BHP Olympic Dam expansion in doubt July 30, 2012 09:00 AM
Fresh doubts have emerged over BHP Billiton Limited's (ASX:BHP) planned expansion of its $US30 billion Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia.The global miner is due to make a decision on expanding the project by the end of this year but reports have emerged claiming it will not receive board approval in time.The Australian says it has obtained documents prepared by a consulting firm, with the knowledge of BHP insiders, that reveal the investment decision will be delayed until 2014.The paper also claims to have obtained briefing notes sent to BHP's employees from BHP’s CEO Marius Kloppers last month.Mr Kloppers reportedly wrote, “The operating environment is not expected to improve in the near term” and a rising cost base and falling commodity prices have pressured the miner to reduce its cost base and eliminate all non-essential expenditure.BHP Billiton posted a net profit of $9.9 billion in the first half of its 2012 financial year.