Resourcing the future
The world is confronting supply constraints for energy and mineral resources. We are continuing our efforts to meet these needs through a deep inventory of growth options. Our primary objective is to deliver the projects that will provide greater amounts of our products, as fast as possible, to a resources-hungry world.
For several years now, emerging Asian economies have accounted for a substantial proportion of global growth. This year, China alone will account for more global growth than has the United States and this growth will drive the course of the world economy for years to come.
As part of achieving remarkable rates of economic growth, China is successfully reducing poverty across its population of more than one billion people.
To achieve this growth, China and other fast-developing economies rely on natural resources that, for the most part, they have to import. These resources include iron ore, copper, nickel, alumina, manganese, coal, oil and gas. BHP Billiton produces and supplies the developing economies with these natural resources.
As the world's leading resources company, we are central to the growth of the world’s developing economies.
We really are resourcing the future.
Alberto Calderon
Chief Commercial Officer
The economic growth of China is seeing the greatest move of people from rural areas to cities in the history of the world. Existing cities are growing and new ones are being created. In 2005, China had 84 major cities with populations of at least 1.5 million people. By 2020, the number of major Chinese cities is expected to reach 143. This growth has huge implications for the world’s minerals, metals and energy sectors. It explains why we are so bullish on the long-term demand growth for all our products and why BHP Billiton is positioned to benefit from this demand.
We are the only natural resources company to offer a full range of mineral and energy products. China needs increasing amounts of iron ore, manganese, copper, nickel, alumina and metallurgical coal. It also needs oil, gas, energy coal and uranium. We produce and supply all these commodities.
Other growing Asian economies have their own requirements. For example, India is growing at a rate of around nine per cent per annum and is a strong consumer of our metallurgical coal, which it uses with its own domestic sources of iron ore to make steel. India also buys copper concentrates, manganese ores and energy coal from us to support its economic growth and development.
This unprecedented demand brings opportunities for our industry, but it has also created challenges. The world is confronting supply constraints for both energy and mineral resources. While there are enough resources to satisfy the world’s appetite, the industry has not moved quickly enough to meet the growth in demand. Our primary objective is to deliver the projects that will provide greater amounts of our products, as fast as possible, to a resources-hungry world.