BHP Billiton have put the planned Olympic Dam mine expansion on the back burner today which will be a $30 billion blow to the South Australian economy. Olympic Dam is located in South Australia about 500 km north of Adelaide. While the change of plans will result in a short term loss I think that the good news is that the minerals in the ground are not going anywhere in the meantime. They will still be there when the economy picks up or when commodities prices rise or when mining processes improve to make the project that much more viable. Possibly it is like having money in the bank - every other state will have dug up all of their minerals and we will have our own stockpile for the future and can have our own mining boom while everyone else has finished theirs. In the mean time South Australia can continue to focus on world class medical and health research and value-added manufacturing.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
BHP's Olympic Dam Expansion Plans Shelved
BHP Billiton have put the planned Olympic Dam mine expansion on the back burner today which will be a $30 billion blow to the South Australian economy. Olympic Dam is located in South Australia about 500 km north of Adelaide. While the change of plans will result in a short term loss I think that the good news is that the minerals in the ground are not going anywhere in the meantime. They will still be there when the economy picks up or when commodities prices rise or when mining processes improve to make the project that much more viable. Possibly it is like having money in the bank - every other state will have dug up all of their minerals and we will have our own stockpile for the future and can have our own mining boom while everyone else has finished theirs. In the mean time South Australia can continue to focus on world class medical and health research and value-added manufacturing.
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