- an earlier version of this report stated that BHP Billiton had made a public decsion on the Olympic Dam expansion. The International Business Times regrets the error.

BHP Billiton may delay its decision on the expansion of the A$30bn (US$31.3bn) Olympic Dam copper mine project in South Australia, according to a report in the Weekend Australian newspaper.

The world's biggest mining company has said it will review major projects in its development pipeline given "a backdrop of increasing costs and falling commodity prices", according to a company statement made on 1 August. "This includes reviewing our overhead costs and the sequencing of our major projects."

However, a spokesperson for BHP Billiton in London told the IBTimes UK that no decision has been taken on the Olympic dam project and that the current plan to present the expansion to the company's board of directors before the end of this year remains in place.

The Weekend Australian reported that the expansion decision will be put off until at least 2014, citing documents it had obtained from an unidentified consulting firm which the paper said were within the knowledge of BHP Billiton insiders.

"BHP Billiton Ltd. has outlined that capital is largely committed for FY12 and FY13 although expenditure associated with major projects in execution decreases substantially from FY14," the Weekend Australian quoted an unidentified company spokeswoman as saying.

Any potential deferral of investment in the project could slow hiring plans at the world's largest open-cut mine, which was expected to generate up to 6,000 new jobs during its 11-year construction phase, with 4,000 more operational jobs along the way.

Antonios Papaspiropoulos, BHP Billiton spokesman, did not directly comment nor confirmed the report, but did hint the board of the global miner is not in a hurry to finalize investment decisions.

"Investment decisions will be taken to the board in their own time and the relevant economic decisions taken accordingly," Mr Papaspiropoulus told Reuters News.

"The company is in the enviable position of having more investment options relative to our capacity to invest and the sequencing of our investment pipeline is currently being looked at in the context of our five-year planning process," the unidentified BHP Billiton Ltd. spokeswoman.

"We will approve projects in a sequence that maximises value, reduces risk and balances the consideration of short- and long-term returns."

Any investment decision deferral could affect the indenture agreement the global miner signed and entered into with the state government of South Australia, which covers among others royalty payments.

Tom Koutsantonis, South Australia's minister for mining, said in May that BHP Billiton loses the right to proceed with the mine's expansion if it fails to start work by the end of the year.

Jay Weatherill, South Australian Premier, likewise confirmed receiving word from BHP Billiton on Friday that the latter has still yet to make a definite decision on the Olympic Dam expansion.

"We anticipate, as we have all along, that they'll make a decision before the end of the year," Mr Weatherill said in a statement.

The Olympic copper, gold and uranium mine project, said to be the world's fourth-largest copper and gold deposit and the largest known uranium deposit, is seen to yield copper and uranium oxide production by more than quadruple to about 750,000 tonnes and about 19,000 tonnes, respectively, every year. Located north of Adelaide, it is expected to contribute to Australia's cash coffers an estimated $45 billion annually over the next 40 years once completed.