We won’t go cool on coal just yet, says BHP’s Mike Henry

BHP chief executive Mike Henry has backed metallurgical coal for the long term and believes demand will be needed ‘for a long time yet’.

BHP chief executive Mike Henry ahead of the company's half-year results in February. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

BHP chief executive Mike Henry has backed metallurgical coal for the long term and believes the ­demand for thermal coal will be needed “for a long time yet” in tandem with the use of new technologies, including carbon capture and storage.

With the mining giant moving to reposition its thermal coal business, Mr Henry told The Australian that advancements in CCS, which were being applied overseas, could also be used to support mining operations in Australia.

“You’ve got coal for steelmaking, coal for power generation. In the case of coal for steelmaking … as they seek to reduce their emissions intensity they’re going to need more high-quality, hard coking coal,” Mr Henry said.

“That’s the sort of coal that Australia has — the premier coal. For us, we said we like that, we are committed to that part of the BHP business.”

Mr Henry said the continued development of other coal would need to be supported by “new technologies” such as CCS, which was prioritised in Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s technology investment roadmap last month.

“There’s a global effort under way to develop that technology and that includes here in Australia,” he said.

Industry Miniser Karen Andrews at the unveiling of a $95m support package for Sea Worl. Picture: Jerad Williams

Following calls from Industry Minister Karen Andrews for a new national approach on research and improved collaboration between government agencies, universities and the private sector, the BHP boss said there was “big opportunity” in the commercialisation of research.

“We’re a company that is so ­focused on productivity. Any effort we apply we want to apply for greatest return. I think there’s always a space for exploration, and for people to be applying their minds to things that maybe we don’t currently realise that we need,” he said.

“Just like I’ve spoken about with the MET sector, there’s an opportunity for collaboration between the higher education sector and business to help both ensure that in the higher education sector they understand the skills that will be needed.

“As they’re applying those skills, then they can apply them through real-world problems, which helps both with the education and learning side of things and also potentially as a pull through to commercialisation as you see in the US and to some ­extent in the UK.”

METS Ignited chief executive Adrian Beer, who works with suppliers to the mining industry, research organisations and capital providers, said the mining equipment, technology and services sector was well-placed to provide a “pipeline of products and services that could be developed in Australia within a high value manufacturing sector”.

“As the world’s leading mining economy, the technology developed by METS companies within our resource sector is a key area of competitive advantage,” Mr Beer told The Australian.

BHP on Thursday said it would commit up to $450m on contracts with Australian METS firms and advancing the sector.