BHP Squeezes Lemon in Bid to Beat Rio as Low-Cost Iron Ore Miner
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BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, unveiled an ambitious plan to usurp Rio Tinto Group’s position as the most profitable iron-ore supplier by expanding its output by 30 percent.
“Our aspiration is to be the all-in lowest-cost producer, but at the moment it is Rio,” Jimmy Wilson, head of Melbourne-based BHP’s iron ore unit, told reporters from Perth Oct. 3. “This is the name of the game in the industry. We are driving towards that irrespective of Rio.”