[miningmx.com] – BHP BILLITON CEO, Andrew Mackenzie, said the group would reduce capital expenditure to $15bn a year in two to three years from $22m a year currently.
Speaking at the Melbourne Mining Club dinner in London, MacKenzie said that BHP Billiton expected capex of $18bn in 2014 financial year, and $15bn in two to three years.
He added that the group was not committed to spending at these levels, if there were not “sufficient compelling reasons for investment”.
MacKenzie said commodity demand had remained healthy and that he had received assurances from the China’s premier that the Chinese government was committed to urbanisation and economic growth of around 7% over the next five years.
Mackenzie stated that its suite of commodities mirrored the changing demand patterns of growing nations, starting with steelmaking, copper, and fertilizers.
For this reason, its Jansen potash project remains attractive, but Mackenzie added that the economics of the project would have to stack up against competing projects.
