Canberra cuts green tape to fast-track major projects – but what will Olympic Dam expansion plans deliver for SA?
Canberra has cleared the way for BHP to fast-track a potential multibillion-dollar expansion of Olympic Dam. But will it create an Outback jobs bonanza, or just a mirage in the desert?
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BHP’s proposed expansion of its Olympic Dam operation, worth up to $3.7 billion, is a step closer following the Federal Government’s slashing of environmental approval times.
The project is one of 15 major developments targeted by the government as part of its bid to slash approval times by an average 50 per cent.
BHP is currently investigating options to boost annual output at Olympic Dam, in the state’s Far North, from around 200,000 tonnes of copper to between 240,000 and 300,000 tonnes.
The State Government estimates that 1800 jobs could be created during construction, with 600 extra ongoing jobs at the mine.
But the company is yet to give solid commitments around timelines, financial investments and job numbers for the expansion, as it continues work on internal feasibility studies.
BHP’s Olympic Dam asset president Laura Tyler welcomed the federal efforts to “make major project approval processes more efficient and provide greater certainty for investment”.
“While we continue to study our potential future development options for Olympic Dam, our focus remains on operating safely and reliably,” she said.
“Ongoing improvements to infrastructure and operational stability in our surface processing facilities, in particular, will help us set a foundation that supports long-term sustainability.”
BHP’s proposed expansion project, known as Brownfields Expansion or BFX, is part of the mining giant’s long-term growth strategy for the mine, which was declared a major development by Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan last year.
The State Government last month released its environmental assessment guidelines for the project, while Federal Government approvals would also be required.
However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed on Monday that he was in talks with state leaders about removing a layer of environmental approvals for major projects, to reduce duplication between state and federal processes.
“Ultimately our objective is the streamlining of Commonwealth and state processes to a point of ‘single touch’ approvals,” Mr Morrison told a business forum in Canberra.
The Federal Government will establish “joint assessment teams” to work on slashing green tape for 15 priority projects worth more than $72 billion, with an aim of reducing assessment and approval times from an average of 3.5 years to just 21 months.
It also flagged a goal to get Commonwealth environmental approvals down from an average of 90 days to just 30 days by the end of the year.
BHP’s BFX project could involve targeted underground development in the resource-rich southern mine area, investment in surface processing facilities, new technology and supporting infrastructure.
The BHP board is expected to make a decision on its preferred way forward next year, with plans to start work some time in the next four years.
SA Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the Federal Government’s plan, saying it was a “fast-track to the 1950s, not to a modern smarter Australia”.
“Most Australians want better protection for the environment, not less,” she said.
“Australians want jobs and projects that look after our forests, beaches and parks; not jobs that trash our environment and kill off our native animals.”
However, SA Chamber of Mines and Energy chief executive Rebecca Knol said the resources sector would play a critical role in the state’s COVID-19 recovery.
“Overlapping regulation affecting both mining approvals and compliance obligations continues to be a constraint on project investment and project approval time frames,” she said.
“Stimulus measures provide a unique opportunity to implement regulatory and infrastructure solutions that attract investment, improve efficiency and result in streamlined approval frameworks.”
Premier Steven Marshall also welcomed the Federal Government’s deregulation measures, which come at “a critical time to speed up approvals”.
“The sooner we do it the sooner we can get some shovels in the ground, the sooner we can create jobs,” he said.
“It’s a perfect example of where what we need to be doing is having a single approvals process rather than a state and a federal – both causing delays potentially.”