BHP shares have risen after the company revealed it would return $14.7 billion to shareholders

BHP shares have risen after the mining giant said it would return $14.7 billion to shareholders in the form of an off-market buyback and special dividend.

BHP Olympic Dam asset president Laura Tyler. Pic. The Australian / Luis Enrique Ascui

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BHP shares have risen after the mining giant said it would return $US10.4 billion ($14.7 billion) to shareholders in the form of an off-market buyback and special dividend.

The company, which in July promised to give shareholders the $US10.5 billion generated by the sale of its US onshore assets, said it would immediately start a $US5.2 billion buyback.

That would be followed by a $US5.2 billion special dividend to be calculated on December 17 - the company said - following the completion of the buyback.

Chief executive Andrew Mackenzie, who announced the move after BHP completed the sale of its interests in Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Permian Onshore US oil and gas assets to BP’s local unit, said shareholders will have pocketed $US21 billion over two years once the cash was handed over.

“We made a commitment that all the net proceeds from the disposal of our onshore US assets would be returned to shareholders and we are honouring that commitment now that the sale transactions have been completed,” he said.

BHP shares closed 90c, or 2.8 per cent, higher today at $33.11.

Meanwhile, Olympic Dam asset president Laura Tyler delivered a speech at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Melbourne today, outlining the importance of sustainability in modern mining.

Ms Tyler pointed to a CSIRO study published last year, which showed that 60 per cent of Australians believed mining had a negative impact on the environment.

“In other words, people know they need mining, but they don’t always like it,” she said.

“And if the industry holds a reputation for putting profit before people – and damaging but not remediating the environment – we will lose trust.”

She said Olympic Dam had implemented several initiatives to minimise its impact on the environment, including contributing to about 235,000 megalitres in water savings in the region since 1999.

“The extraction of water for industrial and agricultural use reduces the water pressure and causes lower environmental flows to artesian springs that arise from it,” she said.

“We’re capping, repairing and restoring uncontrolled bores in order to offset the impact on water pressures in the vicinity of these springs.”