BHP Billiton to Lower Copper Unit Costs to $1.08 per Pound by 2017

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) President for Copper, Danial Malchuk, stated that the company will aim to cut its unit costs for copper to $1.08 per pound by 2017 in light of lower copper prices.
As quoted in the press release:

Over this period, the release of latent capacity across the portfolio will also help annual Group copper production grow to approximately 1.7 Mt at very low cost. This strong recovery will be supported by our differentiated water and power solutions in Chile which will provide us with a significant competitive advantage.
Mr Malchuk reinforced BHP Billiton’s commitment to sustainability saying, “We value safe, sustainable operations above all else. We are enhancing verification for critical controls across all our assets and have brought forward our regular review of our tailings facilities.
Referring to the copper market, he said while near-term oversupply is weighing on current prices, attractive long-term fundamentals continue to support our positive outlook. “We see a number of factors creating the conditions for a significant supply deficit by the end of the decade. Grade decline, falling investment across the sector, the lack of greenfield projects and challenges accessing sustainable power and water are all likely to constrain industry supply. Meanwhile we expect robust demand from China and non-OECD countries to add to the deficit.

Click here for the full press release.