BHP chief commercial officer Rag Udd says Chinese steel makers will maintain current production rates for several more years and that iron ore prices should remain above $80 a tonne, bolstered by growing demand in new sectors such as electric vehicles.

China was the source of 62 per cent of BHP’s revenue last year, with Chinese steel makers consuming most of the iron ore mined by BHP in Western Australia’s Pilbara region and a small portion of the coking coal mined in Queensland.