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Highlights
- BHP’s shares were spotted trading in the red territory today (15 December), down 1.058%.
- ASX 200 Materials sector was also performing negatively on the ASX.
Shares of Australian iron ore miner BHP Group Limited (ASX:BHP) were seen dipping in today morning’s (15 December 2022) trading session. One share of BHP was valued at AU$45.820 with a loss of 1.058% as of 10:44 AM AEDT.
Today’s decrease in BHP’s shares was in line with negative performances of both the S&P/ASX 200 Materials and Metal & Mining sectors. While ASX 200 Materials sector was at 17,884.1 points, with a loss of 177.1 points, the Metals & Mining sector decreased to 6,044.9 points by losing 66.7 points around the same time.
How have BHP’s shares performed in a year?
The share price of BHP has largely remained positive during the previous year; nevertheless, over the last five trading sessions, its shares fell by 2.13%. In a month, BHP’s shares surged 4.26%, alongside increasing 4.35% over the six-month period. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, the share price of BHP witnessed a jump of 8.09% and 11.54% in a year.
A glance at BHP Group’s recent developments
Fundão Dam claim: On 5 December 2022, BHP Group Limited and BHP Group (UK) Limited announced that the company had filed its defence against a group action claim brought by claimants in the English High Court. This group action claim was related to the Fundão Dam collapse in 2015; claimants expect BHP to pay damages for alleged losses.
The operating entity behind Fundão Dam was Samarco, a non-operated joint venture of BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda (a subsidiary of BHP Group) and Vale SA.
Along with its defence, BHP also filed a contribution claim against Vale. As quoted in the ASX filing, Vale should contribute to any sum due if BHP Group Limited and BHP Group (UK) Limited's defence claim is found to be unsuccessful, and they are required to pay damages to the claimants in the Fundão Dam case.
The company sees the need for this contribution claim given that Vale was not named as a defendant in the Fundão Dam case. Both the main claim and the contribution claim are anticipated to be heard by the English High Court.
Amidst the lawsuit, BHP Brasil is being supported by the Renova Foundation to keep collaborating with Samarco and Vale to help local remediation efforts in Brazil. Through these initiatives, 388,000 people have already received direct financial assistance and compensation totalling over US$2.3 billion in relation to the Fundão Dam collapse till 30 June 2022.
