BMA Steelmaking Coal Output Slips QoQ as Broadmeadow Longwall Disruption Drives Inventory Build

On a 100% BMA basis, steelmaking coal production peaked in the June 2025 quarter at ~10.3 Mt, before easing to ~9.7 Mt in September (-5% QoQ) and declining more sharply to ~8.6 Mt in December (-12% QoQ), a cumulative ~17% fall from the June high. While open-cut operations remained solid—supported by the strongest first-half stripping volumes in five years—the trajectory was decisively shaped by underground disruption at Broadmeadow, where deteriorating ground conditions in Q2 forced the deferral of the planned longwall move from Q2 to Q3 FY26, breaking underground continuity into the December quarter. As a result, BHP increasingly relied on open-cut supply while stockpiling ROM coal rather than maximising sales, with management explicitly guiding that FY26 production will land toward the lower end of the 18–20 Mt range and unit costs toward the upper end of the US$116–128/t range, alongside expectations that raw coal inventories will continue to build into CY27 to stabilise operations.