After reports of the proposed resource super-profits tax by the Australian Government, mining giant BHP Billiton is readying plans to invest $US5 billion-plus ($6bn) in West Africa. It feels that the region holds a lot of promise and this is the reason it has intensified its plans in the region.

It has also been due to the increasing demand for the steel apart from the high iron ore prices, the Company is increasing its focus on the West African region. It will mainly be investing money in developing resources in Guinea and Liberia.

BHP Billiton believes these areas have a lot of potential and it is very excited about the future prospects of the region. It has already signed a mineral development agreement with Liberia for the development of four new iron ore deposits.

The Company already has a facility in Guinea and expects that these facilities will yield a lot of money for it in the coming times. It claims that after the infrastructure is developed in these regions, these areas will see significant improvement.

It is estimated that the Company will be investing $US3bn in Liberia. It has not confirmed these estimates.

BHP has already opposed the proposed 40% tax on mining profits and feels that it will lead to investments moving out of Australia in the future. The Company is also looking to develop two big projects in Canada and Indonesia.