Typical street scene in Roxby Downs

Roxby Downs (including Olympic Dam)
Controversial modern uranium, gold and silver mining town
It would be reasonable to argue that in recent times Roxby Downs has become one of the most controversial townships in Australia. The anti-nuclear lobby has seen the township as a fair target for their criticism of the uranium mining and nuclear power industry and there were a number of widely publicised demonstrations near the site in 1983-84. Ironically the names are wrong. The protesters were objecting to Olympic Dam not Roxby Downs.

Roxby Downs, originally the name of the local station, is now a rather pleasant modern town which houses the mine workers and their families. It has all the modern amenities, an attractive wide main street, good quality (if somewhat identikit) housing, pleasant streetscapes, an excellent school, a very modernistic hotel motel and a wide range of public facilities including a police station, a TAFE college, a post office and a state-of-the-art telephone exchange.

Located 92 km from the Stuart Highway, 265 km from Port Augusta and 571 km from Adelaide, the Roxby Downs-Olympic Dam area boasts a huge mineral deposit which was discovered as recently as 1975. After an initial expenditure of $750 million the township of Roxby Downs was built and mining began on the vast ore lode which covers an area of 7 km by 4 km to a depth of 1 km. A workforce of 800 was employed to exploit the estimated reserves of 450 million tonnes.

The Olympic Dam operations were opened as recently as November 1988 by the Premier of South Australia, John Bannon.

The joint venturers, led by Western Mining and BP Australia, estimate that at full capacity the mine will produce 45 000 tonnes of copper cathode, 1900 tonnes of yellow cake (it is this that caused the protests in 1983-84), 27 000 ounces of gold and 555 000 ounces of silver.

The construction huts at Olympic Dam

Olympic Dam, originally nothing more than a waterhole on the Roxby Downs station, is now one of the biggest mining operations in Australia. It is possible to drive to Olympic Dam but all the visitor sees is a construction site with most houses being made out of permanent mobile homes with extensions on the outside. The town has a supermarket (with limited opening hours) and a post office. The actual worksite is somewhere beyond the horizon.

Things to see:  

Tours of Olympic Dam
WMC conduct the tours on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9.00 a.m., leaving by bus from the bus bay in Richardson Place, opposite the Post Office. The tours run for approximately 2 hours and cost is a gold coin donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Bookings are essential - 08 8671 8600.

	Tourist Information
	Roxby Downs Visitors Information Centre Richardson Place Roxby Downs SA 5725 Telephone: (08) 8671 2001 Facsimile: (08) 8671 2021
	Motels
	Roxby Downs Motor Inn Cnr Richardson Pl. & Arcoona St Roxby Downs SA 5725 Telephone: (08) 8671 0311 Rating: ****
	Hotels
	Roxby Downs Tavern Norman Pl. Roxby Downs SA 5725 Telephone: (08) 8671 0071
	Caravan Parks
	Roxby Downs Olympic Dam Caravan Park Cnr Pioneer Dve & Olympic Way P.O. Box 577 Roxby Downs SA 5725 Telephone: (08) 8671 1000
	Restaurants
	R.J.'s Restaurant Shop 12-13 Richardson Pl. Roxby Downs SA 5725 Telephone: (08) 8671 0006
	Roxby Downs Motor Inn Cnr Richardson Pl. & Arcoona St Roxby Downs SA 5725 Telephone: (08) 8671 0311