According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, BHP Billiton has applied for approval from the State Government to extract up to one million tonnes of copper product a year.

An ACF nuclear campaigner said that this was much further than what is outlined in the environmental impact statement.

“BHP has failed to advise the public of the full extent of the proposed mine expansion and is seeking approval for the right to operate a much larger project than the studies in its EIS suggest,” he said.

“Radioactive waste from the mine, damage to the marine environment from desalination and greenhouse pollution from additional energy demand may all be one third worse than envisaged by the company’s EIS.”