GLNCY Glencore Plc (PK)

By Scott Patterson

London--BHP Billiton Ltd. Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said Thursday that high-cost mining outfits are continuing to produce commodities longer than expected.

Mr. Mackenzie said a number of high-cost miners, who are struggling to survive amid a collapse in commodity prices, have managed to keep churning out natural resources, a dynamic that's putting added pressure on prices.

"It would be great if the top part of the cost curve, because we're not part of it, moved more quickly rather than hope they could survive forever," he told reporters during the company's annual general meeting in London on Thursday.

"It would be wonderful if there was more instant reaction, but we know people aim to survive," he said.

Mr. Mackenzie said BHP has already cut production at assets that aren't generating a profit and that the company doesn't plan to cut output at its profitable mines.

BHP and other large miners, such as Rio Tinto PLC, have come under pressure to cut production at its iron-ore mines as prices collapse. Glencore PLC CEO Ivan Glasenberg said iron-ore giants such as BHP and Rio Tinto are "cannibalizing" their own assets by churning out commodities as prices plunge.

Industry analysts have expected iron-ore production to stabilize or even decline as unprofitable miners fall to the wayside. While that has happened to some extent, enough miners are hanging on and production hasn't fallen enough to provide a boost to prices.

Mr. Mackenzie also said that a shift in China from an industrial-based economy to one more centered around consumer consumption is having an impact on copper demand. "It's a tough transition," he said.

Write to Scott Patterson at scott.patterson@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2015 10:29 ET (14:29 GMT)

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