Sensational-Adelaide.com

Waewick wrote:I'm not trying to talk down other mines and there impacts, but without this mine going ahead SA is going nowhere.

claybro wrote:

Waewick wrote:I'm not trying to talk down other mines and there impacts, but without this mine going ahead SA is going nowhere.

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I know we are all let down, but in realty in the last decade this state even without the ODX, has experienced economic growth , population growth, a low unemployment rate etc.. all these figures are not national best we know, but by world standards our little state is doing better than most soverein nations. So give it a break and look at the positives.

Will wrote:

Nathan wrote:Unfortunately, the doom and gloom ranting in the media will do a fine job of driving down business confidence way more than is necessary. A self-fulfilling prophecy this way comes.

Unfortunately, this time, the media will be correct.

Olympic dam was going to be the economic saviour of this state. Now that it is cancelled, all we have to look forward to is more mediocrity.

It is not just the rest of Australia which hates us, bit it also appears that the gods do aswell. Everytime, we are about to get a chance, something comes along to f#ck it up.

crawf wrote:

Will wrote:

Nathan wrote:Unfortunately, the doom and gloom ranting in the media will do a fine job of driving down business confidence way more than is necessary. A self-fulfilling prophecy this way comes.

Unfortunately, this time, the media will be correct.

Olympic dam was going to be the economic saviour of this state. Now that it is cancelled, all we have to look forward to is more mediocrity.

It is not just the rest of Australia which hates us, bit it also appears that the gods do aswell. Everytime, we are about to get a chance, something comes along to f#ck it up.

Oh come on.

Will wrote:The more I dwell upon this decision the madder I become at BHP.

They have behaved just like the Japanese prior to Pearl Harbour. In secret they knew they were going to put a dagger through our heart but in public they continued to offer 'peace tokens'.

The state government should grow a pair and punish BHP. For every year the project is delayed, an extra 1% in royalty payments to the state. We must not allow big business to play games with our lives.

Will wrote:Crawf, it is admirable that in such a bleak time you are still trying to be positive. However, at the moment I feel like I'm in Hitler's bunker in the movie Downfall.

UrbanSG wrote:However Olympic Dam has been talked about for the past 7-8 years and this has helped SA's growth as we have always been about to boom and investment has occurred as a result ... however the boom never quiet gets here

Many will view BHP's Olympic Dam project announcement as a dark day, but not all is lost

doom and the gloom is easy enough to conjure. The decision yesterday by BHP Billiton to abandon its $30 billion Olympic Dam expansion plan will be portrayed by many as the end of South Australia, writes Michael McGuire.

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For the particularly pessimistic, even another State Bank moment.

It's easy enough to see why. For many years the expansion of Olympic Dam has been held up as the saviour, the single project that would allow the state to move from the slow lane to the fast lane of the Australian economy.

Its value was not only about what it would do for the economy, but what it would do for the South Australian psyche.

It has been spruiked by evangelical politicians and lionised by business leaders.

But yesterday all that seemed to come to an end.

The appropriately sombre Premier Jay Weatherill could not disguise his annoyance.

"There's disappointment on behalf of those South Australians who have worked incredibly hard to make this happen; disappointment for those businesses that have geared themselves up ... and for regional towns that were beginning to experience the benefits of expansion," Mr Weatherill said.

However, University of Adelaide economics professor John Spoehr believes there is opportunity for the state. "Olympic Dam is only one of many projects in the mining and resources industry that are on the drawing board," he said.

"There is no reason to believe this will lead to the terminal decline of South Australia."

Prof Spoehr also said the delay on Olympic Dam could work in SA's favour.

If Olympic Dam had come on stream it would have exacerbated existing skills and equipment shortages within the state.

Mining has been a swiftly growing part of the economy over the past decade - even without the huge contribution expected from BHP.

As recently as 2004 only $64 million was spent on mining exploration.

Last year the figure was $313 million.

THERE are 20 mines currently operating in SA. In 2002 there were only four.

Total mineral production is worth $4.3 billion a year.

The State Government's Primary Industries' website lists another 27 projects as being in development.

Last week Oz Minerals opened its $148 million Ankata underground mine, which complemented its existing open-pit operation.

Although it seems mining has been talked up for a decade, the industry only accounts for about 4.3 per cent of the state's economy.

By comparison, agriculture is about 5.6 per cent and manufacturing 9.3 per cent.

Prof Spoehr also said yesterday's announcement by BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers should be viewed as the project being delayed rather than cancelled.

"Given the value of the ore body it is likely that BHP will extract it, if not soon, then in the not-too-distant future," he says

In making the announcement yesterday Mr Kloppers reinforced the Olympic Dam expansion remained on BHP's "to-do" list.

Mr Weatherill also said the future of the state's economy was not dependent on the expansion.

"We've also been putting an enormous amount of effort into advanced manufacturing ... into marketing our premium food, grown in a clean environment and also promoting very heavily the wonderful opportunities associated with our beautiful capital city," he says

Prof Spoehr also said industries such as defence, education and the development of clean energy were all positives as SA already led the nation in installed wind farm capacity.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union state secretary Aaron Cartledge said he expected only a small impact on jobs.

"I haven't heard that anyone will be retrenched because of this," he said.

Mr Cartledge added other smaller mines might find it easier to find skilled workers as they would not all be drawn to Olympic Dam.

BHP Billiton's scrapped plans for Olympic Dam no comparison to SA's State Bank collapse
Chief Business Reporter Cameron England
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 6456154733
August 22, 20129:30PM


SA never had a mining boom, but a steady rise in mines, jobs and economic input is real, says Cameron England.

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THERE will naturally be profound disappointment across the state today with the news that BHP Billiton is not ready to pull the trigger on its Olympic Dam expansion, but the decision needs to be kept in perspective.

The expansion, which would have created the biggest open-cut mine in the world, was set to be a transformative project for the state economy.

But it was a project that would have pushed the state economy from good to great.

While times are tough globally, and certain sectors of the Australian economy are under pressure, the state has been doing a reasonable job, especially over the past decade, of diversifying its economy.

Agriculture, including grains and wine, remains our largest export earner.

While mining is a close second, and is likely to soon surpass agriculture, sectors such as health and aged care, retail and manufacturing still employ many more people.

This is not to downplay the impact the expansion would have had, but to illustrate that any economy is not, and should not be, a one-trick pony.

There will be some who will be inclined to make parallels with the economic shocks the state has faced in the past, such as the closure of Mitsubishi's Tonsley site or the State Bank collapse in 1991.

These are false comparisons.

The State Bank collapse was a result of gross mismanagement, and left the state with a debt it took years to pay off.

While there have been job losses already as a result of BHP Billiton's decision yesterday, the current Olympic Dam operation remains one of the largest mines in the nation, employing thousands of people.

And the mineral deposit remains in the ground. It is an economic asset the state, and BHP Billiton, are still able to exploit in the future.

Some responsibility for the state's collective disappointment must lie with former premier Mike Rann, who relentlessly spruiked the project.

The thousands of people who heard him talk up the expansion over the years could be forgiven for thinking it was a fait accompli. The good news is there's still a decent pipeline of mining projects in the offing.

One report by the government/industry body, the Resources and Energy Infrastructure Council, has flagged $35 billion of resources-related spending earmarked for the state over the next 10 years, excluding Olympic Dam.

The number of mines in SA has increased from four to 16 in the past 10 years or so, and more can be expected to start in the next few years.

The mining boom in SA is not over - it never existed. But we can still look forward to a steady increase in mines, jobs and economic contribution.

crawf wrote:^^Interesting read, good to see some decent articles from News.com.au.

dsriggs wrote:Tony Abbott tried to blame the Federal government for the Olympic Dam cancellation & got eaten alive for it on 7:30

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3573785.htm