BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mining company measured by revenue and as of February 2011 was the world's third-largest company measured by market capitalisation.

BHP Billiton was created in 2001 through the merger of the Australian Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) and the Anglo-Dutch Billiton plc. The result is a dual-listed company. The Australian-registered BHP Billiton Limited, which is the majority partner, has its primary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange and is the largest company in Australia measured by market capitalisation. The UK-registered BHP Billiton Plc has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £39.6 billion as of 23 December 2011, making it the 9th-largest company on the London Stock Exchange.

The history of Billiton
Billiton’s roots trace back to 1860 and a tin mine on a little known island in Indonesia, Billiton (Belitung) island. Billiton became a global leader in the metals and mining sector and a major producer of aluminium and alumina, chrome and manganese ores and alloys, steaming coal, nickel and titanium minerals. Billiton also developed a substantial and growing copper portfolio. Find out more about Billiton’s history prior to the merger with BHP in our Billiton chronology.

The history of BHP
Broken Hill Proprietary’s rich history began in a silver, lead and zinc mine in Broken Hill, Australia. Incorporated in 1885, BHP engaged in the discovery, development, production and marketing of iron ore, copper, oil and gas, diamonds, silver, lead, zinc and a range of other natural resources. BHP was also a market leader in value-added flat steel products. To find out more about the history of BHP prior to the merger with Billiton, read the BHP chronology.

The merger of two great companies
BHP and Billiton merged in June 2001 becoming one of the world’s largest diversified resources company. We now have significant positions in major commodity businesses including aluminium, energy coal and metallurgical coal, copper, manganese, iron ore, uranium, nickel, silver and titanium minerals, and substantial interests in oil, gas, liquefied natural gas and diamonds. To find out about our achievements since the merger, read our BHP Billiton chronology.

150 years of history
In 2010, we celebrated our 150th anniversary and three significant milestones: Billiton's establishment on 28 October 1860, BHP's incorporation on 13 August 1885 and BHP Billiton's listing on the Australian and London Stock Exchanges on 29 June 2001. By building on our past and combining the assets of each company with the very best of our skills and people, BHP Billiton is ideally placed to continue to lead the resources industry into the future.

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