ENV IRONMENTAL

Prepared for Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd 31 March 2021

Survey of Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly Cracking and Leaching Plant and By-product Storage Site

Survey of Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd

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Document Status

Rev No.

Authors Reviewer/s Date Approved for Issue Name Distributed To Date

1 M.Brown D. Brearley 31/03/21 D.Brearley P.Jansen 31/03/21

ACN 095 837 120 PO Box 227 YALLINGUP WA 6282 Telephone 0427339842 E-mail: info@onshoreenvironmental.com.au

COPYRIGHT: The concepts and information contained in this document are the property of Onshore Environmental Consultants Pty Ltd. Use or copying of this document in whole or in part without the written permission of Onshore Environmental Consultants Pty Ltd constitutes an infringement of copyright.

DISCLAIMER: This report has been undertaken solely for Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd. No responsibility is accepted to any third party who may come into possession of this report in whatever manner and who may use or rely on the whole or any part of this report. If any such third party attempts to rely on any information contained in this report such party should obtain independent advice in relation to such information.

Survey of Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1

2.0 BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................... 1

Figure 1 Location of Lot 500 Great Eastern Highway, Yilkari and Yarri Road, Parkeston. ........................ 2

3.0 SITE VEGETATION .................................................................................................... 3

3.1 Lot 500 Great Eastern Highway, Yilkari .................................................................. 3

3.2 Yarri Road, Parkeston .............................................................................................. 3

4.0 FIELD SURVEY METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 3

4.1 Ant Survey ................................................................................................................ 3

5.0 SURVEY RESULTS .................................................................................................... 4

6.0 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 4

Survey of Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd

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1.0 INTRODUCTION Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd (Lynas) are proposing to develop part of two separate lots within a ten kilometre radius of Kalgoorlie to support a new cracking and leaching plant to treat rare earth concentrate from the Mt Weld mine near Laverton, and a long-term storage location for by-products originating from the plant (Figure 1). The two sites are:

Lot 500 Great Eastern Highway, Yilkari (135 hectares situated approximately 9 km southwest of Kalgoorlie); and

Yarri Road, Parkeston (570 hectares situated approximately 10 km northeast of Kalgoorlie).

Desktop environmental surveys identified that the study areas were within the potential range of the Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly (Ogyris subterrestris petrina) host sugar ant (Camponotus sp. nr. terebrans). The Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly is listed as Critically Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act).

While the desktop fauna assessment determined it unlikely that either study area would support the host ant or the Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly, Lynas commissioned Onshore Environmental Consultants Pty Ltd (Onshore Environmental) to undertake a field assessment to confirm whether the host ant was present.

2.0 BACKGROUND The Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly (Ogyris subterrestris petrina) is a Threatened species that is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act and the BC Act. The current conservation rating relates to its low abundance and severely fragmented distribution, with only two extant subpopulations being recorded in Western Australia. These subpopulations are at Barbalin Nature Reserve, and at a second site ~100 km from Barbalin. A third subpopulation (the first discovered, in the 1980s) occurred near Lake Douglas, 12 km southwest of Kalgoorlie, but is now locally extinct. Threats include land clearing and habitat degradation (DBCA 2020).

The Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly has an obligate association with a sugar ant Camponotus sp. nr. terebrans. The butterfly larvae live entirely within the ant’s nest during their development. The ants protect the larvae from predators and are thought to be rewarded with secretions produced by the larvae. The larvae are cryptic and extremely difficult to detect. The most critical factor for habitat occupancy by the butterfly is the presence of large colonies of the host ant; only large colonies can support the Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly because, being a parasitic species, it requires large numbers of hosts. The potential distribution of the ant is extensive and encompasses much of the semi-arid zone (rainfall <325 mm) south of approximately 26° S latitude (see McArthur, Adams and Shattuck 1997).

The target vegetation is mature mixed Gimlet (Eucalyptus salubris) / Salmon Gum (Eucalyptus salmonophloia) woodlands on red-brown loam soils, with an open understorey. In addition to Gimlet and Salmon Gum, other smooth-barked eucalypts which have basal ant colonies include Wandoo (Eucalyptus capillosa subsp. wandoo), Smooth-barked York Gum (Eucalyptus loxophleba subsp. lissophloia) and Ribbon-barked Mallee (Eucalyptus sheathiana). The habitat at the locally extinct Lake Douglas site differs from the other sites but is also dominated by mature smooth-barked eucalypt woodland, particularly Victoria Desert Mallee (Eucalyptus concinna).

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PARKESTON

SOMERVILLE

BROWN HILL

KALGOORLIE

GOLDEN GATE

CROESUS PLANT

WEST KALGOORLIE

MOUNT PERCY PLANT

Lot 500

Site 1

HANNAN LAKE

YARRI ROAD

GOLDFIELDS HIGHWAY

BULONG ROAD

GREAT EASTERN HIGHWAYANZAC DRIVE

MOUNT MONGER ROAD

FIMISTON STREET

HANNAN STREET

Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, OrdnanceSurvey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community

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FIGURE 1Location of Lot

500 Great Eastern Highway, Yilkari and Yarri Road,

Parkeston

¯0 1 2 3

Kilometers1:75,000

Datum: GDA94Projection: MGA Zone 51

LegendStudy Areas

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MENZIES

SOUTHERN CROSS

KALGOORLIE-BOULDER

Sheet Size:

Date: Status:

Requested by: DBInternal Reference: LYNAS_Study_LocDrawn by: GSM

31/03/2021Final

A3Figure: 1

LYNAS KALGOORLIE

PTY LTD

Survey of Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd

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3.0 SITE VEGETATION

3.1 Lot 500 Great Eastern Highway, Yilkari

A total of seven vegetation types classified as six broad floristic formations and occurring on four broad landforms was described and mapped from Lot 500; none of the vegetation types were found to be aligned with any TECs or PECs documented from the Coolgardie bioregion (Onshore Environmental 2020a).

The vegetation comprised Eucalyptus salmonophloia and Eucalyptus transcontinentalis dominated Woodlands in the western half, and Eucalyptus oleosa subsp. oleosa and Eucalyptus lesouefii dominated Tree Mallee in the eastern half. Interspersed were Eremophila, Senna and Acacia hemiteles-dominated Scrub on minor hardpan depressions, Open Shrub Mallee of Eucalyptus celastroides subsp. celastroides along minor drainage lines and flats, and Open Tree Mallee of Eucalyptus griffithsii on subdued sandy/stony rises and plains. A small but distinctive thicket of Acacia acuminata and Melaleuca hamata with a scattered overstorey of the shrub mallee Eucalyptus longissima occurred on a stony plain in the far north-east sector. This vegetation association did not occur elsewhere in the study area (Onshore Environmental 2020a).

3.2 Yarri Road, Parkeston

A total of 12 vegetation types, classified as nine broad floristic formations and occurring on two landform features were described and mapped from the Yarri Road site; none of the vegetation types were found to be aligned with any known TECs or PECs documented from the Coolgardie or Murchison bioregions. The vegetation consisted predominantly of hardpan plains supporting Eucalyptus salmonophloia woodland, Eucalyptus salubris mallee, and Maireana sedifolia shrubland (Onshore Environmental 2020b).

4.0 FIELD SURVEY METHODOLOGY The ‘Guideline for the survey of Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly in Western Australia (DBCA 2020)’ was used to provide guidance for the field survey methodology across both sites. The protocol has two components: (i) a survey to detect whether the host ant is present in large numbers; and (ii) if it is, then a survey to determine if the Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly is present.

4.1 Ant Survey

The host ant colonies are known to occur at the base of mature smooth-barked eucalypts. Host ant colonies seem to occur at two extremes - either the ant colonies are very sparse and difficult to find; or else they are very widespread, with ants obvious and abundant (DBCA 2020).

To determine if the host ant is present at a site, and in what numbers, a random sample of trees is examined and assessed for ant presence/absence. Ant presence can be determined either by nocturnal survey (visit the trees in the evening, commencing in the first hour after sunset) or by diurnal survey (disturbing the soil around the base of the trees, to a depth of ~ 10 cm, to determine if an ant colony is present). Nocturnal surveys are non-destructive and the ants will be immediately apparent, as they are typically active in large numbers. Photographs of the ants will be sufficient to confirm their identity.

Survey of Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd

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The number of mature trees to sample and their approximate spacing was determined using the following equations:

No. sample trees = 10 x √ (site area in hectares)

Spacing = √ [(site area in hectares x 10,000) / No. sample trees]

The field survey was completed by Principal Botanist Mr Mike Brown working over five days between the 9th and 13th of March 2021. At Lot 500 Great Eastern Highway, a total of 91 hectares of appropriate habitat was covered and included sampling of 95 trees at 100 metre spacing. At the Yarri Road site a total of 196 hectares was covered and included sampling of 140 trees at 118 metre intervals. Field sampling of trees occurred during the day as well as during the night.

5.0 SURVEY RESULTS The five day/night survey found no evidence of suitable colonies for the host sugar ant (Camponotus sp. nr. terebrans) at any of the 235 trees sampled across the two sites. It is therefore concluded that the likelihood of direct or indirect impact on the Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly is considered to be low to negligible.

6.0 REFERENCES Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (2020) Guideline for the survey of

arid bronze azure butterfly (ABAB) in Western Australia. Version 1.0 September 2020.

McArthur, A.J., Adams, M. and Shattuck, S.O. (1997) A morphological and molecular review of Camponotus terebrans (Lowne) (Hymenoptera :Formicidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 45: 579-598.

Onshore Environmental (2020a) Detailed flora and vegetation survey Lot 500 Great Eastern Highway, Yilkari. Report to Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd.

Onshore Environmental (2020b) Detailed flora and vegetation survey By-products Storage Site. Report to Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd.