The long-awaited rotation out of Australia’s expensive bank stocks and back into its mining giants got another kick along on Friday, when BHP chief executive Mike Henry delivered an impressive June quarter production report to round out an impressive 12 months.

Operational excellence has been the hallmark of Henry’s tenure; the ability to deliver for shareholders year in, year out and to get all the gears of BHP’s giant machine working together is an underappreciated skill. And as such, the 12 months ended June 30 should go down as a banner year.