May 10 (Reuters) - BHP Billiton Plc BLT.L :
* "We are not waiting for (commodity) prices to recover" - CEO
* Will continue to improve productivity, with a further $3.6 billion of gains expected by end of 2017 financial year - CEO
* Will also increase number of copper targets we test this year by 38 percent - CEO
* "We are increasing our exploration activity to take advantage of falling costs as others pull back" - CEO Source text for Eikon: ID:nJseJ0020a Further company coverage: BLT.L
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