Antinuclear

Marius Kloppers twists and turns as he hangs on to his baby – the big scheme – Olympic Damn uranium mine

Complicated messages from Marius Kloppers as he tries to promote his baby – the planned new giant open cut uranium mine at Olympic Dam:

• Kloppers pays a little lip service to renewable energy – but he doesn’t want BHP Billiton to be involved in that.
• Kloppers says that fossil fuels, especially gas are the go, for now, but nuclear power will come into its own, – later
• Kloppers sees the Olympic Dam development as being 10 years or more away from completely functioning
• Kloppers admits that BHP would withhold investment in Olympic Dam, if necessary
• Kloppers wants a better deal on royalties and taxes – to make the big project work (even more concessions than BHP already has?)
• Kloppers wants “flexibility” in the workforce –  I wonder what that flexibility would really mean (?crush the unions, fly-in workers, negotiating conditions – from BHP’s position of relative power)

Kloppers backing down on $80 billion expansion , talking to ABC  – talking about solar cells ‘we are going to stick to our knitting: He says that natural gas and nuclear power will have very big roles before renewable energy takes over  – quoted on ABC Business News 7 June 12

BHP poised to reveal ‘dramatic’ carbon plan SMH Peter Ker June 6, 2012  “… When asked about the world’s future energy choices this morning, Mr Kloppers said fossil fuels were likely to persist as the world’s preferred source of energy, with alternative forms of gas set to enjoy a period of strength……”Longer term the world is going to continue to work on nuclear products and that has to augment the energy mix at some time.”… Olympic Dam in South Australia – expected to be a decade or more away from full exploitation.

BHP vows to stay the course on major projects : By Christopher Russell  The Advertiser June 07, 2012 “… Analysts have raised questions about BHP’s ability to invest in three major projects due to go to the BHP board this year – Olympic Dam, expanding the Outer Harbor for iron ore exports from Port Hedland and the Jansen potash
project in Canada…….

BHP would stick to its strategy, but it also would be flexible and withhold investment if necessary. “We will only trigger development of these options (BHP’s pipeline of projects) when our measures of success can be sustainably achieved,”
he said.

To maximise opportunities for Australia, it was important for policy makers to lay a competitive environment. That meant caution on royalties and taxes and the creation of a labour market with high flexibility…

June 7, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, uranium