COPPER MINES AND MINING – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Power a risk for Olympic game plan

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Original article by Michael Owen
The Australian – Page: 8 : 2-Nov-16

Mike Henry, the head of BHP Billiton’s iron ore and coal operations in Australia, says the resources giant will not proceed with an open-cut expansion of its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia. He adds that BHP may expand the existing underground mine, but he cautions that any further investment may be affected by uncertainty regarding the state’s electricity supply and the cost of electricity. Production at Olympic Dam was disrupted by the state-wide power outage in September 2016.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ELECTRANET SA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Miners face $150m hit from blackout

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 4-Oct-16

OZ Minerals has advised that electric power is unlikely to be restored at its Prominent Hill mine in South Australia for at least another week, while its 2016-17 gold production forecast may not be met as a result. The recent state-wide power outage also halted production at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine and Arrium’s Whyalla steelworks. Meanwhile, the suspension of production at Nyrstar’s lead smelter at Port Pirie is believed to have contributed to a spike in the price of lead on the London Metal Exchange.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE LIMITED, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD

BHP tunes up Olympic Dam but timing slightly off

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 27-May-16

BHP Billiton will hire an additional 120 workers at its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia. The resources group intends to expand underground mining at Olympic Dam, with plans to increase copper production from 200,000 tonnes in 2015-16 to 230,000 tonnes in 2020-21. BHP eventually aims to lift annual production to 280,000 tonnes. However, the long-term goal of 450,000 tonnes per annum will depend on the use of heap leaching technology, which is currently being trialled.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

BHP targets copper lift at Olympic Dam

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Original article by Matthew Stevens, Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 6-Apr-16

BHP Billiton now expects to be able to ramp up copper production at the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia to 280,000 tonnes a year at a cost of less than $US500m ($A655m). The resources giant indicated in late 2015 that it could lift annual production to 255,000 tonnes over five years without significant capital investment. BHP expects the mine’s copper output to top 200,000 tonnes in 2015-16, and it aims for annual production of 220,000 tonnes by 2019. BHP has forecast that global demand for copper will exceed supply by 2020.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

OZ Minerals spruiks faster, cheaper Carrapateena plan

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 &18 : 7-Oct-15

OZ Minerals has indicated that developing the Carrapateena copper and gold deposit on a much smaller scale than originally planned is its preferred option. OZ estimates that it could reduce the cost of developing the mine to about $A1bn by focusing on higher-grade ore at the shallowest depths. A feasibility study in 2014 had estimated that the original plan for a block cave mine would cost about $A2.98bn. CEO Andrew Cole has stressed that three options for the project remain under consideration.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, KKR AND COMPANY LP, ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, PANAUST LIMITED, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM

BHP wants tailings at mine to rise 13 storeys

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 16 : 12-Jan-15

Along with those of other commodities, the price of copper has declined 15% between mid-2014 and January 2015. An earnings drop of $US1.5bn ($A1.8bn) will be suffered by BHP Billiton due to the $US0.50-a-pound drop. The company is asking the Federal Government for permission to increase the size of its tailings storage at the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia by a quarter. The move is part of a minor change at the facility, not a prelude to the large expansion that has been shelved by BHP

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Olympic expansion years away, says BHP

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 17 : 29-Jul-14

The Australian Environment Department has received an application by BHP Billiton, which wants to run a test facility for a new heap leaching process. Its success will be crucial to the expansion of BHP’s Olympic Dam copper and uranium asset in South Australia, which was forecast to cost $A30bn but was abandoned in 2012. BHP notes that even if the trial runs to plan, the upgrade of the mine will not occur before 2020. The proof of concept heap leaching plant will be used for three years from October 2016

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT