The application and assessment process for BHP’s planned smelter and refinery expansion at Olympic Dam is commencing, marking a step forward in the company’s South Australian copper growth plans.
The announcement was delivered in the South Australian Government Gazette and came shortly after the company’s FY24 full-year results. The yearly report outlined a phased strategy to increase production in South Australia to 500,000t of refined copper cathode by the early 2030s and then potentially up to 650,000t by the mid-2030s, up from approximately 322,000t in the last financial year.
BHP Asset President Copper South Australia, Anna Wiley, said the announcement is an important step for BHP’s and the South Australian Government’s progress towards the shared ambition to significantly increase copper production in the state.
“We are already growing BHP’s copper production in South Australia with projects and studies underway at all of our operating sites, and we’re moving at pace to potentially double our current production by the middle of the next decade,” Ms Wiley said.
The company’s South Australian copper province includes the Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena underground mines, which provide copper concentrate to a centralised smelter and refinery complex at Olympic Dam that produces refined copper cathode. The company is also progressing the Oak Dam exploration prospect.
BHP also recently announced an inferred mineral resource at Oak Dam of 1.34 billion tonnes at 0.66 per cent copper grade and 0.33 grams per tonne gold grade. Within this resource is a mineralisation area that contains 220 million tonnes at 1.96 per cent copper grade and 0.68 grams per tonne gold grade (at a one per cent copper cut-off).
A final investment decision on phase one of the smelter and refinery expansion is currently scheduled for the first half of FY27.
The State Government has declared BHP’s proposed development to increase copper cathode production and associated products as an ‘impact assessed development’. The assessment processes in place for impact-assessed developments allow for the highest level of scrutiny under South Australian law. They can be aligned with the Commonwealth’s environmental assessment processes to ensure a robust scientific and technical assessment.
South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining, Tom Koutsantonis, said the declaration marks the beginning of a robust consultation and decision-making process.
“It’s an opportunity for BHP to make a case for this proposal and allow the South Australian community to weigh up the benefits the project could bring against any economic, social and environmental impacts it could have.”
Mr Koutsantonis said it’s encouraging to see BHP planning for ongoing significant investment in South Australia.
“As we’d expect, they’ve done a mountain of work before reaching this point, and their public statements about the potential of this copper plan are significant.
“However, we’ve been down this path before, and South Australians have a right to be sceptical. Following the assessment process, BHP’s final investment decision rests with them, and they have advised that they plan to make the decision in the first half of FY27.
“We do know that this proposed development comes at a time when our state is ideally positioned to capitalise on the massive opportunity emerging in the global effort to decarbonise.”
Mr Koutsantonis said the proposed investment would align with the copper opportunity the State Government has already outlined in the State Prosperity Project.
“Our state is home to more than two-thirds of Australia’s total copper resources, and its emergence as a tier one copper province could ensure we have a significant role in meeting the predicted surge in international demand for copper required by the global energy transition.
“For BHP, the proposal represents an opportunity to consolidate the huge investments the company has already made in South Australia’s copper assets and make significant returns to shareholders.
“For South Australia, it could mean a huge boost to the value we add to the state’s natural resources right here in this state, meaning greater opportunities for South Australians.”
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