BHP has awarded a design and supply contract to China Nerin Engineering for key processing facilities as part of the proposed Olympic Dam smelter and refinery expansion project in South Australia.
The contract, valued at over A$200 million, will be executed in separate stages as BHP advances through study phases and toward a potential final investment decision on the smelter and refinery expansion in 2027. The supply portion of the agreement is contingent upon BHP approving the final investment decision on the smelter and refinery expansion.
“Partnering with Nerin reflects our focus on building a globally connected supply chain to support Copper South Australia’s growth. Nerin brings the scale and technical expertise to progress complex smelting and refining solutions,” said Rashpal Bhatti, group procurement officer, BHP.
“As demand for copper intensifies, partnerships like this enable us to access innovation across key markets and support reliable project delivery.”
Olympic Dam’s smelter and refinery complex is at the heart of South Australia’s copper province, and the expansion project would support the mining giant’s ambition to grow production out of South Australia to 500,000 tpa through the 2030s, and potentially up to 650,000 tpa by the end of the decade.
BHP already has more than A$2 billion of projects currently in execution to build the Copper SA province, including a 1.3-kilometre deep haul shaft at Prominent Hill and the new Southern Mine Area underground access tunnel at Olympic Dam.
Source: BHP