PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining giant BHP Billiton has temporarily suspended operations and evacuated nonessential personnel at its Olympic Dam mine, in South Australia, following a fatality.
The South Australian Police were called to the mining site early on Tuesday morning after a rockfall in the underground mine claimed the life of a 47-year-old man from Tumby Bay.
“The next of kin and family have been informed and we are working closely with the authorities on the matter,” a spokesperson for the company told Mining Weekly Online.
“A full investigation is under way.”
No confirmation was given on when operations at the mine would resume.
BHP is currently undertaking a $200-million plan to debottleneck operations at the Olympic Dam copper, uranium and gold mine, in the hopes of increasing ore production to 11-million tonnes a year and delivering an additional 50 000 t/y of copper from the operation by 2018.
The major is also expanding the underground footprint of the Olympic Dam project into the southern mining area, to access higher grade ore. The move to the southern mining area will allow for grade recovery to increase and will enable the full use of the smelter and refinery.