BHP Billiton Has Mechanical Failure At Olympic Dam
October 06 2009 - 8:41PM
Dow Jones News
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) said the main haulage shaft at its
giant Olympic Dam mine in South Australia state has been damaged
and is shut down.
The miner said a mechanical failure Tuesday damaged the Clark
Shaft, which is the main shaft hauling ore from the underground
mine to the surface for processing.
A secondary haulage system, which has less capacity than the
main system, continues to operate and a spokeswoman said it is too
early to say what impact the incident may have on production.
No one was injured in the incident at the copper, gold and
uranium mine and BHP said it was investigating the cause of the
failure and the extent of the damage.
"The safety of our workforce will take priority in determining
any restart of haulage operations," the miner said in a
statement.
-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2094;
alex.wilson@dowjones.com