HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Member Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-24 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

OLYMPIC DAM

Ms BREUER (Giles) (14:18): My question is for the Premier. Would the Premier outline to the house information about the recently released resource estimates for Olympic Dam?

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) (14:18): I am delighted with the question from the member. I am delighted to inform the house today that South Australia's exceptional mining outlook continues to grow. This morning, BHP Billiton informed the Australian Stock Exchange that the estimated size of the mineral resource at its Olympic Dam mine has increased by 8 per cent in the year to June 2008. The company now believes Olympic Dam is a copper, uranium, gold and silver resource of almost 8.5 billion tonnes. The new mineral resource estimate is more than double the 3.98 billion tonnes estimated in 2005. It has been revalued once again. Olympic Dam has been reassessed and revalued and is now more than double what it was estimated to be in 2005.

This reflects the significant work that BHP Billiton has undertaken over the past three years as part of the Olympic Dam expansion project pre-feasibility study. These figures confirm that Olympic Dam remains the largest source of uranium in the world, with more than 2.3 million tonnes of uranium oxide. It is also one of the world's largest copper deposits and the largest gold resource in Australia. BHP Billiton has yet to discover the limits of this massive ore body. In the past 12 months, 487 holes have been drilled, totalling 192,000 metres of additional drilling. Presently, the ore body covers an area of six kilometres by 3.5 kilometres, with ore being found at depths of over two kilometres below the surface. These results, once again, confirm that Olympic Dam is an outstanding world-class resource.

The South Australian government will continue to work closely with BHP Billiton to develop Olympic Dam into one of the premier mining operations in the world. It will have multiple benefits for the South Australian economy—we are talking about 20,000 indirect jobs. It also estimates an increase in the mine's contribution to GSP from $1.65 billion to $4.2 billion per year. This has now been revalued. When the expansion was being talked about in 2005, it was regarded as the world's biggest resource, the world's biggest mine. It is now more than double what it was believed to be back in 2005. I look forward to getting updated estimates of the economic impact of the project when they are released by BHP Billiton. That is the point: it is a $US1 trillion resource—not a mirage in the desert.

The major regional impact will be felt in the Roxby Downs township and the surrounding region. However, other regions, such as Upper Spencer Gulf, stand to benefit from the expansion through related infrastructure improvements and the provision of services to the mine. Today's news confirms South Australia's prospects as a major contributor to the national resources boom. With the opening of the Terramin zinc, lead and silver mine in the Adelaide Hills last week, South Australia now has 10 operating mines—up from four when this government came to office. More than 20 new mines are now being planned and developed.

Production at OZ Minerals' copper and gold mine at Prominent Hill near Woomera is expected to begin shortly. With a capital cost of more than $1 billion, this mine is expected to create 1,200 jobs during its construction and mining phases. Just today OZ Minerals announced a substantially increased resource estimate for the Prominent Hill deposit, based on extensive additional drilling completed in the last year. Iluka Resources is developing a globally significant $420 million zircon resource at Jacinth-Ambrosia in the Eucla Basin. About 250 new jobs are expected in the initial construction stage of this mine, while 120 full-time jobs are expected during the life of the project.

Overall expenditure on mining exploration in this state has increased tenfold during the last five years. Spending on mineral exploration in the June quarter alone was $95.2 million—a record quarterly high. Over the past five years—and this is particularly for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition—South Australia has risen from 36th place to fourth place on the Fraser Institute's global rankings for mining prospectivity—the only Australian jurisdiction in the top 10—ahead of Western Australia and Queensland.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT