|
|
|
|
Working for our community.Mining News
Mining Pages
Roxby's
21st
Birthday
17.5.07
During the next few weeks The Monitor will publish a series of articles gleaned from the diaries of the first Administrator to be appointed in Roxby Downs, John Harris.
Our tribute is in recognition of the 21st Birthday of the declaration of the Roxby Downs Council on May 26th 1986.
ÖÖÖÖ.. ìAt Olympic Dam in 1975 there was only a small camp consisting of a mess hut and other essential amenities for a few drilling personnel. Access was by four wheel drive vehicle only as the site was located in one of the most isolated parts of South Australia.
The shortest route from Adelaide was via Port Augusta, Pimba, Aroona, Andamooka Station and Andamooka township.
Woomera itself and much of the route was within the Woomera Prohibited Area and a permit required by all vehicles using the road. Despite much agitation by the State Government it was over 20 years before the restrictions were finally removed although their policing was virtually non-existent except when rocket testing was actually in progress.
North of Port Augusta the state government still retained underlying ownership of all land other than a few isolated townships. Temporary Mining Leases, Mineral Exploration Licences and Pastoral Leases were the most common tenure.
The indigenous peoples had not yet been given freehold tenure and Coober Pedy was still negotiating for Local Government status.
The state therefore owned all of the land affected by the proposed development at Olympic Dam despite some graziers having pastoral leases and the commonwealth over-riding control over access to the Prohibited Area.
Negotiating a satisfactory basis for a mining company to have sufficient safeguards to invest millions of dollars in a mining venture was therefore, of critical importance. A second concern related to the political issues arising from the mining of uranium.
The Labor Party was basically opposed to it whereas the Liberals supported it. As state approval was required for the Mining Lease and Commonwealth approval to export minerals, a very rocky road lay ahead.
In 1979 Western Mining Corporation formed a joint venture with B.P Australia and B.P Petroleum (UK) leading to the term Joint Venturers being used to refer to the mining company. Roxby Management Services was also established to develop the Olympic Dam project.
ëThe joint venturers insisted from the outset that the new town would be an ìOpen Townî with freehold tenure and not a ìCompany Town.î
It was not until recently WMC bought out itís B.P partners and was in turn taken over by BHP Billiton.
Later in May 1979 Hugh Morgan the Executive Director of WMC sought from the Labor Premier of South Australia, Des Corcoran, an undertaking that the company would have on-going exploration rights if it carried out further exploratory drilling in the area over the next three years as a cost of $15 million.
This undertaking was given although there was no guarantee that the mining of uranium would be permitted.
Shortly afterwards the Liberal Party gained government and the undertaking was reiterated by the new Premier, David Tonkin in 1980. The Minister for Mines and Energy Roger Goldsworthy and Hugh Morgan then discussed the basis of an agreement between the state and Joint Venturers for developing the project if and when it went ahead.
This involved changes in state legislation, land tenure, the establishment of the mine and accommodation for the work force. The joint venturers insisted from the outset that the new town would be an ìOpen Townî with freehold tenure and not a ìCompany Town.î
This would involve state owned infrastructure and establishment of Local Government. It was also suggested that en elected council not be put in place until at least five years after commercial production commenced at the mine with an Administrator responsible to the Minister being appointed in the meantime.
This agreement ensured that the state had a big financial and administrative stake in the proposed town thus guaranteeing itís permanency even under a government opposed to uranium mining.
The state government was asked to finance the construction of all state and local government buildings which could be recouped from royalties in due course. (Royalties is the term used to define the money paid by the mining companies to the state as a purchase price for the mined materials and is usually about 2% of their sale value).
ëMeetings were usually on Sunday mornings when senior government officers were available.í
The Joint Venturers offered to increase this percentage if the state agreed to commit $50 million for public facilities in the town and related works. Under this proposal the state would be reimbursed by the Joint Venturers for itís investment in infrastructure. In these preliminary talks it was also agreed that the state would appoint a Township Development Officer to protect the interests of the future of town residents in ongoing negotiations and administer the council prior to an elected council being established.
Proposals for the town were, therefore, the first issues to be negotiated and reflect the political priorities at the time.
This agreement became part of the Olympic Dam and Stuart Shelf Indenture which was then negotiated in detail during 1981 and covered a wide range of issues relating to the mine, town and infrastructure.
Meetings were usually on Sunday mornings when senior government officers were available.
The main negotiator for the state government was Peter Hill who was a director in the Department of Mines and Energy and a very skilled and respected officer well known to WMC officers having held a similar position with the West Australian government.
The Joint Venturers leader was Geoff Witham who was the lawyer drafting the Indenture.
As Township Development Officer I represented the future residents.
The meetings were outstanding for their co-operative approach with all parties recognising the others point of view and assisting to reconcile it. They also had a common aim to get the project off the ground and overcome opposition from the anti-nuclear lobby and the Labor Party in particular.
The period was one in which the economy was at a low ebb and unemployment high so the government saw the Olympic Dam project essential to the future of the state. When officers could not agree the issue was referred to ìThe Godsî and deferred to the next meeting by which time Hugh Morgan and Roger Goldsworthy as Minister of Mines had usually resolved it.
(To be continued next week in Part 2)
Designed by
Cornfield Communications