Wednesday, 29th November 2006 (2599 views)

There may be a new force in the gold mining world soon as BHP Billiton has expressed an interest in the sector.

The firm is the world's biggest industrial minerals miner and its chief executive, Chip Goodyear, has now said that BHP Billiton "would look at buying a gold mine if the right one came along".

This comes hot on the heels of this year's gold price high which has increased gold's desirability on the world investment stage.

BHP Billiton already produces some gold as a tiny fraction of its overall yield but the firm is now rumoured to be looking towards a US miner, Freeport-McMoRan, for a possible takeover bid.

Mr Goodyear said: "There is consolidation going on in the industry and we keep an eye on everything that's moving."

Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world's largest producers of copper and gold and operates in Indonesia and Papua. Mr Goodyear was once chief financial officer at the company.

BHP Billiton has also said that delivering growth is a bigger priority than returning cash to stakeholders. Acquisitions such as this will boost the company's growth.

 

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