BHP quietly scrapped plan to build Pilbara plant that would have drastically cut emissions

A cancelled iron ore processing project could have reduced emissions released by BHP’s customers by 1.7m tonnes a year – the equivalent of taking more than 350,000 cars off the road. Illustration: Guardian design

BHP quietly dumped plans for an iron ore processing facility that would have cut emissions drastically, despite internally rating it as having “excellent social value” and being “well-aligned” to its shareholder-endorsed climate plan and decarbonisation targets.

In 2025 the mining giant was well advanced in its plans to build a beneficiation plant near its Jimblebar open-cut mine in the Pilbara, which would greatly improve the purity and quality of its iron ore.