The South Australian Government has announced the commencement of an application and assessment process for BHP’s planned smelter and refinery expansion at Olympic Dam via a notification in the South Australian Government Gazette.

The notification is a step forward for BHP’s copper growth plans in South Australia and follows an update in the company’s financial year 2024 full-year results last week, which outlined a phased strategy to increase production in South Australia to 500,000 t/y of refined copper cathode by the early 2030s and then potentially up to 650,000 t/y by the mid-2030s – up from circa-322,000 t last financial year.

BHP Asset President Copper South Australia, Anna Wiley, said: “Today’s announcement is an important step for BHP and the South Australian Government as we work together towards our shared ambition to significantly increase copper production in this state.”

“We are already growing BHP’s copper production in South Australia with projects and studies underway at all of our operating sites, and we’re moving at pace to potentially double our current production by the middle of the next decade.”

BHP’s copper province in South Australia comprises the Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena underground mines, which provide volumes of copper concentrate to a centralised smelter and refinery complex at Olympic Dam that produces refined copper cathode. The company is also progressing the Oak Dam exploration prospect.

BHP, last week, announced an inferred resource at Oak Dam of 1,340 Mt at 0.66% Cu and 0.33 g/t Au, within which is a mineralisation area that contains 220 Mt at 1.96% Cu and 0.68 g/t Au (at a 1% copper cutoff grade).

A final investment decision on phase one of the smelter and refinery expansion is currently scheduled in the first half of financial year 2027.