BHP and Rio Tinto to integrate; Companies win approval to work together on some operations

摘要

RIO TINTO AND BHP Billiton won approval to integrate some of their operations from the Western Australia state government, Reuters reported. Legislation was passed that removed restrictions on the companies integrating and building shared infrastructure, such as electricity generation and rail lines, the Western Australia state government said. Under terms of the agreement that were negotiated in 2010, the two companies will be able to blend each other's ores before being exported. That would save them an estimated 5 billion dollars combined through the integration and equals about half the savings both were hoping for if their merger had succeeded.