South Australian Parliament Ratifies Roxby Downs
(Indenture Ratification) (Amendment
Of Indenture) Amendment
Bill
BHP Billiton today welcomed the passage of the Roxby
Downs (Indenture Ratification) (Amendment
of Indenture) Amendment
Bill through the South Australian
Parliament. BHP Billiton Uranium President, Dean
Dalla Valle, said: ???This
is a major milestone in
the progression of our Olympic
Dam Project. ???The passage of this Bill provides the Company with greater certainty for what would be a significant
investment and demonstrates
South Australia???s support for the project. ???It also allows
us to activate pre-commitment
funding, previously approved by the Board, for the purchase of long lead items such
as trucks, infrastructure development and early site works for the first
phase of the expansion project. ???We need
to complete further studies on the project before seeking Board approval next year for the first stage
of our expansion. ???If approved, the Olympic Dam Project will be an economic driver for South
Australia over the next
40 years. ???I would like
to express my thanks to both the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition for their bi-partisan support for this Bill and all members of
the South Australian Parliament
for their contribution to the debate.
I would also like to thank the people and
teams who have worked very hard over several years to achieve approvals and the outcome today.??? The Olympic Dam Project will create one of the
world???s largest open pit
mines with the potential
to increase copper
production from around
180,000 tonnes per annum to 750,000 tonnes per annum and beyond. BHP Billiton received environmental approvals for the
Olympic Dam Project from
the Government of South Australia
and the Commonwealth in October this
year, following assessment of its draft and supplementary Environmental Impact Statements. |