News: BHP UPDATE 1-BHP prepared to be patient for right investment deal -executive

(Adds quotes and comments on lithium and focus on reducing costs)

Global miner BHP Group (BHP) is prepared to wait a decade or more to ensure investment deals are done at the right price, Chief Development Officer Johan van Jaarsveld said on Thursday in Melbourne.

BHP would only pursue deals if they created value for shareholders, and in a boom-bust industry like mining, this meant patiently waiting for the right buying opportunity, according to Jaarsveld.

"This is a cyclical industry, and you sometimes are going to have to wait for 10 years or may be more to get the right opportunity at the right price."

In the meantime Jaarsveld said the Australian-listed miner would focus on making its mines more productive.

"If we can save 10% of our cost base, that's $20 billion in value that's under our control. The last time someone created $20 billion with an M&A deal - I’d like them to tell me when it was."

While lots of money would be made in the lithium over the next few years, BHP was not invested in the sector because the long-term margins were not sufficient, he added.