BHP chair Ken Mackenzie says elections, protectionism making world volatile

BHP’s long-serving chairman Ken Mackenzie has told an annual meeting the global mining giant can weather the woes of inflation, a slowing Chinese economy and erratic commodity prices.

The Big Australian held its annual general meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday, less than a week after it finalised a $45 billion settlement with Brazilian authorities over a dam disaster that caused a giant mudslide killing 19 people back in 2015.

Mr Mackenzie, who has been chair of BHP since 2017, assured the miner was “committed” to supporting rehabilitation funds “to do what’s right for the people, communities and environment affected.”

On the miner’s operations, he said the company was positioning itself for a world that had become “increasingly volatile”.

“Over the past year, the world has experienced ongoing humanitarian crises in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, threats to the continued expansion of global trade by a new wave of protectionism, and a range of consequential elections across the globe that are reshaping the policy landscape,” he said.

“In our operations, we are also seeing the lagging effects of inflation, uneven recovery in China and supply side surpluses for some commodities which is contributing to price volatility.

“In our view, the best way to create enduring value for shareholders amid all this turbulence is to hold a mix of high quality, resilient assets, and to run them exceptionally well.”

According to AAP, some 500 protesters have descended on the annual meeting to decry the company’s use of labour hire and climate action credentials.

More to come.