Olympic Dam uranium mine in Australia
TVO actively evaluates uranium mines and the nuclear fuel refining chain. At the end of year 2013, TVO carried out an audit according to the supplier evaluation procedure described in the activity based management system at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mine in Australia. The team spent several days at the mine site to review sustainability and performance matters.
BHP Billiton is the world’s leading diversified resources company with operations in many countries. The Olympic Dam mine is located in the middle of the South Australian outback. Primarily a copper mine, it is better known as a uranium mine because uranium is an additional product, as are gold and silver. The mine employs almost 4 000 people, 17% of them female. The average age of the personnel is forty years.
In 1988, when the mine was founded, the town of Roxby Downs was established some 15 kilometres from the mine to provide housing for the mine employees and their families. The population of Roxby Downs is now about 4 500.
The Business Code of Conduct of BHP Billiton specifies the principles and policies for responsible business. Compliance with the Code is a requirement in the entire company, including Olympic Dam, and is also required of the subcontractors of the Company. Responsibility is one of the key Company values and is reflected in the everyday operation of the mine. The Company’s specified objective for occupational health and safety is Zero harm.
Olympic Dam supports the local community in many ways
Olympic dam has invested in the development of the local community. A spokesperson explained that a programme for the participation of aboriginal people has been in operation since 2008. The focal areas of the programme include education and employment opportunities, and there have been good results with about 100 aboriginal people currently employed by the mine and by the subcontractors of the mine.
Community support includes a welcome programme for all employees and their families who move to Roxby Downs and support for various clubs and local schools, which have a total of about 800 pupils. BHP Billiton also runs a voluntary programme in which the community support activities of an employee, such as charity work in an approved project, are matched by the Company – doubling the funds collected.
The most significant environmental partnership of the Olympic Dam mine is the 123 km2 ecosystem restoration initiative called Arid Recovery, which sets a fine example of win-win cooperation in wilderness nature conservation. Arid Recovery is an independently managed not-for-profit operation financially supported by the mine.
- It has invested efforts in the restoration of the ecosystem in the wilderness for more than fifteen years, countering the changes brought about to the fauna and flora of the Australian outback through European settlement. As far as mammal species found in Roxby Downs are concerned, for example, about 60% of native species have a decreased presence and some species have disappeared completely. For this reason, a 2 m high wire fence has been put up around Arid Recovery to prevent foreign species, such as cats and rabbits, from accessing the area. Years of work has resulted in an increase in vegetation and a big increase in the population of endangered small mammals, for example the greater bilby, relative to outside the conservation area, says General Manager Kylie Piper from the Arid Recovery initiative.
More information about Arid Recovery
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