BHP Billiton , the world’s biggest mining group, expects overall output to grow by 9 percent during the current financial year as new projects are launched, the firm said on Thursday.

“This current financial year will be very exciting in terms of the number of growth projects coming on-line. We are expecting a 9 percent further growth in volumes from 2007 to 2008,”Chief Executive Marius Kloppers told the firm’s annual general meeting in London.

The company reported a raft of annual production records in July when it posted output results for the 12 months to end-June, led by strong gains in copper, nickel and coal.

But some analysts have said the firm will find it hard to sustain the rapid rate of growth seen over the past 6-12 months.

The company is working on 33 projects worth around $21 billion in investment that are already being developed or are close to getting the green light to go ahead.

The group has a further 41 potential projects it is looking at for the future worth more than $50 billion, he said.

“Based on these sets of options that we own, we expect to be able to maintain or exceed the growth rates we have shown in the last six years,” Kloppers added.

Kloppers, who took over as CEO from Chip Goodyear this month, said there would be no change in overall strategy, but he would seek to speed up developing new projects to reap the benefit of current high commodity prices.

“Our strategy is to operate upstream, long life, low cost, expandable, high margin, export oriented assets, diversified by commodity and geography,” he said.

“We will have the same strategy but with even more focus and more speed, so that you, our shareholders reap the rewards of this new market environment.”

The company’s shares in London, which have soared by 90 percent so far this year, gained 1.5 percent to 1,767 pence by 1332 GMT, compared to a 2.24 percent rise in the UK mining index .

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