Marius Kloppers declines to comment on Ferrous Resources, says targets cheaper

BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers has declined to comment on speculation thchina made vertical mills for salee mining giant was interested in purchasing Brazilian iron-ore producer Ferrous Resources.

At the company's annual general meeting in London yesterday, Mr Kloppers said the company had heaps of iron-ore resources to develop but noted valuations on resource companies have come down a lot. BHP continues to invest in expanding its iron ore supply despite falling iron ore prices and plans to invest more than $US80 billion over the next five years in a variety of organic growth projects. It has also invested close to $US20bn this year in US shale gas and liquids through the acquisition of Petrohawk Energy and Chesapeake Energy's interest in the Fayetteville Shale. Mr Kloppers said BHP's order books are still full and industrial demand in the developing world remains healthy, but he cautioned customers are...