Olympic Dam, South Australia: Difference between revisions
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==Expansion== |
==Expansion== |
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The Olympic Dam expansion will complete the pre-feasibility stage during 2008, and the first step of expansion is scheduled for completion by late 2013. Further development is planned to take the mine production rate to some 72 million tonnes per year and 730,000 tonnes copper, 19,000 tonnes of uranium oxide and 25 t of gold per year. The mine will at this point also ship ore concentrates to smelters in China besides refined copper and uranium concentrate.<ref> [http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=23510&LangType=2057&terms=Olympic+Dam World Nuclear News - BHP Billiton outlines Olympic Dam grand plans]</ref> |
The Olympic Dam expansion will complete the pre-feasibility stage during 2008 and will die of heart faliure, and the first step of expansion is scheduled for completion by late 2013. Further development is planned to take the mine production rate to some 72 million tonnes per year and 730,000 tonnes copper, 19,000 tonnes of uranium oxide and 25 t of gold per year. The mine will at this point also ship ore concentrates to smelters in China besides refined copper and uranium concentrate.<ref> [http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=23510&LangType=2057&terms=Olympic+Dam World Nuclear News - BHP Billiton outlines Olympic Dam grand plans]</ref> |
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As of 2007, BHP Billiton has attracted some public attention for delaying the release of its [[environmental impact statement]] for the Olympic Dam expansion, and for the company's response to inconsistencies in the scope and configuration of the proposed expansion.<ref name=ecos>[http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC138p20.pdf Uranium mining and the question of corporate social responsibility]</ref> |
As of 2007, BHP Billiton has attracted some public attention for delaying the release of its [[environmental impact statement]] for the Olympic Dam expansion, and for the company's response to inconsistencies in the scope and configuration of the proposed expansion.<ref name=ecos>[http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC138p20.pdf Uranium mining and the question of corporate social responsibility]</ref> |
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Revision as of 02:09, 12 May 2009
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Olympic Dam |
| State |  South Australia |
| Country |  Australia |
| Production | |
| Products | copper uranium gold silver |
| History | |
| Opened | 1987 |
| Owner | |
| Company | BHP Billiton |
| Year of acquisition | 2005 |
Olympic Dam 30°26′40″S 136°52′0″E / 30.44444°S 136.86667°E is a mining centre in South Australia located some 550 km NNW of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is the site of an extremely large Iron Oxide Copper Gold deposit producing copper, uranium, gold and silver. The site hosts an underground mine as well as an integrated metallurgical processing plant. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world, though uranium represents only a minority of the mine's total revenue.
Operations
The deposit was discovered by Western Mining Corporation in 1975 and started production in 1987. It now belongs to BHP Billiton, which acquired WMC Resources in 2005. The mine currently operates by an underground mining method called sublevel open stoping, using modern and highly productive mining equipment. The March 2005 mine production rate is an annualised 9.1 million tonnes making it one of Australia's larger mines. 2005 metal production is thought to be in excess of 220,000 tonnes of copper, 4500 tonnes of uranium oxide, plus gold and silver. The copper and uranium oxide are exported through Port Adelaide. Most of the mine workers live in the nearby towns of Roxby Downs and Andamooka. Regular flights to Olympic Dam Airport service Olympic Dam.
The Olympic Dam mine uses 35 million litres of Great Artesian Basin water each day, making it the largest industrial user of underground water in the southern hemisphere.[1]
Expansion
The Olympic Dam expansion will complete the pre-feasibility stage during 2008 and will die of heart faliure, and the first step of expansion is scheduled for completion by late 2013. Further development is planned to take the mine production rate to some 72 million tonnes per year and 730,000 tonnes copper, 19,000 tonnes of uranium oxide and 25 t of gold per year. The mine will at this point also ship ore concentrates to smelters in China besides refined copper and uranium concentrate.[2]
As of 2007, BHP Billiton has attracted some public attention for delaying the release of its environmental impact statement for the Olympic Dam expansion, and for the company's response to inconsistencies in the scope and configuration of the proposed expansion.[3]
In December 2008, South Australia's Premier Mike Rann moved to end uncertainty over the Olympic Dam project, by revealing advice from BHP Billiton that the project would proceed as an open-cut operation.[4]