The CEO of world number two miner Rio Tinto said the quality of Chinese mining equipment is catching up and in some instances surpassing that of the major US manufacturers.
The transaction creates a diversified, Americas-based mid-tier gold producer that would generate the equivalent of 250,000 to 270,000 ounces of gold next year.
South Australian Premier, Jay Weatherill, has reproached the federal government for saying BHP could resume its Olympic Dam expansion within months, calling it a "cruel hoax."
Statement after annual planning meeting warns of "downward pressure" on the world's second largest economy and the need to take "bold steps" to reform industry.
