It has begun. Politics, along with political grandstanding, are most likely to hamper the start of expansion works into BHP Billiton's $30 billion worth Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine project.

Minority parties in the South Australian parliament want BHP Billiton to appear before a parliamentary inquiry either today or tomorrow to discuss the indenture arrangement it signed with Former Treasurer and Premier Mike Rann last week in Melbourne.

The indenture arrangement, which runs up to 70 years, fixes BHP Billiton's royalties at the existing 5 per cent for uranium and 3.5 per cent for other minerals for the first 45 years.

The Greens has earlier contested the arrangement, saying it was too much of an exemption offer for BHP Billiton. But the SA government said the 45-year term fixed rate will bring $350 million a year in revenue once the mine is already fully operational.

SA Greens forerunner Mark Parnell wants the Olympic Dam submitted to a thorough analysis by a select committee composed of scientific experts and BHP Billiton executives.

"Despite the thousands of pages and lengthy EIS process, not once have the people of SA or Parliament had a single opportunity to directly ask BHP Billiton any questions in an accountable public forum," he said in a statement.

"Every single step of the process has been behind closed doors," he added.

Rann, set to retire on Friday, wants Parliament to fast track the approval of the bill that will facilitate the start of works into the Olympic Dam mine. The copper and uranium mine project stands to be one of his major legacies as premier.

But Parnell said the delay should pose no problem given BHP does not expect to take a final investment decision until mid 2012.

The board of directors of BHP Billiton will decide early on 2012 if it will push through with its expansion plans of the Olympic Dam, as it has to meet the 250 environmental conditions contained in the environmental approval given by federal and state governments. These includes impact on air quality, local communities, groundwater supplies, and wildlife and the marine environment around a future desalination plant on Eyre Peninsula.

''What is the point of the SA Parliament cutting corners and rushing this through when the company isn't going to decide until the middle of next year anyway,'' he said in The Sydney Morning Herald.

BHP Billiton had earmarked $1.2 billion in pre-commitment capital for the first phase of the project as soon as the bill secures passage through the Parliament.

Located north of Adelaide, the Olympic Dam mine is the world's fourth-largest copper and gold deposit and the largest known uranium deposit. More than 13,000 jobs are expected once works begin and it is expected to contribute to Australia's coffers an estimated $45 billion annually over the next 40 years.

The Olympic Dam mine 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.

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