BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining firm, aims to keep itself more offensive on the African continent by increasing its exploration and operations in countries such as Angola, Guinea and South Africa.

South African newspaper Sunday Times reported that the company planned to spend the lion's share of its 350 million U.S. dollars of exploration budget in sub-Saharan Africa next year.

"The biggest region where our mineral exploration dollars will be going is sub-Saharan Africa," Mike Salamon, a director and executive president of BHP Billiton, was quoted as saying.

He said exploration spend in the region, which will be about 150 million dollars, has been "building up and shows presence on the ground and the maturing of what we (BHP Billiton) perceive as opportunities."

The newspaper said Vincent Maphai, chairman of BHP Billiton South Africa, together with other company executives operating in other parts of the world, plays a key role in establishing relationships with governments and identifying possible project opportunities across Africa.

"Each country will have a president (working for BHP Billiton) who will report to me. We will deal with the overall strategy," said Maphai.

He may also be the first point of contact for governments which feel they may have prospects that BHP Billiton could be interested in.

The company is increasing its presence in a number of African countries, including Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.

Source: Xinhua