BHP Olympic Dam Produces First Copper Cathode from Heap Leach Pilot Plan

Bureau Veritas’ State-of-the Art Mineral Testing Facility in Adelaide is supporting BHP and South Australia to achieve their Copper Growth Strategies

ADELAIDE (SEPTEMBER 19, 2017) – Bureau Veritas, world leaders in testing, inspection and certification services, has been working with BHP’s Olympic Dam on their Heap Leach Project since the early development work commenced in 2012. The test programme has advanced from laboratory scale through to the current fully integrated Demonstration Phase of the project.

The BHP Heap Leaching program has provided Bureau Veritas the opportunity to expand their existing capabilities at the Wingfield laboratory in Adelaide, South Australia, to the extent where it is recognised as a world class mineral testing facility. The expanded capabilities will now include comprehensive heap leaching capability from small-scale through to demonstration scale, as well as other pilot plant facilities for mineral flotation, complex metal extraction, and recovery studies.

These facilities are used for research and development programmes, as well as more routine mining project feasibility studies. With ongoing support, the initiative will help government push to achieve their objective of promoting South Australia as a preferred hub for copper and other mineral development opportunities.

Bureau Veritas entered the Australian mineral testing services market in 2008 through the acquisition of Amdel Pty Ltd, a company that has been in Adelaide since the 1960’s.

“We are particularly proud of our facility in Wingfield, which we consider our International Centre of Excellence for Bureau Veritas mineral processing services” said Laurent Louail, Senior Vice President, Commodities Industry and Facilities, Pacific Region.

“We have a strong association with BHP companies across the globe, and are very proud of our long association with Olympic Dam in South Australia. We look forward to assisting BHP reach a successful conclusion to this phase and transition to full scale operations” said Craig Kenna, Vice President, Commodities, Pacific Region.

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