SA government begins assessing BHP copper expansion

The South Australian Government has commenced an application and assessment process for BHP’s planned smelter and refinery expansion at Olympic Dam in South Australia, which could see copper cathode production double over the next decade,

The news came through a notification in the South Australian Government Gazette on Thursday, and was described by BHP as an important step towards significantly increased copper production in SA.

The company’s “copper province” includes the Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena underground mines. These supply volumes of copper concentrate to a centralised smelter and refinery complex at Olympic Dam (pictured) to produce refined copper cathode. 

BHP is also progressing the Oak Dam exploration prospect, 65 kilometres from Olympic Dam, where exploration so far has indicated high-grade copper and associated minerals deep in the ground.

This week it shared a phased strategy in its FY24 results “to increase production in SA to 500,000 tonnes of refined copper cathode by the early 2030s and then potentially up to 650,000 tonnes by the mid-2030s – up from ~322,000 tonnes last financial year.”

BHP Asset President Copper South Australia, Anna Wiley, said “We are already growing BHP’s copper production in South Australia with projects and studies underway at all of our operating sites, and we’re moving at pace to potentially double our current production by the middle of the next decade.”

Picture: Olympic Dam (credit BHP)