BHP chief executive Mike Henry believes the company has performed at its best at some operations under COVID-19 conditions.
Henry, speaking at a Bank of America metals, mining and steel conference, credited this to “the quality of the people we have”.
“This defies the challenges presented by COVID-19 while keeping costs controlled.”
Henry believes that having a higher proportion of workforce who are BHP employees will help the company to be safer and higher performing.
“They have really doubled down in ensuring that we all stay safe and that we perform well,” the chief executive, who is also BHP’s former group executive for health, safety, environment and community, said.
“… Around whether longer rosters are creating challenges for people, yes, they are, and that is something that we are really attuned to.”
BHP continued with its regular surveys, which attracted responses from over 20,000 employees to help the company address any issues.
Henry said the management took actions on a short-cycle basis and launched a question and information hotline to address concerns quickly.
“The only growth that matters is value growth, and we are never too big for that,” he said.
“We are driving safer, more reliable, lower-cost and more productive operations. In fact, I would say our size enables us to grow value at scale.”
BHP also announced further reductions in its operational emissions, with a science-based 2030 target that will be announced later this year.