BHP Billiton has completed its acquisition of the HWE Mining subsidiaries which provide contract mining services to its Western Australia Iron Ore operations.
The acquisition from Leighton Holdings follows a previously announced Heads of Agreement signed on 9 August 2011, relating to the mining equipment and related assets that service the Area C, Yandi and Orebody 23/25 operations which collectively account for almost 70 per cent of Western Australia Iron Ore’s total material movement.
“With the legal and due diligence processes now complete, our primary focus moves to ensuring the integration of the highly skilled workforce into the BHP Billiton business in a safe and efficient manner,” said Ian Ashby, BHP Billiton President, Iron Ore.
The acquisition is consistent with BHP Billiton’s previously stated intention to move the Western Australia Iron Ore business from contract mining to owner-operator mining.
Transitioning to an owner operator in this way, rather than by replacing contractors through direct recruitment, is seen as a lower risk strategy by BHP, as it would be a challenge to replace the highly skilled and long serving HWE employees in the current environment.
