BHP Billiton has shelved two major projects worth $A40 billion in South Australia, in a signal that Australia's commodity boom is over.
Radio New Zealand's Sydney correspondent says the world's biggest miner had planned a $A20 billion expansion at the Olympic Dam copper mine, including the creation of the world's largest uranium mine.
But with metal prices slumping and its profit down nearly 60%, BHP has pulled the plug on Olympic Dam and a separate $A20 billion plan for a new harbour.
With Chinese demand for resources starting to slow, federal resources minister Martin Ferguson has declared the mining boom over.
