BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company by market value, reported a staggering 86% drop in annual profits on Tuesday. The mining giant said that profits after tax tumbled to $1.91 billion in the year to June, down from $13.8 billion in the previous year.
Over the past year, demand for oil, copper, iron ore and steel has seen a major drop, and prices have plummeted to multi-year lows over fears of an economic slowdown in China.