Speaking at a luncheon in Melbourne, Mr. Nasser said the management team at the Melbourne-based company was strong, and that he wouldn't choose to swap it.

Mr. Kloppers has been criticized in the past by some investors for not returning enough cash to shareholders during the price boom for commodities, and for BHP's failure to complete proposed takeovers such as its bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT).

A slump this year in prices for industrial commodities as China's economic growth has cooled has forced mining companies to retrench, cutting jobs, closing poorer-performing operations and deferring or shelving ambitious development plans.

BHP last month delayed indefinitely a US$30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper-and-uranium mine in South Australia, and said no new major projects would be approved before mid-2013.