BHP Billiton is an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It is the world’s largest mining company measured by 2013 revenues.
BHP Billiton was created in 2001 through the merger of the Australian Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) and the Anglo–Dutch Billiton plc. The result is a dual-listed company. The Australia-registered BHP Billiton Limited, which has equal financial share in the company, has a primary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange and is the largest company in Australia measured by market capitalisation. The UK-registered BHP Billiton Plc has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £41.5 billion ($69.5 billion) as of 19 August 2014. On August 19, 2014, BHP Billiton announced the company would be split in two. A newly formed entity named NewCo would house the company’s non-core assets. Capitalized at $15 billion, the new entity would be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
BHP Billiton Gives Free Service : We are committed to making a positive contribution to society
We believe that in addition to operating a responsible and ethical business, we can make a broader contribution to the communities, regions and nations in which we operate, thereby strengthening society. We are committed to achieving this through engagement and advocacy on important issues and by supporting targeted development areas to benefit the communities where we operate. By strengthening and building more resilient societies, we are helping create a sustainable future.
Our approach to disaster relief
We form strong ties with the communities we work within and we are quick to respond when they are in times of need.
If disaster occurs in regions where we operate, we provide direct financial support and pitch in to provide in-kind assistance where appropriate, such as supplying equipment to clear away debris, providing transport and logistics expertise and volunteering in clean-up activities.
We support organisations participating in emergency relief efforts to help restore people’s basic needs, such as food, shelter, water, security and medical aid. Longer term, our support is directed at rebuilding infrastructure and helping people re-establish their livelihoods.
Relief aid and rebuilding helps speed recovery: Chile
In February 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile leaving almost 2 million victims and damaging nearly 500,000 homes.
BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities contributed US$1.5 million to the Chilean earthquake relief non-profit organisation, Foundation Un Techo para Chile, while the Company’s Minera Escondida operation contributed a further US$1.5 million to relief efforts.
Just 63 km from the epicentre, in the city of Cauquenes, Liceo Claudina Urrutia de Lavín, a public school, was severely damaged. In March 2010, Minera Escondida approached the school’s administration with a proposal for a joint design and construction of an all-new educational facility to completely replace the destroyed former structure and become an attractive community meeting place restoring a sense of pride to the inhabitants of the city of Cauquenes. But that was not the only school to be rebuilt, Liceo Mariano Latorre, a public school in the city of Curanilahue was also severely damaged.
