Resource

Copper (Cu), Gold (Au)

Location

The Oak Dam deposit, located on Kokatha country, is situated 65 km southeast of Olympic Dam, 500 km north of Adelaide in the Far North of South Australia.

Company

BHP

Project

BHP Olympic Dam Corporation Pty Ltd (BHP) is proposing to develop the Oak Dam Underground Access Project (OKDUGA Project), in the far north of South Australia.

The Oak Dam deposit is a deep iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineralised system. Exploration undertaken at Oak Dam has indicated the presence of high-grade copper and associated minerals commencing at approximately 800 m below surface that may be economically viable to mine.

The OKDUGA Project has been initiated to progress the opportunity to undertake exploration drilling underground, providing accelerated resource definition and reduced drilling and development costs. Specifically, the OKDUGA Project aims to establish an underground access via twin declines, with the dual purposes of:

• providing an effective and proximal drilling platform to enable efficient mineralisation drilling to define the resource.
• enabling characterisation of critical geotechnical ground conditions.

The results of this testing will guide BHP in making a substantial future capital investment in the project.

Status

• Consultation on BHP’s retention lease and miscellaneous purposes license applications to undertake advanced exploration activities at the Oak Dam Underground Access Project closed on 2 May 2024. The applications are currently under assessment.

• In March 2023, BHP received approval of the ongoing exploration Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (EPEPR2022-031) on exploration license EL 5941. This includes the construction of an exploration village capable of housing 150 personnel, core processing facilities and the use of up to 14 drill rigs at one time.

Proposed Operations

The OKDUGA Project proposes the development of twin declines for the access to enable the underground drilling program. Access to the decline would be via a box cut and portal development. The surface infrastructure at the box cut will include the provision for services and constructions to support the access development and operation of the drill rigs. This includes utility facilities, diesel generation plant, refrigeration plant, administration buildings, temporary maintenance buildings, laydown area, concrete batch plant, waste rock landform (WRL), stockpiles, dams, and ponds. Outside of this area, on surface, is Oak Dam Village, borrow pit(s) area, explosives storage, access roads, transmission line, fibre optic telecommunication cables, water pipelines and return air raise structures.

Tenement Application Information

Application - Retention Lease

• Purpose - To enable the progression of advanced exploration activities at the Oak Dam Underground Access Project (OKDUGA Project) for the purposes of completing investigations that will determine the feasibility of potential future mining operations.
• Approximately 8824.87 hectares
• The Retention Lease Application is located within exploration lease EL 5941 Area B
• Reference - M2023/0161

Application - Miscellaneous Purposes Licence

• Purpose - Site Infrastructure Corridor for the purposes of site access and ancillary infrastructure.
• Approximately 2565.23 hectares
• Reference - 2023/000338

Application - Miscellaneous Purposes Licence

• Purpose - Water Infrastructure Corridor for the purposes of water supply and ancillary infrastructure.
• Approximately 350.07 hectares
• Reference - 2023/000339

The Deposit

Information about the deposit can be found on the BHP website.

Application and Approval Process

• Under the South Australian Mining Act 1971 a retention lease is required to carry out operations to obtain information required to support a (future) application for a mining lease where these operations are not suited to be conducted under an exploration licence.
• On 5 December 2023, BHP submitted a Proposal supporting applications to the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) under the Mining Act 1971 (the Mining Act) for a Retention Lease (RL) and two Miscellaneous Purposes Licences (MPL).
  • Oak Dam Underground Access Project Volume Retention Lease Proposal and Miscellaneous Purposes Licence Management Plans Main document (29.1MB PDF)
  • Oak Dam Underground Access Project Retention Lease Proposal and Miscellaneous Purposes Licence Management Plans Appendix A (1.55 MB PDF)
  • Oak Dam Underground Access Project Retention Lease Proposal and Miscellaneous Purposes Licences Management Plans Appendix B to D (30.8 MB PDF)
  • Oak Dam Underground Access Project Retention Lease Proposal and Miscellaneous Purposes Licences Management Plans Appendix E to F (15.5 MB PDF)
• The RL will seek authorisation for the construction of the declines and on-going advanced exploration activities. The MPLs will seek authorisation for the construction of a new site access road between the proposed RL and the Olympic Dam highway to the west, and the construction of water infrastructure connecting into the east.
• During the development of the RL and MPL applications, BHP engaged with key stakeholders including Aboriginal groups, pastoralists, local and regional communities, and government agencies. Details of these engagements are included in the application.
• BHP referred the project to the Commonwealth Department for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to determine if the actions required assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). On 1 March 2024, DCCEEW determined the proposed activities do not constitute a controlled action (EPBC 2023/09696).
• On 28 March 2024, the Minister for Energy and Mining published the proposal and sought written submissions from members of the public in relation to the applications. The period for public comment closed on the 2 May 2024.
• One public submission was received from the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs.
• On 30 May 2024, the Department for Energy and Mining requested BHP provide a response to the public submission and other technical matters raised by government agencies. A copy of the letter can be found here:
  • request for a response to matters raised by government and in public submissions
• The submission of the response document is due on 28 August 2024.
• Following the acceptance of the response document, the Department for Energy and Mining will complete its assessment of the applications.
• Should a Retention Lease and Miscellaneous Purposes Licenses be granted, BHP would require the approval of a separate operational program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR) before any on-ground works can be undertaken.

Project contact information

• Contact | Energy & Mining
• Complaints and feedback | Energy & Mining
• Oak Dam website | BHP
• BHP Oak Dam | Email
• BHP Oak Dam contact number 1800 317 317