COPPER MINES AND MINING – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Olympic Dam gets a $40m injection

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 16 : 4-Feb-25

A joint venture between Fluor Australia and Hatch has been awarded a major contract for the proposed expansion of BHP’s copper smelter and refinery at its Olympic Dam project. BHP’s procurement officer Rashpal Bhatti says the two companies that were selected for the $40m engineering, procurement and construction management contract have "significant shared experience" in delivering major projects. BHP expects to make a final investment decision on the expansion during the first half of the 2026–27 financial year.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FLUOR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HATCH ENGINEERING

BHP looks to SA copper growth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 19-Jun-24

BHP executive Anna Wiley has indicated that the resources giant has largely ‘ bedded down’ its acquisition of OZ Minerals for $9.7bn in 2023. The asset president for BHP’s copper operations in South Australia says it is now pushing ahead with plans to expand these operations, including the potential to increase copper production in SA to around 700,000 tonnes per year. BHP recently abandoned a takeover bid for Anglo American which was prinarily aimed at securing the latter’s copper assets.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OZ MINERALS LIMITED, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC

Heritage spats slow BHP plans

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 28-Apr-21

BHP struck the Olympic Dam Agreement with the Kokatha, the Kuyani and the Barngarla people in 2008. However, a native title ruling in 2014 deemed that the Kokatha people were the sole traditional owners of the land that encompasses the Olympic Dam copper mine. The Kokatha people contend that the existing agreement is outdated and must be replaced, and that BHP should not be consulting with the Kuyani and the Barngarla with regard to the management of heritage sites for which they no longer have any native title rights. BHP in turn contends that the terms of the 2008 agreement require it to consult with all three indigenous groups.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Copper minnow jumps on drill plans

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 16 : 5-Jan-21

Shares in Argonaut Resources rose by 50 per cent on 4 July after it advised the South Australian government had granted it approval under the Aboriginal Heritage Act to commence work on its Murdie Project. Argonaut Resources plans to spend $2 million on a five-hole drilling program, with at least one hole to be drilled in sight of Oz Mineral’s billion-dollar Carrapateena mine; that mine was officially opened in 2020 and is expected to operate for at least 20 years.

CORPORATES
ARGONAUT RESOURCES NL – ASX ARE, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL

BHP plans new tailings storage at Olympic Dam

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 18-Jun-19

BHP will commence work on a sixth tailings dam at its Olympic Dam copper, gold and uranium mine in South Australia in late 2019 if it receives environmental approval from the federal government. BHP has indicated that the new tailings dam is needed to maintain the mine’s current production rate, and for its proposed expansion to up to 350,000 tonnes of copper. BHP recently advised that geological conditions at Olympic Dam mean that the mine’s capacity is more likely to be increased to between 240,000 and 300,000 tonnes.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED

Olympic Dam gains major development status from SA

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 15-Feb-19

BHP is expected to decide in late 2020 whether to proceed with a $2.7 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia. The SA government advised on 14 February that any expansion of the mine would be granted major development status. The proposed expansion would see mining and production increase from 200,000 tonnes a year to 350,000 tonnes a year, and would involve an increased take of water from the Great Artesian Basin.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WMC RESOURCES LIMITED, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Runaway train set to derail BHP earnings

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 23-Jan-19

BHP has advised that it produced 135 million tonnes of iron ore in the first half of 2018-19, with output falling by four million tonnes due to a train derailment in the Pilbara in early November. BHP’s copper output in turn was affected by problems at the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia and the Spencer mine in Chile. Shaw & Partners says BHP can still meet its full-guidance provided it has a strong second half. BHP shares closed 1.3 per cent lower at $32.77 on 22 January.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED

OZ looks to build on copper’s solid foundation

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 15 : 18-Jan-18

OZ Minerals expects copper production at its Prominent Hill mine in South Australia to be within the range of 100,000 to 110,000 tonnes in 2018, and 95,000 to 105,000 tonnes in 2019. Its previous guidance was for output of 90,000 to 100,000 tonnes in both years. Copper production at Prominent Hill totalled 112,008 tonnes in 2017, at an average cash cost of $US0.83 per pound. Meanwhile, OZ will invest some $A500m on development of its Carrapateena copper mine in 2018, while it has allocated at least $A38m to an exploration program in South Australia.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL

BHP scraps grid-power deal with OZ Minerals

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 1-Sep-17

OZ Minerals has warned that power costs at its Prominent Hill gold and copper mine could rise by 2-5 per cent from mid-2020. BHP Billiton has advised that it will end an agreement for OZ to access the Olympic Dam mine’s power transmission infrastructure from August 2020. BHP has indicated that the proposed expansion of Olympic Dam will significantly increase the copper and uranium mine’s electricity requirements, forcing OZ Minerals to seek an alternative source of electricity.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, SANDFIRE RESOURCES NL – ASX SFR

SA power threat to copper project: OZ

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 8-Nov-16

OZ Minerals’ pre-feasibility study for its Carrapateena project in South Australia shows that annual copper and gold output would be 15 per cent and 19 per cent higher respectively than previous guidance had indicated. Production is expected to begin in the March 2019 quarter, assuming OZ Mineral’s board gives final approval to the project in the first half of 2017. However, OZ Minerals has warned that SA’s energy supply is a major risk to the project.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, ELECTRANET SA, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS