BHP CEO confident China iron ore talks will be resolved

BHP Group (ASX: BHP) Mike Henry said on Tuesday he was confident that issues with Chinese customers over new iron ore contracts would be resolved, although talks could take some time.

“The overall relationship, for me, it’s on track. But that doesn’t mean that from time to time you don’t have tougher commercial negotiations, and that’s where we find ourselves,” Henry said on a call after the miner reported half-year results.

The world’s largest listed miner earlier on Tuesday posted a stronger-than-expected half-year underlying profit, driven by copper, which for the first time surpassed iron ore to account for more than half of its earnings.

(Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)