The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited

BHP (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in the isolated mining town of Broken Hill, it is the world's largest mining company measured by 2015 market values and Australia's fourth largest company (by revenue), formerly the largest.

BHP Billiton was formed 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 Australia-registered BHP Billiton Limited, which has equal financial share in the company, has a primary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange and is one of the largest companies in Australia measured by market capitalisation. The English-registered BHP Billiton plc has a primary listing on the and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

On 5 November 2015 a dam holding back waste water from an iron ore mine in Mariana, south-eastern Brazil, owned by BHP Billiton and Vale burst, devastating a nearby town with mudslides, killing at least 17 people, injuring more than 50 and causing enormous environmental damage

In April 2017 activist hedge fund manager Elliott Advisors proposed a plan for BHP to spin off its American petroleum assets and significantly restructure the business, including the scrapping of its dual Sydney-London listing, suggesting shares be offered only in the United Kingdom., while leaving its headquarters and tax residences in Australia where shares would trade as depositary instruments. At the time of the correspondence Elliott held about 4.1 percent of the issued shares in London-listed BHP Billiton PLC, worth $3.81 billion. Australia's government warned it would block moves to shift BHP's stock listing from Australia to the United Kingdom. Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said the move would be contrary to the country's national interest and would breach government orders mandating a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. BHP dismissed the plan saying the costs and risks of Elliott's proposal outweighed any potential benefits.