Minotaur Sells Exploration Plots Near Olympic Dam To BHP

Australian mineral prospector Minotaur Exploration Ltd. (MEP.AU) said Monday that it has reached an agreement to sell five exploration tenements near BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) Olympic Dam operation to the mining giant for A$10 million and BHP's interest in another exploration asset.

BHP will buy the five plots in the Gawler Craton geological zone, where copper-gold-uranium deposits including Olympic Dam have been discovered, for cash plus its 41% interest in the Bonython Hill joint venture with Minotaur, Adelaide-based Minotaur said in a statement.

BHP is expected to make a decision this year on whether to proceed with an expansion at Olympic Dam, a project analysts have estimated could cost close to US$30 billion. The company has been working on plans to develop an open-pit mine alongside existing underground operations to sharply increase production of copper over the next 30 years, as well as the output of uranium, gold and silver.

-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]