A resources multinational stood down a large number of people at its recently acquired mine.
BHP confirmed it has asked about 25 per cent of workers to stop performing duties and go on unpaid leave at the West Musgrave operation.
“We continue to assess phasing and capital spend for the ongoing development of the West Musgrave project and have reduced the scope of work with some contractors, who have demobilised from site as a result,” a spokesperson said according to Fairfax Media.
The proponent acquired the $1.7 billion mine and four other OZ Minerals sites back in 2023 for $9.6B.
The sale included:
- Prominent Hill, 650km northwest of Adelaide
- Carrapateena, 160km north of Port Augusta
- West Musgrave, 500km west of Uluru
- Carajás East and West, Brazil
- Gurupi Province, Brazil.
BHP earlier promised to retain the “vast majority” of OZ Minerals employees who would join a “much larger” organisation. Affected workers were promised training programs, flexible work options, career progression opportunities and other “industry-leading” benefits.
“We look forward to bringing together our talent and resources to create an even stronger organisation,” CEO Mike Henry previously said.
