the 1940s by bauxite mining in Indonesia and Suriname. In 1970, Royal Dutch/Shell acquired
Billiton and accelerated the scope of progress of this growth.[12] The tin and lead smelter in
Arnhem, Netherlands was shut down in the 1980s.
In 1994 Gencor acquired the mining division of Billiton excluding the downstream metal
division.[13] Billiton was divested from Gencor in 1997.[14] In 1997, Billiton Plc became a
constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.[12]
Throughout the 1990s and beyond, Billiton Plc experienced considerable growth. Its portfolio
included aluminium smelters in South Africa and Mozambique, nickel operations in Australia
and Colombia, base metals mines in South America, Canada and South Africa, coal mines in
Australia, Colombia and South Africa, as well as interests in operations in Brazil, Suriname,
Australia (aluminium) and South Africa (titanium minerals and steel and ferroalloys).
In 2001 Billiton Plc merged with the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) to form BHP
Billiton.[3]
[edit] BHP Billiton Mergers and Acquisitions
In March 2005, Billiton announced a US$7.3 billion agreed bid for another mining company
WMC Resources, owners of the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia, nickel
operations in Western Australia and Queensland, and a fertiliser plant also in Queensland. The
takeover achieved 90% acceptance on 17 June 2005, and 100% ownership was announced on 2
August 2005, achieved through compulsory acquisition of the last 10% of the shares.[15]
On November 8, 2007, BHP Billiton announced it was seeking to purchase rival mining group
Rio Tinto Group in an all-share deal. The initial offer of 3.34 shares of BHP Billiton stock for
each share of Rio Tinto was rejected by the board of Rio Tinto for quot;significantly undervaluingquot;
the company. It was unknown at the time if BHP Billiton would attempt to purchase Rio Tinto
through some form of hostile takeover[16]; however, CEO Marius Kloppers met with many of
Rio's shareholders since the announcement and reiterated that the offer for Rio was quot;compellingquot;
and that BHP Billiton is very quot;patient.quot; [17] A formal hostile bid of 3.4 BHP Billiton shares for
each Rio Tinto share was announced on February 6, 2008. [18] The bid was withdrawn on
November 25, 2008 due to a global recession. [19]
On May 14, 2008, BHP Billiton shares rose to a record high of AU $48.90 after speculation that
Chinese mining firm Chinalco was considering purchasing a large stake. BHP representatives
refused to comment.[20]
On November 25, 2008. Billiton announced that it would drop its $66 billion takeover of rival
Rio Tinto Group saying that the quot;risks to shareholder valuequot; would quot;increasequot; to quot;an
unacceptable levelquot; due to the global financial crisis.[21]

5. [edit] Recent history
On January 21, 2009 the company announced a response to the global financial crisis; BHP
Billiton plans to close the Ravensthorpe mine and associated Yabulu nickel plant in Australia,
close the Pinto Valley mine in the United States, lay off a total of 6,000 employees, and scale
back on some projects.[22]
[edit] Operations
The company operates a wide variety of mining and processing operations in 25 countries,
employing approximately 38,000 people.
The company has nine primary operational units:
Iron ore
Manganese
Petroleum
Aluminium
Base Metals (primary products include copper, lead, zinc and uranium)
Metallurgical Coal
Thermal Coal
Stainless Steel Materials (nickel and cobalt)
Diamonds & Speciality Products (diamonds and titanium minerals)
[edit] Corporate structure
The Australian BHP Billiton Limited and the British BHP Billiton Plc list separately with
separate shareholder bodies but they operate as one business with identical boards of directors
and a single management structure. The headquarters are in Melbourne, Australia. The company
has other key offices in London, Perth, Johannesburg, Santiago, Singapore, Shanghai, Houston
and The Hague.
The company's shares trade on the following exchanges:[23]
BHP Billiton Limited
o Australia (ASX:BHP)
o Germany (Frankfurt)
o Switzerland (Zurich)
o US (NYSE: BHP)
BHP Billiton plc
o UK (LSE: BLT)
o South Africa (JSE: BIL)
o US (NYSE: BBL)
[edit] Management

6. After the merger between BHP and Billiton in 2001, Brian Gilbertson of Billiton was appointed
CEO. In 2003, after just six months at the helm, he abruptly stepped down, citing irreconcilable
differences with the boards.[24]
Upon Gilbertson's resignation, Chip Goodyear was announced as the new CEO. He continued in
that role until his retirement on September 30, 2007. Marius Kloppers is his immediate successor
CEO.[25]
[edit] Angola accident
Inclement weather caused a BHP Billiton helicopter to crash in Angola on November 16, 2007,
killing the helicopter's five passengers, including BHP's chief operation officer in Angola, David
Hopgood. The helicopter went down about 80 km/50 miles from Alto Cuilo Camp, a diamond
mining site the employees wanted to visit. BHP Billiton responded by suspending operations in
the country. The company is investigating the incident.[26]
[edit] Mines and processing facilities
Algeria
o Ohanet gas field
o ROD gas field
Angola
o Diamond exploration
Australia
o Appin, New South Wales
o Bass Strait, Victoria, 50% owned
o Blackwater, Queensland
o Broadmeadow, Queensland
o Cannington, Queensland
o Dendrobium, New South Wales
o Elouera, New South Wales
o Goonyella/Riverside, Queensland
o Gregory/Crinum, Queensland
o Griffin, Western Australia, 45% owned
o Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory
o Hunter Valley, New South Wales
o Jimblebar , Western Australia
o Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
o Kambalda, Western Australia
o Kwinana, Western Australia
o Leinster, Western Australia
o Minerva offshore, Victoria, 90% owned
o Mining Area C , Western Australia
o Mount Keith, Western Australia
o Mount Whaleback, Western Australia

7. o North West Shelf Venture, Western Australia, 16.67% LNG phase, 8.33%
domestic gas phase
o Norwich Park, Queensland
o Olympic Dam, South Australia
o Ore Body 18 , Western Australia
o Ore Body 23/25 , Western Australia
o Peak Downs, Queensland
o Port Hedland, Western Australia
o Ravensthorpe, Western Australia
o Saraji, Queensland
o George Town, Tasmania
o West Cliff, New South Wales
o Worsley, Western Australia
o Yabulu, Queensland, nickel refinery
o Yandi, Western Australia
o Yarrie , Western Australia
Brazil
o Alumar aluminum smelter/refinery - Sao Luis
o Samarco iron ore mine and pelletizing plant - Belo Horizonte
Canada
o Ekati Diamond Mine
o Potash Development, Saskatchewan
Chile
o Escondida
o Cerro Colorado
o Spence
Colombia
o Cerrejón, 33.3% owned coal mine in Guajira department
o Cerro Matoso, ferronickel mine in Córdoba department
Guinea
o Sangaredi 33.3% interest in bauxite mine and alumina refinery (currently in
feasibility study)
Indonesia
o Wetar gold mine
Iraq
o Halfaya oil field
Mozambique
o Mozal, aluminum smelter
New Zealand
o Glenbrook, steel mill
Pakistan
o Zamzama gas field
Papua New Guinea
o (until 2002) Ok Tedi Mine, copper, cause of a large-scale ecological disaster
down the Ok Tedi and Fly rivers
Peru

8. o Antamina
South Africa
o Bayside, 100% owned aluminium smelter in Richards Bay
o Hillside, 100% owned aluminium smelter in Richards Bay
o Ingwe Coal, comprises several coal mines in the Witbank area in Mpumalanga
o Manganese Metal Company, largest electrolytic manganese production facility in
the world situated in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
o Metalloys manganese production facility in Meyerton area in Gauteng
o HMM (Hotazel Manganese Mines) including Mamatwan and Wessels mines near
Hotazel in the Northern Cape
Suriname
o Kaaimangrassie bauxite mine
o Coermotibo bauxite mine
o Caramacca bauxite mine
o Klaverblad bauxite mine
Trinidad & Tobago
o Angostura oil & gas field
United Kingdom
o Liverpool Bay oil & gas field
USA
o New Mexico Coal Company, coal mine in New Mexico consisting of San Juan
and Navajo mine
o Southwest Copper, Arizona
o San Manuel, Arizona
o Pinto Valley, Arizona
o Gulf of Mexico, Oil and Gas field (Shenzi & Neptune fields)
o Resolution, Arizona
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
The United Nations Environment Programme has noted that BHP’s Ok Tedi mine site’s
“uncontrolled discharge of 70 million tonnes of waste rock and mine tailings annually has spread
more than 1 000 km (621 miles) down the Ok Tedi and Fly rivers, raising river beds and causing
flooding, sediment deposition, forest damage, and a serious decline in the area's biodiversity.[27]
The resulting devastation caused by the mining of Ok Tedi has included the loss of fish, a vital
food source for the local community; loss of forest and crops due to flooding and; the loss of
“areas of deep spiritual value for villagers are now submerged in mine tailings.”[28]
[edit] See also
Ok Tedi Environmental Disaster
[edit] References

9. 1. ^ quot;BHP Billiton Key Information FY2007quot; (PDF).
http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRepository/bhpbkeyinfo07.pdf.
2. ^ quot;Another record profit for BHPquot;. ABC News. 2007-08-22.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/22/2012367.htm. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
3. ^ a b BHP Billiton merger confirmed
4. ^ Australian Business Records
5. ^ a b BlueScope Steel
6. ^ Shrinking the Big Australian
7. ^ History of Petroleum Exploration in Victoria
8. ^ The big, ugly Australian goes to Ok Tedi
9. ^ Discovery of Diamonds in North West Territories
10. ^ Steel City without the Big Australian
11. ^ One Steel
12. ^ a b c d Billiton History
13. ^ Shell Unit Sells Assets To Gencor
14. ^ Gencor pops champagne
15. ^ quot;BHP Billiton to mop up minority in WMC after taking over 90 pctquot;. Forbes.com. 2005-06-17.
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2005/06/17/afx2098254.html. Retrieved on August 13.
16. ^ quot;BHP makes £120bn Rio bid approachquot;. BBC News Online (BBC). 2007-11-08.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7084946.stm. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
17. ^ quot;BHP won't be drawn on a Rio sweetenerquot; (in English). FT.com (Financial Times). 2007-11-28.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fe0b3904-9d88-11dc-9f68-0000779fd2ac.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-
28.
18. ^ quot;BHP makes bid for Rioquot; (in English). The Age. 2008-02-06.
http://business.theage.com.au/bhp-makes-bid-for-rio/20080206-1qgf.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-
06.
19. ^ Keenan, Rebecca (2008-11-25). quot;BHP Withdraws $66 Billion Stock Offer for Rio Tintoquot;.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acb0npgKQrEw&refer=home.
Retrieved on 2008-11-25.
20. ^ quot;BHP hits record on talk of Chinese buyerquot;. uk.reuters.com. 2008-05-14.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKSYD5330620080514?pageNumber=1
&virtualBrandChannel=0. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
21. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/3517199/BHP-Billiton-
withdraws-66bn-bid-for-rival-miner-Rio-Tinto.html
22. ^ Chambers, Matt. quot;BHP axes 6000 jobs and cuts projects.quot; The Australian. January 22, 2009.
23. ^ quot;SEC Form 20-F, BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton plc, for FY 2007quot; (PDF). BHP
Billiton. 2007-09-26. p. 274.
http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRepository/20fstatement2007.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-04-
09.
24. ^ quot;BHP chief in shock resignationquot;. CNN.com. 2003-01-05.
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/asia/01/05/australia.BHP.biz/index.html. Retrieved on
2007-07-13.
25. ^ quot;BHP Billiton To Appoint Marius Kloppers As New CEOquot;. BHP Billiton. 2007-05-31.
http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/investorsMedia/news/2007/bhpBillitonToAppointMariusKloppers
AsNewCeo.jsp. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
26. ^ Macdonald-Smith, Angela (2007-11-18). quot;BHP Suspends Operations in Angola After Fatal
Helicopter Crashquot; (in English). Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=af60OwUCJix8. Retrieved on 2007-
11-18.
27. ^ United Nations Environment Programme Accessed on 16/12/07.
28. ^ Australian Conservation Foundation, “Leaving the scene of the mine”

10. [edit] External links
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Australian Securities Exchange BHP Billiton Limited (BHP) stock quote
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