Significant milestone as BHP’s SA copper plan set for assessment
BHP has reached a significant milestone on a pathway that could see a more than doubling of copper production in South Australia by middle of the next decade.
The State Government has made a declaration calling in BHP's proposed development to increase copper cathode production, and associated products, as an ‘impact assessed development’.
If approved, the proposed project would see a new, second copper smelting furnace built, which would augment and expand the existing facilities at Olympic Dam.
This upgrade would facilitate the processing of more materials from BHP’s portfolio of copper assets across South Australia, including Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena.
In its FY24 full year results released this week, BHP also made a significant public statement about the size and quality of its mineral resource at its Oak Dam prospect, reinforcing the potential for South Australia as a leading copper jurisdiction.
BHP has outlined a strategy to further increase BHP’s copper production from South Australia from 322,000 tonnes of copper last financial year, up to 650,000 tonnes a year by the mid-2030s.
The assessment processes in place for impact assessed developments allow for the highest level of scrutiny under South Australian law, and can be aligned with the Commonwealth’s environmental assessment processes to ensure a robust scientific and technical assessment.
Quotes
Attributable to Tom Koutsantonis
This declaration marks the beginning of a robust consultation and decision-making process.
It’s an opportunity for BHP to make a case for this proposal, and allowing the South Australian community to weigh up the benefits the project could bring against any economic, social and environmental impacts it could have.
It’s very encouraging to see BHP planning for ongoing significant investment in South Australia – as we’d expect, they’ve done a mountain of work before reaching this point and their public statements about the potential of this copper plan are significant.
However, we’ve been down this path before, and South Australians have a right to be sceptical. Following the assessment process, BHP’s final investment decision rests with them, and they have advised they plan to make a decision in the first half of FY27.
But we do know that this proposed development comes at a time when our state is ideally positioned to capitalise on the massive opportunity emerging in the global effort to decarbonise.
This proposed investment would align with the copper opportunity the Malinauskas Government has already outlined in the State Prosperity Project. Our state is home to more than two-thirds of Australia’s total copper resources, and its emergence as a Tier One copper province could ensure we have a significant role in meeting the predicted surge in international demand for copper required by the global energy transition.
For BHP, the proposal represents an opportunity to consolidate the huge investments the company has already made in South Australia’s copper assets and make significant returns to shareholders.
For South Australia, it could mean a huge boost to the value we add to the state’s natural resources right here in this state, meaning greater opportunities for South Australians.