Sustainable Development
In keeping with the BHP Billiton Charter, the Olympic Dam Expansion project team has adopted an overriding commitment to health, safety, environmental and community (HSEC) responsibility to ensure sustainable development. This means that no business objective will take priority over HSEC considerations.
As part of the proposed mine expansion’s selection phase, the Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) team will determine HSEC risks and how these risks can be managed.
By including relevant information obtained from the EIS process, a HSEC management and monitoring plan will be produced covering the proposed mine expansion.
A focus will be on minimising the exposure of employees to hazards, firstly through the elimination of hazards and, secondly, through the control of remaining hazards.
A Sustainability Manager has been appointed to manage a small team with responsibilities including:
- Working closely with the mine development, ore processing and infrastructure teams to incorporate sustainability principles into all key project decisions.
- Acting as a key contact point between BHP Billiton and the external Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) preparation team.
- Meeting regularly with State and Federal government representatives and other key community stakeholders to provide updates on the EIS process and to discuss issues relating to the expansion project.
- Helping to develop management strategies relating to the proposed mine expansion such as greenhouse gas emissions and native vegetation.