BHP said it plans to issue its environmental impact statement for the project to the South Australian state government before the end of 2008 with approval to take between 12 and 18 months and likely in 2010.
The Melbourne-based miner said development of the planned open pit operation at Olympic Dam will take five years.
The first stage involves optimization of the underground mine which is expected to increase copper output to a rate of 200,000 tons a year and uranium output to 4,000 tons ahead of the major open pit expansion taking output to 730,000 tons of copper and 19,000 tons of uranium.
-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9671-4313; alex.wilson@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-30-08 1912ET

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