BHP Billiton chief Andrew Mackenzie is looking for a strategic partner for his $US15 billion ($16.6 billion) Jansen Canadian potash project that “will add value”, much like the company’s partnership with rival Rio Tinto on their copper joint venture.

 

Mr Mackenzie, who surprised investors last week with plans to spend $US2.6 billion on the project in the next three years, said BHP was already in discussions with a number of parties about a selling a stake in the operation.

 

“I’m looking for a partner who will add value. There’s always a danger in a large company that you can be a little bit inward looking, you can suffer from groupthink,” Mr Mackenzie told Channel Nine’s Financial Review Sunday.

 

“We get enormous benefits from having minority partners in our operations. At Escondida [copper mine in Chile], Rio Tinto has 30 per cent and we get all the fire power of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton that definitely enhances the returns that we get from that project.

 

“In iron ore, we have very effective partnerships with Japanese companies whose way of thinking about business is different and it challenges us. I’m looking for that kind of partner, who can improve the project economics because they bring in a different way of thinking that it’s hard to develop within one company alone.”

 

RIO, ANGLO POTENTIAL PARTNERS

 

Analysts last week identified Rio Tinto and AngloAmerican as potential partners, saying BHP was less likely to choose a fertiliser player in order to protect production and pricing information. Other industry sources suggested BHP could also partner with a distributor or marketer of potash and fertiliser, rather than find an operational partner for the mine. Sovereign wealth funds could also be interested in buying a stake in Jansen.

 

“I’m in talks with a lot of people; I wouldn’t want to talk about individual companies. I think it’s a wider range than some of our mining peers who would be interested in a project like this,” Mr Mackenzie said.

 

While potash would diversify Rio’s portfolio, the company has said deals were not on its agenda right now.