The world’s top miner, BHP Billiton, said yesterday it had uncovered evidence of possible corruption linked to mineral exploration projects and has handed the information to US authorities.
The Anglo-Australian giant said it was also conducting an internal probe into the matter, which involves “interaction” with government officials surrounding some projects.
“The company has disclosed to relevant authorities evidence that it has uncovered regarding possible violations of applicable anti-corruption laws involving interactions with government officials,” a statement said.
“Accordingly, the company is cooperating with the relevant authorities including conducting an internal investigation, which is continuing,” it said.
A spokeswoman refused to reveal where the alleged violations took place, but said it was not China, where four Rio Tinto staff were jailed for bribery and commercial espionage last month.
She said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had requested information related to “relatively small” exploration contracts which were terminated about a year ago.
“We’re talking about a couple of relatively small minerals exploration projects, the last of which was terminated about a year ago on commercial grounds,” the spokeswoman said.
“Only after that, in August last year, did we get an inquiry from the SEC asking us to do some internal investigations, which we did commence at that point,” she said.
“We have recently uncovered some evidence we have given to the SEC, and we are involved in ongoing internal investigations and cooperating fully with the SEC on this issue,” she said.
BHP made the announcement as it released third-quarter production figures that were slightly below expectations.
The company, which recently negotiated with most of its Asian iron ore customers to switch from annual contracts to index-based prices, said iron ore and metallurgical coal production had been impacted by weather disruptions.
Iron ore production for the quarter ending on March 31 was 31.16 million tonnes — down 4 percent on second quarter output but 11 percent ahead of that of a year earlier.
Production of metallurgical coal at Queensland mines was hit by tropical Cyclone Ului, leaving total production up 7 percent compared with last year, but down 8 percent on the second quarter at 8.16 million tonnes.
Record petroleum production was achieved for the nine months to March 31, following the successful start-up of the Pyrenees operation in Australia and the strong performance of projects in the US, BHP said.
“At first glance, BHP Billiton looks to have reported a mixed set of production numbers for the March 2010 quarter,” IG Markets market strategist Ben Potter said.
“Total petroleum production looks to have come in shy of analysts’ expectations despite a third consecutive year-to-date production record,” he said.
“However, a stronger-than-expected performance from the base metals unit would have partially offset this weakness,” Potter said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their
UNSCHEDULED VISIT: ‘It’s a very bulky new neighbor, but it will soon go away,’ said Johan Helberg of the 135m container ship that run aground near his house A man in Norway awoke early on Thursday to discover a huge container ship had run aground a stone’s throw from his fjord-side house — and he had slept through the commotion. For an as-yet unknown reason, the 135m NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg’s house in a fjord near Trondheim in central Norway. Helberg only discovered the unexpected visitor when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone. “The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don’t like to open,” Helberg told television
RSS