Raw materials mined in Australia and Chile have been used to produce the medals for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Our Cannington mine in Queensland, Australia and our Escondida and Spence operations in Chile provided the materials needed to produce the gold, silver and bronze medals for the Games.
Cannington supplied the silver that is used in the production of both the gold and silver medals. Escondida supplied copper concentrate to form gold plating for the gold medals, while Spence provided copper cathode that is used to form bronze.
The materials were then shipped from both countries to the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation in Shanghai where the medals were created.
A determining factor in selecting the assets for the project was the ability to involve as many BHP Billiton employees as possible.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd with the Olympic medals during his tour of China.
With Chile and Australia making up a significant proportion of our global workforce, this decision has given tens of thousands of our employees the opportunity to contribute to our Olympic program.
The production of the Olympic medals has allowed us to showcase our contribution to the success of the Beijing Olympic Games to important stakeholders around the world.
In 2008, dignitaries from the countries where the materials for the medals were mined, saw the medals on show. The President of Chile Dr Michelle Bachelet and the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Kevin Rudd MP, had the opportunity to witness the only set of medals currently in existence during their respective trips to China.
Delivering On A Promise
A true milestone in our Olympic program took place almost a month out from the Games when the 6000 completed Olympic and Paralympic medals were officially presented to organising body, BOCOG at a ceremony in Beijing.
The handover of the completed medals took place at a ceremony held at the Legation Quarter, only steps away from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It marked the culmination of a program stretching back to 2005 that saw almost 13,000 of the company’s staff and contractors contribute in some way to the production of the medals.
So on Thursday 3 July 2008, in front of the world’s media and with a host of former Olympic and Paralympic athletes looking on, President of BHP Billiton China, Mr Clinton Dines handed the completed medals to Executive Vice President of BOCOG, Mr Jiang Xiaoyu. The handover symbolised BHP Billiton’s delivery on a promise to share the Olympic spirit with its stakeholders in China and around the world.
Mr Xiaoyu commented: “BHP Billiton’s sponsorship has been ground-breaking on many levels. We are grateful for BHP Billiton’s tremendous support of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics Games. We believe these medals will be part of China’s lasting Olympic legacy.”