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Volume 4, Thursday April 3rd, 2008
BOLD PLAN FOR CAMP T he BHP Billiton owned and operated Olympic Dam village is expected to be shutdown and relocated within the next 3 – 5 years.
The camp which has accommodation available for 1,000 workers is currently home to 200 permanent BHP Billiton employees, with the remainder for contractors and fly-in fly-out operations. It’ll be replaced by a brand new facility on the southern side of subdivision B which is currently being filled by high quality transportable accommodation on the southern approaches to Roxby Downs. BHP Billiton’s vice-president of Human Resources Paul Walters said Olympic Village is old and tired and has served its purpose. “We’re currently spending about $1 million to put in squash courts, a beach volleyball court and wet mess as an interim measure,” he said. “However we have to look long term for this mine. “It’s no good just putting in another camp to take its place because it’ll only have a real life span of 10 years or so. Most mine camps around the country are established for short term operations over 10-15 years. Mr Walters said the Olympic Dam mine is different because it’s going to be around a lot longer than that, so we need to plan accordingly for that longlivity,” he said.
“We’re currently going through a tender process for the new facility on the southern side of subdivision B adjacent to Olympic Way. “It will not be a camp as such but more like a village where we’ll have good villa style accommodation and services to match. “It’ll have its own sporting facilities, swimming pool, newsagent and the like and will be close to town so businesses in Roxby Downs can benefit,” Mr Walters said. They’re bold plans but when you consider the expected life of the planned open cut mine at Olympic Dam of at least 100 years, then the boldness is justified. “The tenders we’re calling for are operators of the new facility as we’ll lease that side of the facility out,” Mr Walters said. “The operator will be responsible for everything in the new style village concept, including running the newsagency and other services,” he said. Initial thinking is that the village could house between 500 to 1,000 employees at any one time. It is on the drawing boards but has yet to go through BHP Billiton’s exhaustive executive approvals process. However with the Environmental Impact Statement expected to be released later this year for the new open pit mine, approval for the new camp may be quicker than expected. The site has already been chosen.
Above: Camping gear unloaded as patrons flocked back for the Friends Of Arid Recovery 10th Reunion
Former Roxby Downs concrete contractor gets 16 years jail with a non parole period of 10 years over a $25 million fraud. Full story Page 3.
Key Biodiversity help sought The South Australian Arid L ands Natural Resources Management Board needs your help. The public are encouraged to comment on a draft biodiversity strategy that has been prepared over the past two years, resulting in a series of six documents. The documents have been produced in collaboration between the NRM Board and the Department for Environment and Heritage. One of the documents is an over-view of the whole strategy and the other five focus on key bio-regions in the arid lands of South Australia. Merri Tothill from Rural Solutions SA, who is coordinating the public consultation, says that it is important to manage all of our natural resources in the
best way possible. “We need to look at how we can conserve and manage native plants and animals and determine which areas have the highest value. “This includes understanding how much of a specific habitat exists, identifying any threats to that habitat and determining priority areas to work on,” she said. From Tuesday April 1st the public have been able to access these documents via a link on the SA Arid Lands NRM website – www.saalnrm.gov.sa.au. The comment period will last until June 30th 2008. “People should go to the website to access the strategies and they will also be able to fill out an electronic form and add their own comments,” explained
Ms Tothill. “We would like to encourage people to add any ideas they have about ongoing management or how they would like to be involved in the future. “We would really like to hear from as many people as possible,” she said. “This issue should be important to everybody living in South Australia.” Comments will be collated and each one added to a report that will be presented to the Board. The Board will decide what should be included in a final document. This will be used to guide the management of biodiversity conservation in the area for the next 10 years.