BHP has posted a $13 billion profit and called for WA to open its border. 

BHP this week reported a profit of $US9.4 billion ($13.2 billion) for the six months to December 2021, up 144 per cent on the back of its core iron ore assets.

BHP chief executive Mike Henry says the miner’s strong first half came from both good operational performance and buoyant markets for most of its products.

“We mitigated the impacts of COVID-19 and significant adverse weather events to turn in a solid operational performance, particularly from our flagship Western Australian iron ore business,” he said.

However, Mr Henry said the company needs its iron ore operations to have access to a wider pool of workers.

“Everyone, including the WA government, would recognise that at some point things have to return to normal, it’s just a question of when that happens,” Mr Henry said.

“We believe, as for many others, now is the time for borders to begin opening back up again.”

He insisted that the company has the ability to “navigate the near term disruptions” that an open border would bring.

BHP believes inflation will persist globally for much of this decade, but says it will keep the rate of growth of its cost base less than the rise in prices of its commodity that it expects.