MINING INDUSTRY

Mr KENYON (Newland) (14:22): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on any new developments in the South Australian mining industry?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:22): I want to thank the honourable member for a very timely question. I also want to say that the honourable member is recognised now around the nation as a great enthusiast for the mining industry; and he has, in fact, been someone who has been playing a considerable role in the policy-making process.

We have already tripled the number of mines operating in this state since 2002. So, we as a state have seen a tripling of the number of mines and we are on track to see a quadrupling of the number of mines in this state by the end of 2010. We have another 20 mines in various stages of application. Over the last week there have in fact been two significant developments that will have a major impact on the mining sector and the economy of the state. The first is OZ Minerals' approval of a $135 million underground mine adjacent to its Prominent Hill copper and gold project near Coober Pedy.

The immediate go-ahead for an underground mine—immediate because they announced that they were going to hire the contractors in the next few weeks—will complement the existing open pit operations and take this already major mining operation to a completely new level. About 250 jobs are expected to be created at Prominent Hill from the underground mine; and I understand that it is in the Speaker's electorate, and I know that she is a great supporter of the project.

About 25,000 tonnes of copper and 12,000 ounces of gold are expected to be mined annually. OZ Minerals will begin developing the mine immediately, and it will be open and in production by the second half of 2012. The South Australian government, through PIRSA, approved the revised mining and rehabilitation plan for the construction and operation of underground operations at Prominent Hill last December, clearing the way for last week's board decision.

That approval awaited resolution of the national debate on a proposed resources super tax. While the state government accepted the need for a tax regime that gave Australians a fair return on our country's resources, we argued strongly that refinements were necessary to protect the interests of this state, in particular, our copper and gold projects—and uranium projects, such as Olympic Dam—at Prominent Hill.

Wasn't it great, despite all the doom watchers who said that we would have no impact, that copper, gold and uranium were exempted from the tax? I can also hear the shouts of enthusiasm from members opposite. Those concerns were taken into account in the revised mineral resources rent tax. Changes advocated by the state government helped ensure that—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —copper, gold and uranium were exempt from the new tax. Applause on the other side—I can hear it! OZ Minerals' decision to proceed with an underground mining operation at Prominent Hill vindicates—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —the state government's stance on the original resources profit tax. The second exciting development in the last week is the government's approval—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: You'll like this one.

The SPEAKER: Order! I can't hear the Premier.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: The second exciting development in the last week is the government's approval of the mining and rehabilitation plan for the Beverley North mine. This clears the way for Heathgate Resources to develop this new uranium deposit north of its existing Beverley mine which is one of the largest in situ recovery uranium mines in the world. The $70 million Beverley North uranium mine is expected to support 210 jobs and will further enhance South Australia's reputation as 'the world's next energy export powerhouse' as described by Access Economics. Both of these exciting developments are great news for the South Australian economy but we can expect much more from the resources sector in coming months thanks, of course, to this government's commitment to mining exploration and mining.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: They laugh. I compare eight years of the Liberals and how many new mines? Eight and a half years of Labor, a tripling of the number of mines, and by the end of this year we hope it will be quadrupled with 20 more coming. You don't like the fact that we got off our butt and got mining moving.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!