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How BHP is transforming SA copper

BHP SA copper

BHP last year announced plans to more than double SA copper production by the mid-2030s. This week, we gained greater insight into how this will be achieved.

To realise the copper uplift, BHP will need to upgrade its Olympic Dam smelter and refinery so it can produce more than 500,000 tonnes per year.

The major miner has contracted Fluor Australia and Hatch to oversee the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) component of the expansion, with the contract to be executed in stages ahead of a final investment decision in the first half of the 2026–27 financial year.

“Fluor and Hatch are experienced global EPCM partners with significant shared experience in delivering mega projects, who will bring the right level of scale and expertise to help BHP progress its copper growth plans in South Australia,” BHP group procurement officer Rashpal Bhatti said.

“The growth potential for Copper SA is exciting and this first stage of EPCM works will be key as we progress the proposal for an expanded copper smelter and refinery at the heart of South Australia’s growing copper province towards a final investment decision.”

BHP asset president Anna Wiley said the company was “building momentum in South Australia”.

“BHP has established a world-scale copper province in South Australia and we are working at pace to progress our plans to lift production further over the coming decade,” she said.

Alongside its Olympic Dam mine, BHP will look to further leverage its Prominent Hill and Carrapateena mines as part of its copper expansion.

The Oak Dam project is also waiting in the wings, boasting an inferred mineral resource of 1.34 billion tonnes at 0.66 per cent copper.

When it was announced in September 2024, the State Government declared BHP’s planned smelter expansion an ‘impact assessed development’, which would see the company enter a robust consultation process before the project can be approved.

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