Post by alrich on May 10, 2011 12:08:17 GMT -5
BHP Billiton moving Vancouver office to Saskatoon
By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix May 10, 2011 11:20 AM Comments (2)
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BHP Billiton Ltd. plans to close its Vancouver office and move its operations and staff to Saskatoon.Photograph by: William West, Getty ImagesBHP Billiton Ltd. is closing its Vancouver office and moving its operations and staff to Saskatoon.
The company’s Diamonds and Specialty Products division, which includes the firm’s Saskatchewan potash projects, is being relocated to “reflect the company’s commitment to establish a premier potash business managed from Saskatchewan,” BHP Billiton wrote in a news release.
The move will see 30 jobs added to the downtown Saskatoon office, where 69 people currently work. The figure from Vancouver includes the division’s leadership team.
BHP Billiton said the closure of the Vancouver office will be phased-in over several months’ time.
In addition to the move, the Vancouver-based division has also named a new president, Tim Cutt, who is presently president, production, in BHP Billiton’s petroleum business.
Cutt steps into the role left by former Diamonds and Specialty Products president Graham Kerr, who is returning home to Australia due to an illness in his family.
“Tim is a world-class leader with a wealth of business, technical and operational experience,” stated Andrew Mackenzie, BHP Billiton’s chief executive non-ferrous.
“He has made a very considerable contribution to BHP Billiton Petroleum business and we are delighted to have such a high calibre executive to build on Graham’s tremendous work leading our Diamonds and Specialty Products group.”
In Saskatchewan, the company is focused on the development of its Jansen potash project northeast of Lanigan. A production decision has not been made for the potential mine, but if it goes ahead, it is designed it eventually produce up to eight million tonnes of potash annually — making it the largest in the province.
The division also operates the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories.v
Read more: www.thestarphoenix.com/Billiton+moving+Vancouver+office+Saskatoon/4757801/story.html#ixzz1LyDSsYzX