BHP Billiton shelves Olympic Dam expansion Project

SMM10, 21 / PRNewswire-Asianet /-- it is reported that BHP Billiton has shelved its planned expansion of the Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium mine in South Australia at a cost of US $2.5 billion due to the lower-than-expected results of the study of the orebody.

The mine produced more than 50,000 tons of copper in the third quarter, the highest quarterly output since 2015.

"Studies have shown that copper resources in southern mining areas are more complex in structure and the continuity of high-grade mines is lower than previously thought," BHP said in a statement. "

BHP Billiton cut its copper production forecast for the mine to 300000 tonnes a year from 350000 tonnes after evaluating more than 400km of drilling samples. However, the company believes that the long-term prospects of the Olympic Dam are still promising.