BHP BILLITON has revealed that a desalination plant will have to be built to support the proposed expansion of its Olympic Dam uranium mine in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released on 1 May 2009.
According to the EIS, the expanded mine, in South Australia’s north, would have enormous water and energy demands. The mine would consume up to five times as much power as the current site and up to 250ML of water a day.
Currently, the Olympic Dam mine consumes 37ML of water a day.
BHP Billiton says a desalination plant will be built near Whyalla to provide most of the water required. The Spencer Gulf cuttlefish industry will not be affected by the plants discharge, the company claims.
The EIS also states that in order to power the Olympic Dam mine, a gas pipeline from Moomba to power an electricity station at the site or a 270km electricity transmission line from Port Augusta will need to be built.
A new 105km rail connection would also be required to join the mine to the Adelaide to Darwin rail line. Additionally, a new airport and a new 10,000 person village would need to be built while the existing Roxby Downs township would also need expanding.
These expansions would take up to a decade to complete and BHP Billiton did not disclose the costs involved.
According to the BHP, the expanded Olympic Dam mine would employ 8000 permanent workers and lead to 13,000 more flow-on jobs. Aside from uranium, at least 1.6 million tons of copper concentrate would be exported annually to China.
The South Australian, Northern Territory and Federal Governments all need to approve the expansion. The EIS is open for public comment until 7 August 2009.
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