Essay by Eric Worrall
Just one problem: It wasn’t a secret.
World’s biggest miner BHP backtracks on climate action with key projects put on ice, leaked documents reveal
Christopher Knaus and Adam Morton Mon 25 May 2026 20.30 AEST
Exclusive: Cache of internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners show multinational has war-gamed ways to massively delay decarbonisation
The world’s biggest miner has halted or delayed projects to cut vast amounts of emissions and has quietly war-gamed options to push major climate investments in its Western Australian iron ore operations into the next two decades, internal documents show.
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The cache of leaked internal records, dubbed the BHP files, reveals that the company was aware delayed climate action in the Pilbara would pose a “reputational risk” and that “urgent decarbonisation in line with BHP’s public commitments” effectively underpinned its “licence to operate”.
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The documents reveal:
- BHP’s first planned investment in its inland Pilbara decarbonisation plan – a 50-megawatt solar farm and 20MW battery at its Jimblebar mine – was effectively shelved soon after being approved and funded by the board in mid-2023. The move prompted internal criticism from staff, some of whom questioned the decision to unilaterally close a board-approved project.
- A huge system of almost 500MW solar, wind and battery that could power a small city has been significantly delayed. Documents show it will “not progress in its current form” and has been given no capital funding until 2031 at the earliest, despite an initial plan for it to deliver its first power from December 2027.
- BHP quietly dumped an iron ore processing plant that could have prevented 1.7m tonnes of emissions a year, the equivalent of taking more than 350,000 cars off the road. This was despite describing it as “well-aligned” with its climate transition action plan, which shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of, and its stated decarbonisation targets.
- The company initially planned to replace its fleet of diesel trucks – one of the biggest sources of BHP’s emissions – with electric ones beginning in 2027-28 but documents show it has continued to acquire polluting diesel haulage trucks for long-term use, including a purchase of more than $500m for new diesel trucks at Jimblebar. Public documents also suggest it is planning to use diesel trucks at a proposed new mine at Ministers North.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/25/bhp-files-leak-mining-company-climate-action
The Guardian is treating this like they just scooped Watergate, but all the leaked documents do is provide some context for a change in corporate direction which was already public knowledge.
BHP openly rejected Net Zero as uneconomical last year, and have suggested they will pull out of Australia if Australia doesn’t reign in pressure on big companies to reduce CO2 emissions. So it is no surprise BHP are planning to cancel nonsensical virtue signalling Net Zero related projects.
It behooves BHP to put more cars on the road and to use the most cost effective technologies for operations.
Are their any Electric Haulers capable of replacing Diesel Haulers?
Do the even exist?
Can they, load for load, move the same amount of materials?
Can they, load for load, travel the same distance before refueling?
Can they, load for load, work the same number of hours per day?
Can they refuel daily in the same amount of time as Diesel?
NOPE!
…
Didn’t think so!
Diesel will rule mining materials hauling and hauling in general until something better comes along.
EV hauling clearly isn’t “Better” than Diesel.
I worked in the Pilbara in 1975 on an iron ore exploration project. Darned hot.
Which leads me on to tortoises saving the Sahara.
https://indiandefencereview.com/african-spurred-tortoise-sahel-desert-vegetation-recovery/
So that’s a story tip if it’s not 1st of April
Where the climate brigades are concerned you should be thinking in terms of: April, May, June, July and August fool.
I think you’re short about 7 months. 😉
Maybe invest in Disney projects instead, where the meme of the day is completely hollow with no lasting physical effects except widespread mental illness.
The BHP decision to secure a profitable future should not come as a surprise to anyone.
Their delaying/ cancelling of virtue signalling projects that are uneconomic reinforces the truism, when ideology tried to do battle with reality, reality will always win.
Reality may always win, eventually. But ideology can do a LOT of damage in the mean time.
“Polluting diesel haulage trucks” not replaced by “electric” haulage trucks? Australia’s electricity comes from coal (45%), gas (17%) and oil (2%). I haven’t run the numbers but considering that more electric trucks would be needed to haul the same amount of material, it may be that electric leads to more CO2 emissions, not less.
This is virtue signaling. Actually doing something useful is of no matter, in many cases it actually decreases the value of your virtue signaling.
I thought that a well tuned diesel engine was the least polluting of all when everything like refining costs, costs of manufacturing, efficiency etc. were taken into account.
It’s certainly more cost effective when considering the amount of work needing to be done daily at any mining operation and how that affects “The Bottom Line” and thereby the ultimate Cost of Minerals in general.
BHP = Broken Hill Proprietary Company (I had to go look for it)
Same. ABC should have tipped me off that it was Australia but I kept getting stuck on ‘B’ for British. After brief growling at my breakfast cereal I realized people not actually living in USA must have to think this way all the time – who are they talking about, is it me, should I know the acronym?
In the States we have our own ABC … American Broadcasting Company … So it can be further misconstrued.
I used to work for them as an exploration geologist…a great company…named after the town of Broken Hill in South Australia where it got its start. BHP is a global giant in the mining scene.
When did Broken Hill move? I know they are on a ‘funny’ clock, but the state border was still to their west the last time I looked.
Didn’t you hear about the earthquake?
Yes, NSW it is! Can’t blame them from wanting to move out of woke SA though!
I remember that earthquake, big wasn’t it. It was so ferocious that the gold settled in the pan and now it’s at the bottom of the mine instead of dispersed throughout the surface rocks.
The uranium dropped too, same for the copper and silver.
But back on to serious stuff. I bet that they’d prefer to be outside of Oz, rather than bartering between one left wing state government or another. Of course it could be worse….. Vicdanistan.
Yes, could be worse. I live in New Zealand! Mine is a four letter word here…along with gold (and oil and gas).
Guardian Reveals… 6th form student politics. Expensive energy edition.
Ofgem should tell it straight: electricity prices are set to stay high for years
On “thermal constraint” or “balancing” costs, meaning the costs of paying windfarms in Scotland to turn off on windy days to ensure transmission wires don’t catch fire, and paying other generation sources (usually gas-fired stations or inter-connectors to the continent) to turn up, the numbers are truly dramatic. “Unfortunately, balancing costs are increasing and are predicted to go up from around £2bn a year now to as much as £8bn by 2030,” said Neso.
So much for abundant and free wind and Sun. They cost a fortune.
So far in 2026, Britain has wasted £740,964,899 switching off wind turbines and paying gas plants to switch on.
The total cost for all of 2025 was £1,467,023,332.
Today, wasted wind has already cost Britain:£483,589
£41,316 switching off wind turbines
£442,273 buying energy elsewhere
Wasted Wind
Ofgem should tell it straight: fossil fuels are reliable, dependable and affordable. Renewables are anything but.
Find out who leaked the memos, and make them unhirable.
Tangent:
“Edward Snowden lives in exile in Moscow, Russia, where he is a naturalized citizen. He serves on the board of directors for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, maintains a low profile, and sporadically provides commentary and interviews on technology and civil liberties.”
London: 16:30 32C (kitchen 27C)
Wish you were here!
Somewhere in the article should appear:
“BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation.”
I spent a few paragraphs thinking, … British Horse Petrochemicals … Big Happy Penguins … Baby Huey Pee … ummm
I’d like to say, “Beat me to it.” but I was asleep on that one. Yeah, undefined acronyms that make you stop to try an figure out what they mean ruins what might otherwise be a decent article.
Baby Huey Pee…now that’s Golden!
You’re just being a wet blanket (:-))
That blanket smells like last weeks nappy (diaper)
Australia has 28 million people who exhale 28 million kg of CO2 everyday. To this should be added the CO2 exhaled by 69 million sheep and 30 million cattle. Why do these get a free pass on CO2 emission and the miners don’t?
Electric mining trucks!
Haha, that’s a good one!
Not a joke.
Liebherr (T 264) : https://www.liebherr.com/en-us/mining-equipment/equipment/mining-trucks/t264-battery-electric-7512426
Caterpillar (3 options) : https://www.cat.com/en_US/by-industry/mining/surface-mining/surface-equipment/mining-trucks/electric-drive-trucks.html
.
I came across an article back in 2024 about Caterpillar promoting its “Early Learner” Cat 793 XE prototype all-electric mining truck. Newmont (US division) apparently bought (at least ?) one for evaluation purposes, but I’ve no idea how that ended up.
Directors have a legal responsibility to act in the best interests of the company! Good on BHP Board and management for doing their jobs properly. It is a double bonus if it offends the Grauniad, because it likely means they are heading in the right direction.
BHP will pull out. The Chinese would move in. And just as much CO2 would be emitted, only this time by companies that the Australian State are not allowed to criticize.
Criticize (TDS seems to be world wide with many non Americans criticizing him) but Regulate…or have any control over whatsoever
I will celebrate every company that backtracks on its so called climate promises. I have little respect for them going along with this fairytale but I understand the powerful force government puts on them. Enough said?
Don’t forget the millions that need to be paid to the Aboriginal Industry in WA for exploratory efforts.
If it’s not one form of Woke taxation or seizure it’s another.