Proponent: BHP Billiton

The Project

BHP Billiton is currently seeking approval from the Australian, South Australian and Northern Territory governments to significantly expand its mining and processing operations at Olympic Dam in northern South Australia. The main objective of the proposed expansion is to unlock the full potential of the deposit to meet increasing world demand for copper and uranium.

The expansion centres on the creation of an open pit mine, which would lift ore production six-fold and require expanded minerals processing facilities. The open pit mine would operate simultaneously with the existing underground mine. New and expanded infrastructure, and facilities to accommodate an expanded workforce would also be required.

BHP Billiton’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

On 1 May 2009, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared by BHP Billiton for its proposed Olympic Dam expansion was released for public consultation for a period of 14 weeks. The consultation period ended at 5pm on 7 August 2009.

The EIS describes the project and why it is needed; the potential environmental, social, cultural and economic issues that might arise during the project’s construction, operation and eventual closure; and how these issues would be managed. The submissions received from the public and government agencies will now be circulated between the SA, NT and Commonwealth governments, and to BHP Billiton.

BHP Billiton will now prepare a response to those submissions. This response document, also called the Supplementary EIS, will be released publicly. The response document may include amendments to the EIS or flag changes to the original proposal in response to issues raised.

The three governments will then assess the proposal and each produce an Assessment Report. In light of the Assessment Report and other relevant documents, the governments will then each make a decision on the final proposal. The decision will be published in the relevant Government Gazettes, on this website and via relevant media outlets. The governments may approve or reject the proposal, or approve it with conditions attached. Some matters of detail may also be reserved for a later decision. There are no appeal rights against the decision for either the community or BHP Billiton.

Concurrent to this process, a separate consultation process was conducted in relation to the Roxby Downs and Environs Development Plan Amendment (DPA). The DPA describes the land use policy and zoning changes proposed to enable:

the rezoning of land to allow Roxby Downs township to expand
the establishment of a new temporary workers’ village for up to 10,000 people
the establishment of a new airport.

The DPA is a South Australian Government process only, with consultation conducted by the SA Development Policy Advisory Committee (DPAC) on behalf of the SA Minister for Urban Development and Planning.

The links to the right of this page provide additional information on the assessment process, and how to access the EIS and background documents.

Elements of the Olympic Dam Expansion are subject to the legislation of three jurisdictions: South Australia, the Northern Territory, and the Commonwealth.

As the majority of operations associated with the mine are located in South Australia, the Government of South Australia is coordinating the EIS public submissions process on behalf of the three governments.