Australian Greens may yet put a spanner in the works of expanding Olympic Damn Uranium mine
Greens threaten BHP deal, BY:MICHAEL OWEN ,The Australian ,October 14, 2011 KEVIN Foley, who for six years led the South Australian government’s negotiations with BHP Billiton over its planned Olympic Dam expansion, has slammed the Greens for threatening to stall the passage of an indenture agreement through parliament in a spat over royalties.
- The indenture, signed by the former treasurer and Premier Mike Rann with BHP chief Marius Kloppers in Melbourne on Wednesday, fixes royalties at the current 5 per cent for uranium and 3.5 per cent for other minerals for the first 45 years of the project.
- The indenture needs to be ratified by the state’s parliament and a bill will be introduced on Tuesday, but there is no guarantee of a swift passage through the upper house, where the Labor government does not have a majority.
Greens upper house MP Mark Parnell yesterday vowed to move amendments to the royalty deal. “All companies want security, they love to know things that will be set in stone forever but . . . royalties go up and down, mostly they go up,” Mr Parnell said. “A lot of states are thinking of putting theirs up higher, so to lock in a company with its own special act of parliament to not have to pay any higher royalties for 45 years I think is wrong and I think we have sold ourselves short.”.. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/greens-threaten-bhp-deal/story-e6frg9df-1226166214071
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