Olympic Dam

The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, 550 km (341.75 mi) NNW of Adelaide.

The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, 550 km (341.75 mi) NNW of Adelaide. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Copper is the largest contributor to total revenue, accounting for approximately 70% of the mine's revenue, with the remaining 25% from uranium, and around 5% from silver and gold. BHP has owned and operated the mine since 2005. The mine was previously owned by Western Mining Corporation.

Since it opened in 1988, an extensive underground mine, an integrated metallurgical processing plant and expansive open-air tailings storage facilities have been constructed. The adjacent Olympic Dam mining centre and the nearby township of Roxby Downs service the mine and accommodate its workforce. Daily flights to and from Adelaide are provided via the Olympic Dam Airport.

BHP planned to expand the mine by establishing a new open cut pit and building extensive supporting infrastructure. In 2012 the expansion was postponed indefinitely pending investigation of a "new and cheaper design". As of 2013, Olympic Dam is the second largest uranium-producing mine in the world, having produced 4,100 tonnes in the financial year ending June 2013. The only larger producer is the McArthur River uranium mine in Canada.

In 1979 a joint venture partnership was established between Western Mining Corporation and BP Minerals with the intention of establishing the mine. Three years later, the Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act 1982 was signed, creating a legal framework for the development to proceed. The first shaft was constructed that year, and named the Whenan Shaft after Ted Whenan, one of the exploration drillers who discovered the ore body. The new municipality of Roxby Downs was also established in 1982, as an intended service centre and community hub for the mine workers and their families. In 1983, the mine's first Environmental Impact Statement was approved, authorising copper production of up to 150,000 tonnes per annum. Over a decade would pass before this production target was achieved.

In 1987, a decline entrance to the mine was created, and the Olympic Dam Special Mining Lease was connected to the South Australian electricity grid. The mine was officially opened the following year, and the first shipments of copper cathodes and uranium oxide were made. Roxby Downs township was officially opened, and the town's newspaper, the Roxby Downs Sun commenced publication. In 1989, the Olympic Dam refinery produced its first gold and silver bars.In 1993, Western Mining Corporation bought BP's 49% shareholding and assumed total control of the project. Several stages of expansion occurred around this time and production increased. In 1986, the mine's target production had been set at 45,000 tonnes of copper per annum. In 1992, output reached 66,000 tonnes, then 84,000 in 1995.

The mine's first major expansion was announced in 1996 with the objective of producing 200,000 tonnes per annum once complete. A second Environmental Impact Statement was approved, allowing the mine to expand production up to 350,000 tonnes of copper per annum.

In 1998 the mine poured its 500th bar of gold. Two years later the mine produced 200,000 tonnes of copper in a year for the first time. Optimisation efforts increased output to 235,000 tonnes per annum in 2002.BHP made a successful bid for Western Mining Corporation in March 2005 and the offer was accepted by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission in April. BHP Billiton was not the only resources company to express interest in the project. Xstrata had made prior takeover bids in late 2004, and French state-run nuclear industrial company Areva had entered into what were rumoured to be partnership discussions with WMC Resources in February.After the acquisition, BHP began to plan what would become a proposed $30 billion expansion project, involving the excavation of a new open cut mine within the existing Special Mining Lease. The expansion plan was expected to be a boon to the South Australian economy- forecast to generate an estimated 23,000 direct and indirect jobs. Major new infrastructure would need to be constructed to facilitate the expansion, including a new airport at Olympic Dam, a rail link, a seawater desalination plant at Point Lowly, a barge-landing facility near Port Augusta and a worker village near Andamooka.

The company's access to the Government of South Australia was enhanced by the formation of the Olympic Dam Task Force in 2006, which has since served as a single entry-point for the company's interactions with the state. BHP also began to develop relationships with scientific and academic institutions with the objective of facilitating relevant technical, environmental and policy research.