Record half year sales volumes at Hotazel (South Africa) contributed to an 11% increase in manganese ore sales in the December 2011 half year while alloy production remained unchanged from the prior corresponding period.

Underlying EBIT decreased by USD 281 million in the December 2011 half year to USD 149 million. A 22% decline in average realized ore prices and a 10% decline in average realized alloy prices represented the major drag on profitability and reduced Underlying EBIT by USD 223 million, net of price linked costs. Margin compression was further exacerbated by an increase in raw material costs which reduced Underlying EBIT by USD 69 million.

The USD 167 million (BHP Billiton share) GEEP2 expansion project will further solidify GEMCO (Australia) as the largest and lowest cost operation in the industry. On completion, the GEEP2 project will increase processing capacity from 4.2 to 4.8 million tonnes per annum (100 per cent basis) with first production scheduled for the second half of the 2013 calendar year.