BHP Abandons Thermal Coal Exit as Investors and Prices Shift

Top miner to retain Australia mine and close asset by mid-2030

·         Sales process for Mt Arthur failed to attract a viable offer

June 16, 2022, 6:01 AM GMT+5:30Updated onJune 16, 2022, 1:48 PM GMT+5:30

BHP Group u-turned on its plan to exit from thermal coal, after surging prices made the assets more valuable and a shift in investor attitudes has reduced pressure on the company to stop mining the dirtiest fuel.

The world’s biggest resources companies and their shareholders have been grappling for years with the question of whether to get out of the fossil-fuel business. BHP already sold out of a giant coal mine in Colombia and its biggest rival, Rio Tinto Group, completely exited coal years ago, while top shipper Glencore Plc says it will hold onto its mines until they run out of coal sometime before 2050.