Hillside Copper Mine Information Sheet - Rex Minerals · Hillside Copper Mine Information Sheet...
Transcript of Hillside Copper Mine Information Sheet - Rex Minerals · Hillside Copper Mine Information Sheet...
Hillside Copper Mine Information Sheet September 2013
Rex Minerals Ltd (Rex) Hillside Copper Mine is located on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.
The Hillside Copper Mine is one of Australia’s largest copper discoveries in the past decade.
The Hillside Copper Mine (Hillside) will be an open cut and
underground mine producing a copper/gold concentrate and a
magnetite (iron ore) concentrate. The concentrates will be
transported via a 12km buried pipeline system to Port Ardrossan.
At the port the concentrates will be washed, stored and loaded
onto ships using the upgraded loading facility.
If all approvals and funding are obtained, construction will start
early 2014 and last for approximately 18 months. The current
estimated schedule for the project has commissioning for the
mine in late 2015 with full production capacity available in 2016.
Hillside has the potential to provide significant economic benefit
to SA and have a direct positive impact on the economy of the
Yorke Peninsula, alongside the existing important industries of
agriculture and tourism. This is through upgraded power and port
facilities, access to fresh water and the creation of local jobs.
Key components of the proposed
Hillside Copper Mine include:
Open pit and underground operation
Mineral processing plant and supporting mining
infrastructure
Mine waste rock and tailings storage facility
Highway diversions and road upgrades
Upgrades to existing loading facility at Port
Ardrossan and construction of filtration plant
Water and concentrate pipelines between
Ardrossan and mine site
Electricity supply sourced via a new power line
from Ardrossan substation to the mine site
The proposed mining lease at Hillside is approximately 3030 Ha, although only approximately 2080 Ha will be directly impacted by the operations. Extensive studies of the environmental, social and economic setting in which the Hillside Copper Mine will operate, will help ensure that the environmental and community considerations are integrated into Rex’s planning, decisions and processes.
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Core samples of the Hillside ore body
75kt Copper
60koz Gold
1.2Mt Iron Ore
Indicative Annual Production (>110kt CuEq) - 1st 10 years
Australia’s Largest Undeveloped Copper Project
C1 Costs ~US$1.30/lb
15+ years
Open pit and underground mine
The final open pit is planned to be approximately 2.4 km long from
north to south, 1 km wide and 450 m deep at the deepest point.
The underground operation will be in two areas; to the north and
south of the open pit.
Mineral processing plant
The processing plant includes crushing, grinding, flotation and
magnetic separation processes to make a copper/gold concentrate
and a iron ore concentrate. Concentrates will be pumped to the
port facility via a buried pipeline. Supporting infrastructure at the
mine site includes ore stockpile areas, workshops, fuel storage,
sheds, sewerage treatment systems, water supply dams,
administration offices and a visitors’ camp facility.
Waste rock and tailings storage facility
Waste rock from the open pit will be disposed of in three waste
rock dumps (WRD) to the north, south and west of the open pit.
The largest will be the western WRD which will be constructed to
contain a purpose built dam (tailings storage facility) to
permanently store the waste material (tailings). The final landforms
will be shaped and rehabilitated (see pictures below). The heights
of the WRDs above the existing land surface range from
approximately 20-45 m (North-eastern), 50-85 m (South-eastern)
and 70-115 m (Western). The location of the western dump is in a
gully and will be contoured to blend in with the surrounding
landforms.
Highway diversions and road upgrades
The proposed open pit design extends across the existing Yorke
Highway as it travels inland towards Minlaton, requiring part of this
highway to be closed. New portions of highway closer to the coast
will be constructed prior to the existing highway closure. A portion
of one minor road (Redding Road) within the proposed mining
lease is also required to be closed for the placement of mine
infrastructure. Other surrounding minor roads and intersections will
be upgraded and improved with entry and exit lanes and allowing
for increased visibility.
Port Ardrossan facility
New infrastructure will be built at the port to cater for the
project and will include a filtration plant to wash salt from
the concentrates, storage sheds, water storage ponds and
a seawater intake system. The upgrade of this facility will
result in a loading facility suitable to load concentrates with
a fully enclosed conveyor and new loading system. This
ensures the protection of the marine environment. Ship
movement at the port will increase by approximately 56
ships per annum.
Water and concentrate pipelines
The majority of process water will be sourced from
(saline) groundwater at the mine and will be
supplemented by the sea water intake at the port.
Fresh water requirements will be sourced from an
upgraded SA Water mains supply. The buried SA
Water pipeline’s capacity will cover the 1.5 GL per
year required for the mine and deliver approximately
an additional 0.5 GL into the existing network for
Yorke Peninsula communities and businesses.
The water and concentrate pipelines constructed
between the port facility to the Hillside Mine, will be
buried and located along the eastern side of Yorke
Highway.
Electricity
A new power line will be constructed from the
Ardrossan West substation to the port along the
western side of Yorke Highway to the mine site.
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Simulated view of the final waste rock dump landform viewed near Sandilands
Example of existing landform in the area
Mining Lease Proposal and Management Plan (MLP)
The MLP is the accompanying document to support the
application to the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation,
Trade, Resources and Energy (DMITRE), specifying the
mining operations that Rex proposes to carry-out. Rex is
seeking a mining lease, an extractive minerals lease (red
outline below within the mining lease) and two miscellaneous
purposes licences from the Minister for Mineral Resources
and Energy under the Mining Act 1971. This MLP is the
principal document used by DMITRE to formally obtain
stakeholder comment on the Hillside Mine.
Section 49 Applications
Applications under Section 49 (Development Applications) of
the Development Act are required for the modifications to the
existing Port Ardrossan ship loading facility and for the two
new portions of road associated with the highway
realignments. The applications are currently being assessed
by the SA Development Assessment Commission (DAC) and
will be made available for members of the public to make
formal submission.
Mining Lease Proposal Overview
Under the Mining Act and associated regulations, the requirements of
the MLP are clearly defined. To meet these requirements the MLP
document includes:
a detailed description of the existing environment and proposed
mining operations
the methodology and results of the landholders and community
consultation undertaken to date
the social, economic and environmental setting, benefits and
assessment of impacts from the proposed operation and an outline
of the measures to manage, limit or remedy those potential impacts
a statement of the proposed outcomes expected to be met during
the life of the mine; construction, operations, rehabilitation and post
mine closure
a draft statement of the criteria to be adopted to measure the
proposed environmental outcomes as used by the Regulators
Public Consultation
Public consultation of the MLP commenced on 12 September 2013 for
a period of 6 weeks. Written submissions will be accepted by DMITRE
until 24 October 2013.The MLP is advertised and managed by DMITRE
and can be downloaded from the DMITRE website at: www.minerals.dmitre.sa.gov.au/public_notices/
mining_proposals_open_for_public_comment
Rex will be conducting Public Consultation Tours to provide information
about the MLP document. The two hour Public Consultation Tours will
commence from the new location of 38b First Street Ardrossan all
commencing at 10am sharp on the following dates in October Thur.
3rd, Fri. 4th, Sat. 5th, Thur. 10th, Fri. 11th and Sat. 12th.
Rezoning
Rex has made a separate request to the District Council of Yorke
Peninsula (Council) to amend their Development Plan to rezone an
area in and around Rex’s proposed mining lease. This is to create a
buffer zone surrounding the mining operation to manage new residential
homes and/or competing industries entering the zone. As part of the
rezoning process, extensive investigation work to determine what
impacts could potentially arise from rezoning will be undertaken prior to
the draft amendment being put out for public consultation and comment.
The following are important points about the proposed rezoning:
The rezoning will not proceed if a mining lease is not granted.
Mining cannot occur outside of the mining lease (even if rezoned).
Existing farming operations can continue without interference.
Additional buildings/sheds/tanks associated with farming activities
can be built with Council permission as per the normal development
application process.
Rights for existing exempt farm land under the Mining Act will not
be affected.
Rezoning requires an 8 week public consultation period managed
by the Council.
Hillside Copper Mine Approvals
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The proposed Hillside Mine layout and road diversions
To book a site tour contact Rex’s Adelaide office on
(08) 8299 7100 or email
The Hillside Mine plan is assessed at each project stage; construction, during operation (at five year intervals),
rehabilitation works (progressively occurring during operations) and closure. At closure Rex will implement a closure plan
that not only complies with legal obligations, but also reflects community expectations and delivers a sustainable
outcome for the Hillside Mine site. The final land use will result in a safe and stable environment that will involve a mix of
agricultural pursuits and increased native vegetation patches with greater access to the coastal zone, enhancing tourism
opportunities. The open pit void will remain. Innovative uses for the void will be explored.
Potential Benefits
The Hillside Mine is expected to result in a significant range of
benefits for the local and regional area and, more broadly, for
the State of South Australia.
Social benefits include employment and training, community
focussed initiatives, and improved infrastructure and
services.
Economic benefits include project expenditure and
investment in infrastructure, taxes, royalty payments and
salaries from created jobs and indirectly generated jobs.
Rex will provide employment opportunities to the Narungga
people and so far has lent support to the Connecting
Aboriginal People with Mining Program developed through
Skills for All, a Government of SA vocational education and
training initiative.
Rex will continue to support a wide range of community
initiatives through its Community Sponsorship Program,
initiated in early 2011.
Over the life of the Hillside Mine, it is likely that the majority
of Rex’s workforce will become, or are already, permanent
residents within a radius of 50 km of the Hillside Mine.
The new water supply will serve as a significant long term
benefit well beyond the requirements of the Hillside Mine for
the community in Yorke Peninsula.
The Hillside Mine may act as a stimulus to upgrade power
supply to Yorke Peninsula before 2018. Discussions with
state power agencies include the timing of planned
upgrades and the opportunities to provide long term benefit
with respect to improved power supplies for the
Yorke Peninsula.
Environmental benefits include best practice mine
rehabilitation including increased area for native vegetation,
provision of significant increase in environmental knowledge
from collection of baseline data and improving the
understanding of biodiversity, native vegetation and
landscape values for the region.
Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions
How many people will the operation require?
There will be between 550 and 750 employees required by
the operation during the life of the mine.
How will the workers get to the site?
To reduce light vehicle numbers Rex plans to use buses to
transport workers to the site from regional centres
including Ardrossan.
How will dust be controlled?
Dust suppression is an integral aspect of mining operations
and there are many proven ways of suppressing and
monitoring dust levels. Rex will employ a range of controls
that will include the use of water trucks to keep haul roads
moist, rehabilitating open area, the stabilisation of soils
stockpiles, along with a real-time monitoring system to
inform when additional dust suppression, adjustment or
shutdown of the operations is required.
How will noise be controlled?
Effective industrial noise controls methods and monitoring
is a well-established science. Earthen bunds (barriers)
have been proven as effective noise buffers, combined
with noise supressing technologies fitted to machinery and
the use of real-time noise monitors, noise levels are able to
be managed so that they remain within the night time
(lowest) regulated noise levels that the EPA requires.
What will the land be used for after mining?
Final land usages include agriculture and revegetation with
endemic native vegetation. Rex are also exploring
possible tourist uses for the site.
Will the operation have an impact on groundwater?
The existing groundwater at Hillside is saline and not
suitable for stock. The use of groundwater will only lower
the water table in a very localised area immediately
around Hillside.
Consultation for the Hillside Copper Mine
A wide range of government and community stakeholder considerations have been integrated into Rex’s mine planning process. The Hillside Copper Mine Community Consultative Group (CCG) was established in 2011 to act as an informed and representative group of community members. The CCG assist in passing on information provided by Rex and raise issues and concerns from the wider community. The CCG and Rex work together to understand concerns and to develop strategies to address the concerns raised.
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