Hindrances in South Australian Parliament to BHP BIlliton’s plan for monster uranium mine
Greens call for inquiry into Olympic Dam expansion, SMH Peter KerOctober 18, 2011 APPROVAL for BHP Billiton’s massive Olympic Dam expansion may not proceed as quickly as the global miner would like, with minor parties in the South Australian parliament seeking to slow the process by attempting to force the company to front a parliamentary inquiry.
The indenture agreement struck by BHP and the SA Government for Olympic Dam will be introduced to the state’s parliament today or tomorrow, and must be approved by both chambers to have any legal power.
The Premier Mike Rann – who will retire on Friday – wants Parliament to approve the bill as soon as possible, and BHP has promised to start spending up to $US1.2 billion as soon as the bill secures passage through the Parliament.
But Mr Rann’s Labor Party does not control the upper house of Parliament, where a group of seven minor party MP’s have the balance of power. Two of those MPs represent the Greens Party, and Greens leader Mark Parnell said the agreement was so important to South Australia’s future it must be fully analysed by a select committee with powers to call and question BHP executives.
Mr Parnell said the delay should pose no problem given BHP does not expect to take a final investment decision until mid 2012. ”What is the point of the SA Parliament cutting corners and rushing this through when the company isn’t going to decide until the middle of next year anyway,” he said.
Mr Parnell wants to quiz BHP over why more processing of Olympic Dam’s copper, uranium and gold could not take place in Australia, as well as the environmental impacts. Despite the approvals process running over many years and through hundreds of pages of environmental impact statements, Mr Parnell said the public had never had a chance to publicly question BHP officials.
“It is time, as Parliament sets to sign off on the biggest deal in South Australia’s history, to finally get some straight answers on this enormous project,” he said. : http://www.smh.com.au/business/greens-call-for-inquiry-into-olympic-dam-expansion-20111017-1ltda.html#ixzz1b9u265hy
South Australian Premier Mike Rann having a bet each way on his uranium “legacy”
Two faced Premier Mike Rann, previously elected as S.A. Labor Party’s spokesman AGAINST uranium mining, went on to be a fervent servant of BHP Billiton. Now he wants to have his “legacy” as having approved. the monster Olympic Dam open cut uranium mine.
BUT – that mightn’t work out. Olympic Damn has a good chance of becoming an environmental and economic nightmare for South Australia. So, just in case, Mr Rann is now piously giving himself the credit for saving Arkaroola Wildreness from uranium mining. (Bad luck, Marathon Resources, your Premier dumped you for BHP.) – Christina Macpherson
Arkaroola protection bill going to SA Parliament ABC News, October 17, 2011 Premier Mike Rann has visited Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary to promote this week’s introduction of legislation to permanently protect the area from mining.
The South Australian Premier sees Arkaroola’s protection as some of his last business before he steps out of the limelight…
His Government signed the Olympic Dam indenture with BHP Billiton last week, another key project Mr Rann leaves as his legacy….. New laws will ban all types of mining at Arkaroola and come four years after exploration waste was dumped at Mount Gee in the area by explorer Marathon Resources. Arkaroola also has been provisionally listed on the state heritage register and will be nominated for national and world heritage listing…
Marathon Resources had spent millions of dollars exploring at Arkaroola and its share price has fallen since the mining ban was flagged.It is negotiating with the SA Government for compensation. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-17/arkaroola-wilderness-legislation-mining-ban/3574300
Grandiose uranium mine depicted as a tourist attraction!
As well as a giant open pit, the company will leave behind a small mountain of unused rocks and a large tailings storage facility, which will need to be fenced off with warnings of the potential for radiation exposure.
Once mining stops, the pit is expected to fill with rising groundwater, creating a vast outback lake that would be up to 350m deep.
BHP Billiton says backfilling is not a feasible option and has suggested the South Australian Government resume control of the pit and turn it into a managed tourist attraction. It says the government would be responsible for building and maintaining viewing platforms and controlling access by tourists, students and scientists.
It suggests the rock storage, where it will dump the ”overburden” of surface rock and soil which will take about five years to remove, should be returned as crown land and could also be used for tourism….
The expanded mine is planned to be productive for 40 years……
Anti-nuclear groups and the Greens have criticised the conditions for not going far enough, but are equally concerned about what will be left behind.
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance said almost nine billion tonnes of radioactive waste would remain in northern SA. A spokeswoman said if that was acceptable to the SA Government, then it was setting the bar ”extremely low”.
”The radioactive waste will remain on Kokatha and Arabunna country long after BHP Billiton packs up its business and moves on,” she said, referring to traditional indigenous landowners of the region…. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/mine-could-one-day-be-a-tourist-attraction/2320845.aspx
BHP Billiton’s proposed desalination plant to exterminate Australia’s iconic Giant Cuttlefish?
Save the Giant Australian Cuttlefish and Upper Spencer Gulf The Point Lowly Peninsula is the only known place in the world where hundreds of thousands of Giant Australian Cuttlefish gather to breed. We need your help to urge the State Government of South Australia to protect this wildlife phenomenon from proposed industrial impacts.
Other fish species also spawn in the area including Snapper, Western King Prawns, Squid, Eagle Rays and Port Jackson Sharks. The Upper Spencer Gulf ecosystem also supports resident dolphin pods plus visiting whales, endangered sealions and turtles.
A desalination plant is currently proposed for the Point Lowly Peninsula. If approved, its operation will release salty brine into this sensitive ecosystem. Scientific studies have shown that increased salinity kills cuttlefish and squid eggs.
The Giant Australian Cuttlefish and Upper Spencer Gulf fish nurseries need your help. Sign and share our petition and urge our State Premier to insist on relocating the proposed desalination plant to a less vulnerable area. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/7/save-the-giant-australian-cuttlefish-upper-spencer-gulf/
Aboriginal elder warns of Kalta – nature’s revenge for huge Olympic Dam uranium mine
THE LIZARDS REVENGE, DLF – Desert Liberation Front, Response to the governments decision to expand Olympic Dam mine. Sleeping underneath the ground there is an old lizard, Kalta the sleepy lizard. The lizard ain’t so sleepy anymore.
BHP is mining right into that Lizards body. The government has just approved an expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine, making it the biggest uranium mine in the world.
Kalta is angry and wants revenge. Arabana elder Kevin Buzzacot is calling the people of the world to help the lizard shut down the mine. He is calling for people to come and heal the land in the name of peace and justice for the next 10,000 generations to come.
The land is being irreversibly poisoned in and around Roxby Downs by the tailings dam causing dust and ground water contamination, and contamination of its workers.
The uranium is taken all over the world and used to kill the land and all its creatures. It’s destroying lives not only in Fukashima, with the reactor meltdown, but in the depleted uranium shells that children play with in the streets of Iraq and Kosovo.
With the governments numerous attempts to put a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty in the Northern Territory there is a danger that radioactive waste will be brought back, opening Australia up to accepting nuclear waste from all over the world. Lets stop the deadly cycle where it starts.
The land the lizard and the creatures of this earth are summoning everybody who gives a shit to the gates of Roxby Downs on the 14th of july 2012 for The Lizards Revenge – This is an open invitation to all people and a special call out to artists, musicians and activist community groups and media to get involved in the creation of this autonomous zone for the peace and healing of this land.
Obscenity of BHP Billiton’s Control of Huge Water Resources in Olympic Damn Uranium Mine Deal
VIDEO Mine expansion draws more water from basin ABC News, Paul Klaric, October 14, 2011 Scientists are concerned that the the proposed Olympic Dam mine expansion will put a strain on Australia’s greatest underground water supply. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-14/mine-expansion-draws-more-water-from-basin/3572500
GREEN LIGHT FOR OLYMPIC DAM EXPANSION THE BLOGGER IS A BHP BILLITON SHAREHOLDER. On 13 May 2011 the company announced a proposal for six-fold expansion of Olympic Dam Mine in South Australia – to extract the most valuable single mineral deposit in the world. The mine will consume up to 42 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin for plus 40 years.
USE OF THE GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN BY THAT MINE IS THE ISSUE WHICH THIS BLOG ADDRESSES
On 10 October 2011 the South Australian (SA) Government granted approval for the BHP Billiton (BHP) Olympic Dam expansion. The Indenture Bill, signed on 12 October by representatives of BHP and the State Government, will now be submitted to vote in the SA Parliament. The SA government will not terminate or suspend the current licence which entitles BHP to take 42 million litres of water each day for Olympic Dam from the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) – but BHP will in the future pay for GAB water. This failure of the SA Government to protect the best interests of the GAB represents an enormously significant strategic win for BHP.
One small concession to Australia’s environment – BHP to pay a bit for future water grab
(once again – so much news about BHP Billiton and Olympic Dam uranium mine – more items at http://nuclearnewsaustralia.wordpress.com/ )
BHP forced to pay for Great Artesian Basin water, ABC Rural By Annabelle Homer , 13/10/2011 The South Australian Government and BHP Billiton have signed an Indenture Agreement to enable the Olympic Dam mine expansion to go ahead. The Indenture Bill will be introduced to State Parliament next week to enable this agreement to be backed by the full force of South Australian law.
As part of the agreement, the company will now be charged for the water it extracts from the Great Artesian Basin and $350 million a year in royalties will be generated once the project is at full capacity….. BHP has accepted reluctantly they will now come under Environment Protection Agency, they are paying for the first time ever for the Great Artesian Basin water.”
BHP will be charged on the current NRM Board levy rate (currently $0.0318/KL) for the region (capped at $0.10/KL), for a period of 30 years from the commencement of the project.The charge will then revert to the current NRM Levy rate.
BHP will not be required to pay for water being taken on the Special Mineral Lease.
Independent environmental consultant David Noonan says the BHP is not paying enough. “He says the company will be paying $1.3 million to $1.5 million a year for essentially a precious water resource.”
The Bill also includes a 12-month sunset clause, which means the company has one year from when Parliament passes the Bill to get the approval from its Board of Directors to formally begin the expansion. http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201110/s3338957.htm
How Australian governments gave BHP special treatment, and free groundwater
Public resources for private profit: free water for the largest open-pit mine in the world Coober Pedy Regional Times, by: Nectaria Calan, 13 Oct 11 In August mining giant BHP Billiton announced record financial results for the 2011 financial year, recording a total net profit of US$23.95 billion, nearly double its 2010 figure of US$13.01 billion.Friends of the Earth call for transparency on proposed Whyalla In Situ Leach uranium trial
14 oct 11, Public submissions for Samphire Uranium’s application for an In Situ Leach trial mine closed yesterday. Better known as the Mullaquana project, the proposed trial site is located 20km from Whyalla, 3.6km from the Upper Spencer Gulf. Samphire Uranium is wholly owned by UraniumSA, a new entrant in the uranium mining industry.
In Situ Leach mines pump highly acidic substances into an aquifer to mobilise uranium. The liquid is then pumped out of the aquifer and processed to remove the uranium. The waste liquid is then pumped back into the aquifer.
Two grassroots environmental groups, Friends of the Earth Adelaide and West Mallee Protection, stated in their joint submission that:
“Given the number of risks involved with the proposed Mullaquana trial, particularly the routine contamination of groundwater by heavy metals and radioactive materials associated with In Situ Leach mining…we strongly recommend that this proposal is rejected.”
“Using…questionable, fuzzy logic, attempts are made to argue that low soil productivity and the low quality of groundwater negate potential risks and minimise the impact of contamination…this is essentially saying that it’s okay to pollute soil and groundwater with radioactive materials and heavy metals simply because it is of a lower quality.”
Friends of the Earth Adelaide and West Mallee Protection are calling on PIRSA to reject the application.
“The In Situ Leach method of mining has left numerous sites in Eastern Europe heavily contaminated. In South Australia, there have been over 20 spills at the Beverley In Situ Leach mine. In January 2002 a pipe burst, releasing 62, 000 litres of contaminated water. UraniumSA claim that they have recruited heavily from within this sector,” said Nectaria Calan, of Friends of the Earth Adelaide.
No commercial acid leach mine in the USA has ever been given environmental approval because of the high risk of contamination.
“Given UraniumSA’s public commitment to transparency, we are calling on the company to commit to making publically available the In Situ data that will be obtained during the trial, and the models they use to obtain it,” stated Ms Calan.
Soouth Australia’s Mike Rann gives freehold to BHP over Olympic Dam uranium mining lease
“They have a code of silence at that mining lease that’s stronger than any code in downtown Calabria,” “They even have the government tied up because when BHP says jump, the government says how high.”
Yesterday, Rann again signed off on BHP’s powerful proprietary interests over the site. BHP gets freehold over the extended Olympic Dam mining lease. Few mining companies have this ultimate level of control.
The estimated mining royalties for South Australia ($350 million) from the “world’s biggest mine in human history” are around one tenth of what Western Australia pulls every year from iron ore.
Mike Rann delivers Kloppers’ Kingdom in Melbourne, Crikey, by Kevin Naughton of InDaily, 13 Oct 11,
“…….Rann was in Melbourne at BHP Billiton’s headquarters to sign the indenture agreement that specifies several of the terms under which BHP can expand its mine at Olympic Dam. Marius Kloppers, the busy global boss of the company with more than $72 billion turnover, held the whip hand on the Premier of a state with annual turnover of about $13 billion.
The indenture agreement goes before Parliament next week where there will be some token debate, but little in the way of exhaustive analysis of the terms of a deal that gives BHP 45 years of certainty, control and exclusive access rights that make this mine site look more like Kloppers’ Kingdom than a part of South Australia. Continue reading
Australia’s Environment Minister lying about safety of BHP’s Olympic Dam uranium mine
( Once again – so much news on Olympic Damn that we have put a selection of other items on http://nuclearnewsaustralia.wordpress.com/)
A headache of Olympic proportions The Drum, Scott Ludlam, 13 Oct 11 The concept of ‘environmental protection’ has taken on new meaning with the announcement of Commonwealth environmental approvals for BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam copper/gold/uranium mine in South Australia.
“We have the toughest environmental conditions that you’ll ever find imposed on a uranium mine,” Commonwealth Environment Minister Tony Burke stated proudly.
This is known in the technical literature as a ‘bald-faced lie’. We know that, because the toughest environmental conditions found at a uranium mine are 2,000 kilometres northward, at the Ranger Uranium mine on a lease chopped out of Kakadu National Park in the NT. There, the company is required to backfill the mine voids with their radioactive wastes, removing somewhat more than a hundred million tonnes of the stuff from the surface and dumping it back in the pit to be capped and revegetated as best as possible. In Kakadu, the company is required to isolate these wastes from the wider environment for a period not less than 10,000 years. This is clearly an impossible task, but a worthy ambition at least.
No such duty of care will be applied for the benefit of South Australians. Mr Burke has earnestly reassured us that conditions will apply for 10 years after the life of the mine. He has granted approval for the mine tailings waste to be dumped and left out on the surface in apparent ignorance of the fact that the residual inventory of Uranium 238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, and that the mine wastes will contain a cocktail of unwanted daughter isotopes including radium, protactinium, radon gas and radioactive lead. Continue reading
Not all smooth sailing for BHP’s plan to expand Olympic Dam uranium mine
agreement is conditional on the Indenture Act passing through South Australia’s Parliament. And with the Greens and Opposition poring over the details, that progression is far from assured.The company has signed a preliminary agreement with the state’s Premier Mike Rann. BHP Billiton now has a year to reach a final investment decision. Mr Rann says today will go down in history.
But the Opposition says he has compromised important negotiations. Nance Haxton reports. Continue reading
With Diesel rebates, BHP’s Olympic Dam Royalties likely to return poorly to South Australian Government
Mike Rann has claimed that the new open-pit mine will be his “economic legacy to the state.” However, a consideration of the financial return to BHP through diesel rebates alone indicates that this legacy may be somewhat overstated…
BHP stands to gain $128 million per year in diesel rebates in the initial development period of the mine, $144 million per year in the intermediate stage, and $178 million per year at full production.
Public resources for private profit: free water for the largest open-pit mine in the world Coober Pedy Regional Times, by: Nectaria Calan, 13 Oct 11, “………With approval of the new mine announced on Monday, the next stage of the approval process is the negotiation of a new Indenture Act which will apply to the new mine. It is expected that the revised Act will be introduced into the South Australian parliament next week, given Mike Rann’s commitment to finalising the indenture agreement before his retirement on October 20.
It is within the power of the South Australian government to negotiate a substantially different indenture agreement, or to repeal the Indenture Act completely. Continue reading
Olympic Dam an unprecedented attack on Australia’s environment
BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine expansion will leave an uprecedented environmental legacy THE AUSTRALIAN, BY:PAUL CLEARY October 11, 2011 FUTURE generations of Australians will have to contend with an unprecedented environmental legacy from the expansion of Olympic Dam’s copper-uranium mine, but our system provides no way of compensating them.
BHP Billiton’s open-cut expansion of mining to extract an estimated $800 billion in mineral wealth will leave behind an above-ground heap of radioactive tailings spread over 44sq km and as high as the Sydney Opera House.
After 40 years of production, the mine will also leave behind a toxic crater measuring 4km wide and more than 1km deep.
Both legacies pose significant risks to ground water, according to BHP’s environmental impact statement . . . although these were dismissed yesterday by Environment Minister Tony Burke.
Under Australia’s federal-state system, the South Australian government has no incentive to set up a future fund so that it can compensate future residents for having to live with much less mineral wealth, and with the environmental costs of this development. Nor has the federal government or opposition shown any interest in measures to compensate our grandkids, and their descendants, for having used our inherited mineral wealth to inflate our standard of living….. the mineral resources rent tax won’t collect any of the above-normal profits earned from developing one of the world’s biggest ore deposits, because it only taxes coal and iron ore production. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/counting-the-cost-of-bhps-olympic-dam/story-e6frg9if-1226163362958
You’ve heard of Penis Envy? Now Rio Tinto brings Dirty Great Uranium Hole envy
Under today’s announced agreement, Tasman will get an immediate cash injection of A$10 million from Rio Tinto and that would see Tasman undertake a A$5 million search programme over Vulcan in the next 12 months. Tasman’s executive chairman Greg Solomon said Rio has the right but not the obligation to earn up to 80% in the project by committing to a two-stage farm-in arrangement by spending up to A$75 million and, in addition, paying Tasman up to A$17 million including the initial A$10 million payment….
The ambitious programme would see Olympic Dam transformed from a big underground mine to an open pit, but the ore system is under about 400 metres of sterile cover and would involve creating mountains of stockpiles in the pancake-flat terrain.
The market is awaiting a decision on Olympic Dam going open cut and it was considered imminent given the fact that South Australian Premier Mike Rann, who is soon to depart, indicated that he wanted to stay in the chair to be able to announce the mine upgrade…. http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page103118?oid=137193&sn=Detail&pid=102055
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