If the minority party in the South Australia Parliament continues its delaying tactics, much more will be lost for the coffers of the state government, a possibly irked Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said Thursday.

"I have worked on this project over a long period of time with the previous premier (Mike Rann) and also the former deputy premier (Kevin Foley)," Ferguson told The Australian.

Legislation for the $30-billion Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine project has already passed through the Lower House of the SA Parliament. It approved an indenture agreement between the SA Government and BHP Billiton which fixes the latter's royalties for the first 45 years at 5 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively, for uranium and for other minerals.

The bill is now endorsed to the Upper House, where proponents and supporters expect heavy grill fire from the Greens as they want to introduce about 100 amendments into the bill.

"It is about time the Greens got out of the way and stopped trying to obstruct the government's attempts to lock in this project that will underpin the economic strength of South Australia for decades to come. This is yet another example of the Greens opposing economic development," Ferguson said.

"On the one hand, the Greens are happy to spend the proceeds from this type of economic development but on the other, they continually seek to destroy the industries that generate this wealth and create jobs for thousands of Australians," he added.

"Greens take our role as legislators seriously and will give the bill thorough scrutiny," Greens Leader Mark Parnell said on his Twitter account, according to ABC News.

Parnell made the remark after his meeting with SA Premier Jay Weatherill.

Weatherill indicated Parnell assured him the legislation would not be "unduly" delayed.

https://www.ibtimes.com/articles/244966/20111108/parliament-starts-debate-bhp-olympic-dam-indenture.htm