BHP’s Mt Arthur is the largest individual coal production site in the NSW Hunter Valley. Credit: BHP.

Mining major BHP is reportedly planning to exit from coal with the divestment of its thermal coal business, which includes assets in Australia and Colombia.

As the first step of this move, the company left the World Coal Association (WCA) last year.

Related Company Profiles

View all

BHP cited differences on climate change as the primary reason for ending its membership in the WCA group.

The company has two thermal coal units, NSW Energy Coal in Australia and Cerrejón in Colombia. The company’s coal businesses generated only 4% of its earnings this year.

BHP chief financial officer Peter Beaven stated earlier this year that the company was eyeing at alternatives to remove fossil fuel from its project portfolio.

Beaven further added that the company’s focus would be on commodities that enable the electrification of transport, as well as the decarbonisation of stationary power such as copper and nickel.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News that Macquarie Group and JPMorgan Chase are seen as frontrunners to propose a sales process for the assets.

Recently, BHP’s main rivals Rio Tinto and Anglo American offloaded all or a portion of their coal assets in response to increasing pressure from institutional investors worried about global warming.

The WCA supports the ten principles of the UN Global Compact with respect to human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

This May, a British court found BHP ‘woefully negligent‘ over structural weaknesses of its Fundão dam in Brazil with the facility’s collapse in 2015, which released 55 million cubic metres of iron ore tailings into the local environment and killed 19 people.