The Wall Street Journal-20080116-BHP Gives the Gold to Beijing Games
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BHP Gives the Gold to Beijing Games
SHANGHAI -- BHP Billiton Ltd. kicked off production of medals for the Beijing Summer Olympic Games with the donation of gold and silver, hoping that its sponsorship will help reduce anxiety over rising iron- ore prices and a megamerger.
BHP, the first Official Diversified Minerals and Medals Sponsor for an Olympics, presented metal valued at around $1.2 million that will be used to produce 57,000 medals for all events in the Games and the Paralympics.
BHP is trying to burnish its image in China at a sensitive time. Chinese steelmakers are bracing for talks over pricing of iron ore from suppliers such as BHP amid expectations that they will be saddled with a 30% increase in costs for the raw material.
BHP also is pursuing a $125 billion takeover of rival Rio Tinto Ltd. that would solidify it as the world's biggest iron-ore producer.
Clinton Dines, China president of BHP, declined to talk about the Rio Tinto deal.
