This morning BHP Billiton Limited [ASX:BHP] fell 1.01%.
Despite the small drop, they have been growing in shares for a whole year. This time last year they were valued at $24.31 a share, now they are worth $28.41 a share.
As one of the largest mining companies in Australia, BHP currently have a massive market cap valued at $150.66 billion and even larger enterprise value at $169.25 billion.
At this time, their profit margin is at 11.39% with an operating margin at 29.75%.
New desalination plant
A new plant being developed in Latin America has been described as an important step forward for BHP Billiton.
The plant will be a new addition to the company’s prior plant located in the area which has been operating for about 12 years.
BHP’s new desalination plant will be key to BHP’s water strategy, which aims to increase the overall usage of desalinated water, while also recovering larger amounts of water from its processes which will result in reducing withdraws from aquifers.
An investment valued at US$3,430 was required to build the plant, which consisted of two pipelines which have the ability to transport water at 3,200 metres above sea level.
The president of BHP minerals, Daniel Malchuk stated:
‘This plant reflects our deeply held belief that it is possible to practice sustainable mining, which is both an ethical imperative and a fundamental condition for the business. In Chile, we aspire to cease using fresh water altogether as from 2030. We have progressed in this transition and will continue to do so gradually over the next ten years.’
Regards,
Ryan Clarkson-Ledward,
For Money Morning
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