BHP | Olympic Dam | Roxby Downs | Corporate Affairs

$45.7B BHP Olympic Dam – Roxby Downs Strategy

Role: Project Engagement Manager (Senior Social Engagement AECOM Consultant – Seconded to BHP)

Sector: Mining | Resources | Infrastructure

Overview

The Olympic Dam Roxby Downs Strategy represents a large-scale, multi-stream program supporting the ongoing operation, optimisation, and future expansion of BHP’s Olympic Dam asset—one of the world’s most significant polymetallic deposits.

Delivered in partnership with AECOM, the program comprised a portfolio of 22 concurrent projects spanning infrastructure, processing, workforce, and strategic growth initiatives. These ranged from critical asset maintenance and operational continuity programs through to major infrastructure upgrades, exploration, and long-term expansion planning.

Located approximately 560km north of Adelaide, Olympic Dam is Australia’s largest underground mine, integrating complex mining and processing operations to produce copper, uranium, gold, and silver. The scale and diversity of the program required coordinated delivery across multiple workstreams, disciplines, and stakeholder environments, while maintaining operational performance and enabling future growth aligned to increasing global demand for copper and energy transition resources.

Embedded within BHP’s Corporate Affairs team, I acted as the central conduit between Corporate Affairs and project delivery teams across the full portfolio. This role involved overseeing and aligning stakeholder engagement, social impact, and communications strategies across all 22 projects—ensuring consistency, reducing stakeholder fatigue, and maintaining high-trust relationships with government, industry, and community stakeholders.

The program required simultaneous support of business-as-usual operations and future-facing initiatives, demanding an integrated, strategic approach to engagement that could operate effectively at both the project and portfolio levels.

Portfolio of Projects

Olympic Dam Resource Development Strategy (ODRDS)
Tailings Storage Facility (TSF6 – BAU)
Evaporation Pond Six (EPS – BAU)
M6 Incline Repairs (BAU)
10ML Dam – Roxby Downs & Villages (BAU)
Low Level Waste Storage (BAU)
Airport Upgrades (BAU & ODRDS)
Camp / Village Accommodation (BAU & ODRDS)
Sewage Infrastructure (BAU early IPS study)
Uranium Exports
Infrastructure & Exploration Cultural Heritage Clearances (BAU & ODRDS)
Resource Recovery Project (Supply Social Value Initiative)
Smelter Campaign Maintenance 2 (SCM21 – BAU)
Safe Travels Workforce Initiative
SA Engagement Plan – Skills & Education
SA Engagement Plan – Value Chain Automation
SA Engagement Plan – Future Power & Infrastructure
SA Engagement Plan – Alternative Water Strategy
Adelaide Office Opening / Relocation
Local Buy & Supply Chain Objectives (SA Social Value Initiative)
Oak Dam Exploration
Indigenous Engagement & Agreements
Olympic Dam Supplementary Agreements (Negotiation)
Native Title Agreement Strategy (Development & Negotiation)

Key Responsibilities

Led stakeholder engagement, social impact, and strategic communications across a portfolio of 22 concurrent projects within BHP’s Olympic Dam operations, spanning infrastructure, operations, workforce, and expansion initiatives
Acted as the central conduit between Corporate Affairs and project delivery teams, ensuring alignment across engagement, communications, and project objectives in a complex, multi-project environment
Designed and implemented a centralised stakeholder engagement framework, identifying shared stakeholder groups across projects to reduce duplication, minimise stakeholder fatigue, and deliver consistent, high-trust communication
Developed and delivered integrated engagement and communications strategies across both business-as-usual operations and growth programs, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy and project delivery requirements
Delivered project-specific stakeholder management strategies across diverse initiatives, including airport upgrades, smelter shutdowns (SCM21), infrastructure upgrades, and workforce accommodation programs
Led stakeholder engagement and community consultation activities across government, industry, and community stakeholders, supporting social licence to operate
Designed and delivered stakeholder research programs, including surveys and in-depth interviews, and analysed qualitative and quantitative data to inform social impact assessments and engagement strategies
Provided strategic advisory across major initiatives, aligning stakeholder engagement, social value, and communications with project delivery and long-term operational outcomes
Supported regulatory and approvals processes, ensuring stakeholder engagement aligned with environmental assessment requirements and broader approval pathways
Collaborated with Corporate Affairs, operational teams, and contractors to ensure consistent messaging, coordinated engagement, and stakeholder alignment across all project streams
Contributed to the development of inclusion and diversity initiatives, including authoring a technical advisory focused on workforce accommodation strategy—identifying immediate, short-term, and long-term opportunities to improve living conditions, support workforce diversity, and enhance attraction and retention outcomes
Supported the integration of social value, local procurement, and community outcomes into project planning and delivery

Key Achievements

Portfolio Leadership: Managed stakeholder engagement across a portfolio of 22 major projects within BHP’s Olympic Dam operations, ensuring alignment between Corporate Affairs and delivery teams and strengthening overall program coordination
Strategic Integration: Established a centralised engagement approach, reducing stakeholder fatigue and delivering consistent, high-trust communication across multiple concurrent initiatives
Social Impact Delivery: Led social impact assessments and engagement strategies across major infrastructure and operational programs, supporting project delivery, approvals, and stakeholder alignment
State-Based Social Value Strategy: Developed the South Australian Social Value Strategy, providing a five-year framework for contractors to increase Indigenous and Australian workforce participation, directly supporting BHP’s long-term social value and employment targets
National Strategy Contribution: Delivered advisory and research contributing to BHP’s broader National Social Value Strategy across infrastructure and operational programs
Inclusion & Diversity Impact: Authored Inclusion and Diversity recommendations for the Olympic Dam Village Accommodation strategy, influencing culturally responsive design, workforce amenity improvements, and initiatives to attract and retain a more diverse workforce
Data-Driven Insights: Designed and implemented stakeholder research frameworks, including surveys and in-depth interviews, translating qualitative and quantitative insights into actionable strategies that informed decision-making