Activists stalk BHP Billiton
The mining giant faces calls for changes in the way it operates and big bills in Brazil for the Samarco dam failure
Global diversified resources group BHP Billiton, once the shining icon of the sector, is wobbling on its pedestal. The AGMs in London this week and in Melbourne on November 16 are likely to hear renewed calls from shareholders for structural changes and greater accountability at the mining company. BHP’s shares have risen 22% on the JSE in the past year, lagging well behind Glencore’s 68% surge and Anglo American’s 54%. Criticism from shareholders, as well as an unquantified but undoubtedly large claim related to the failure of a dam at its Samarco project in Brazil in November 2015, hang over the firm. Billiton, which retained its JSE listing after spinning out its SA operating assets into South32 in 2015, has copper, coal, iron ore, petroleum and potash mines and projects, mainly in Australia and the Americas. The Public Investment Corp (PIC) holds just under 3% of the shares after a recent sale of part of its stake, and the Industrial Development Corp holds 1.6%. Other SA institu...
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