BHP Billiton Limited (ASX:BHP) is putting a knife to iron ore costs as it tackles the declining price of the steel making commodity.
BHP has outlined plans to cut unit costs at its West Australian operations by at least 25 per cent and increase capacity by 65 million tonnes per annum.
The global diversified miner has announced the initiatives ahead of an iron ore briefing and site tour in the state for analysts and investors this week.
BHP's iron ore president Jimmy Wilson has noted healthy demand growth for iron ore in the mid-term and forecasts Chinese steel production is expected to increase by about 25 per cent to between 1 and 1.1 billion tonnes by the early to mid-2020s.
The report comes as the price of iron ore hit a five-year low of $US77.50 per tonne after sinking more than 40 per cent over this year.
BHP Billiton reported a net profit of $16.16 billion in the full 2014 financial year.
