On January 18th, BHP Billiton (BHP) announced that in the first half of the 2023-24 fiscal year (July-December 2023), their thermal coal production in New South Wales was 7.5 million tons, a 36% increase from the previous year. As labor restrictions eased and weather conditions improved, the company’s operating performance and coal production improved, with the thermal coal business performing the best in five years.
During the same period, BHP Billiton’s thermal coal export sales were 7.56 million tons, a 42.6% increase from the previous year. From October to December 2023, BHP Billiton’s thermal coal output was 3.9 million tons, a 35% increase from the previous year and a 7% increase from the previous month. Export coal sales were 4.25 million tons, a 48.6% increase from the previous year and a 28.4% increase from the previous month.
The announcement also revealed that the company’s average sales price of thermal coal from July to December was US$123.29/ton, lower than the previous six months and significantly lower than the same period last year. For the 2023-24 fiscal year ending in June 2024, BHP Billiton’s thermal coal production target is 13-15 million tons, and the company expects to reach the upper limit of the target.
