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Complaints Raised by the Community July – December 2015 Donna Fisher Company Liaison Officer February 2016
Complaints Raised by the Community
July – December 2015
Donna Fisher Company Liaison Officer February 2016
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Managing Complaints 1
1.1.1 Noise 3
1.1.2 Vibration 3
1.1.3 Felt & Heard 5
1.1.4 Noise from Blasting 5
1.1.5 Dust / Air Quality 5
1.1.6 Property 5
1.1.7 Concerns 5
2 MARTHA SUMMARY RESULTS 6
2.1 Noise 7
2.2 Vibration 7
2.3 Dust 7
2.4 Property 9
2.5 Air Quality 9
2.6 Gas & Fumes 9
Section B –CORRENSO UNDERGROUND PROJECT 10
3 CORRENSO UNDERGROUND PROJECT SUMMARY RESULTS 10
3.1 Vibration 11
3.2 Noise from Blasting 12
3.3 Felt and Heard 12
3.4 Noise 12
3.5 Property 12
4 CONCERNS SUMMARY RESULTS 13
APPENDIX 1 – MARTHA OPEN PIT COMPLAINTS BREAKDOWN 14
APPENDIX 2 – CORRENSO UNDERGROUND OPERATION BREAKDOWN 15
APPENDIX 3 – CONCERNS RAISED 16
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
Page 1
COMPLAINTS / CONCERNS SUMMARY REPORT
July – December 2015
1 INTRODUCTION
This report presents an analysis of concerns and complaints registered by OceanaGold Waihi Operation between July - December 2015 to meet the requirements of its various consents and licences.
The report summarises all complaints received during the six-month period, actions taken by the consent holder, and any resolutions. Other matters of concern raised by the community are also reported including any mediation entered into by the consent holder and others with respect to operational matters and mediation outcomes (unless the parties have agreed to keep such confidential).
Section A reports on the complaints received in respect of the Martha open pit operation, however because of the early closure of the open pit due to a rock-fall on 02 April only nine complaints were received during the reporting period.
Section B reports on the complaints received in respect of the Correnso underground operations and Section C reports on concerns raised by residents (people who do not wish to make a formal complaint but have raised the matter as a concern only).
1.1 Managing Complaints
Currently the procedure for receiving complaints is as follows:
The Waihi Gold Community Engagement Line is a 24 hour service that deals with queries,
concerns and complaints. This service was initiated as part of our original consent conditions. It
provides an important way for members of the community to contact us.
Due to Newmont’s sale of Waihi Gold to OceanaGold this number has now changed to 0800
924 444, this change has been well publicised in various communications along with a new
fridge magnet which has been widely distributed to residents.
All complaints and concerns regarding the mining operation (Martha and Correnso mines and exploration activities) are received by the Company Liaison Officer (CLO). A free phone number (0800 924 444) was established to simplify the Waihi community’s access to Waihi Gold. The service is available on a 24 hour 7 days per week basis. External Affairs and Environmental Department staff are rostered to cover weekends, public holidays and the CLO’s absence. In addition, Waihi Gold’s main office phone is available between 8:00am and 5:00pm during the working week.
The company has now modified the way in which this service is staffed and delivered. The level
of service has not been affected.
As outlined initially in the January – June 2014 report the modified system is continuing to work
well and is again outlined in this report.
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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If a call is made before 9.00am, or after 4.00pm, it is now diverted to an answerphone.
If a call does not require an immediate response (for example complaining about blast
vibration) information can be recorded on the answerphone and is logged. A member of the
External Affairs team will get back to the caller the next business day if this has been
requested.
If a concern or complaint needs to be dealt with immediately (for example a noise complaint) by
pressing ‘1’ a caller will be connected to a member of our security staff. A roving patrol can be
dispatched to check on any noise sources on site, and if necessary will contact a member of
External Affairs.
If a concern or complaint does not need to be dealt with immediately, the call will be logged by
security staff and dealt with on the next business day by an External Affairs team member.
As was mentioned in the January - June 2014 report, the flow chart below was designed to
walk people through the new process. The new process appears to be working well without any
major problems.
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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The 0800 Waihi Gold contact phone number is currently printed in the fortnightly Update
newsletters published in the Waihi Leader, monthly East Ender newsletter and in promotional
material.
As always complaints received by Waihi Gold are immediately registered and then logged into the Complaints database. Complainant details are recorded, as is the nature of the complaint. All complaints are acted upon. Sound monitoring is undertaken after receipt of a noise complaint, and blast vibration data is obtained from Blast hub following a blasting-related complaint. The source of the effect is investigated and located wherever possible and appropriate mitigation action taken where practicable. All of the relevant monitoring data and mitigation actions are recorded in the database. Complainants are informed of the monitoring results, the outcome of any investigation and the mitigation action taken.
Information in this report that identifies and relates to private individuals is expected to be kept confidential.
1.1.1 Noise
Actions to reduce noise levels from the Martha mine have been formulated and are contained in a Noise Mitigation Plan. Experience has shown that the Martha operation complies with the noise limits of its land use consent under climatic conditions at or close to the neutral meteorological conditions that apply under the consent, and that there are very few complaints under these circumstances. Without any changes in activity, mine-related noise increases, and complaints are received, downwind of the operations once wind speeds increase to around 3 m/s. The Plan aims at preventing complaints associated with the wind-induced nuisance noise propagation. The trigger for action is when wind increases to over 3 m/s as measured at the meteorological station in Barry Road. Under the Plan, wind-induced nuisance noise levels are reduced by modifying the in-pit activities and include shutting down crushing-conveying operations or mobile machinery (trucks and loaders). Under particularly adverse conditions, the mine may be shut down completely.
Activity in the open pit ceased in April 2015 following a large slip. The company has been working on a plan to develop a ramp on the North wall so access can be reinstated. The works for this project have now started.
Except for regenerated noise from blasting (see Vibration section), noise overpressure is not a significant issue for underground operations. Minor direct noise is emitted via the vent shaft; monitoring has shown it to be within permitted levels.
One noise complaint was still received in relation to underground activities.
Refer to Appendix 1 & 2 for details of complaints.
1.1.2 Vibration
Specific actions taken during the reporting period to improve blasting practices and systems continue to be:
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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Blast-hub provides blast results in real time. The vibration monitoring hardware system and web-based reporting system were installed for both the Martha and Underground sites. The system reports real-time vibration data for review and verification, records blast design parameters, provides for recording of complaints and allows effects from proposed blast designs to be assessed prior to firing. An additional 10 vibration monitors have now been installed for the Correnso Underground Mining Project.
The Blast Vibration Mitigation Plan ensures existing procedures at the Martha mine can be reviewed using recent vibration history and ‘tightening’ of blast design parameters to reduce vibration levels if required. A similar practice is applied at Correnso.
CLO continues to give advanced warning of production (stope) blast events to those residents living within the CEPA project area, who wish to be kept informed along with various businesses around town. Due to contractual issues the Tsunado device was abandoned in favour of another device. These have now been distributed to residents who had requested them and appear to be working well. Other tools used for notification include: email, text and telephone.
o Martha operation: four people informed by telephone, 17 by text and 11 by email.
o Underground operations three people informed by telephone, 42 by text and 8 by email.
o Waihi East School, Waihi Kindergarten, Somerset and First Step Daycares all receive advanced warning of production blasting. This advanced warning is in the form of a game, very similar to Battleships, where an aerial photograph has been provided to each classroom, the co-ordinates are emailed to them and the children then place on the aerial where the blast will occur that day. This continues to be working well.
o Blast times are also loaded daily onto the Waihi Gold website.
A map of the Correnso Underground development along with a map of the Martha open pit and associated surface monitoring networks are available on the Waihi Gold website so residents can visualise where mining operations and blasting is taking place.
Under condition 22 a) of the Correnso Consent Conditions, at the start of each calendar month a two-dimensional plan showing the existing mining and the proposed areas of mining activities during that month is loaded onto the Waihi Gold website. It is also included in the monthly publication of ‘The East Ender’ – a Waihi Gold newsletter which is circulated to 500 homes in the Waihi East area as well as copies made available at the HDC Service Centre and i-Site.
During the reporting period 73 complaints were received in total:
Seventy three vibration complaints were received from the Correnso operation.
Refer to Appendix 2 for details of complaints.
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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1.1.3 Felt & Heard
‘Felt and Heard’ and ‘Noise from Blasting’ are two categories introduced due to the large number of complainants who say they feel and hear the blasts or they just hear the blasts so these have been separated out from vibration complaints. During the reporting period:
120 complaints were received from the Correnso operation.
Refer to Appendix 2 for details of complaints.
1.1.4 Noise from Blasting
During the reporting period:
42 complaints were received from the Correnso operation.
Refer to Appendix 2 for details of complaints.
1.1.5 Dust / Air Quality
During the reporting period:
One dust complaint was received from the Correnso operation. One dust complaint was received from the Development Site operation.
Refer to Appendix 1 & 2 for details of complaints.
1.1.6 Property
During the reporting period 11 complaints were received:
Two complaints from the Martha operation. Nine complaints from the Correnso operation.
Refer to Appendix 1 & 2 for details of complaints.
It should be noted that from the Correnso underground operation, 250 complaints were received from 59 locations, 178 of these came from just eight locations making up 71% of complaints received with 69 of those coming from one location making up 28% of the total complaints received.
Refer to Appendix 2 for details of complaints.
1.1.7 Concerns
Nine concerns were raised during the reporting period.
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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Refer to Appendix 3 for details of concerns.
SECTION A – MARTHA OPEN PIT OPERATION
2 MARTHA SUMMARY RESULTS
Total complaints received during the July - December period are tabulated below. A month-by-month breakdown of complaints is shown in Figure 1.
A detailed list of complaints is provided in Appendix 1.
Complaints by type were:
Type Number of Complaints
Period
Noise 1 November
Dust 4 September - November
Property 2 August – September
Air Quality 1 August
Gas/Fumes 1 December
Total 9
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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Figure 1 Complaint Trends by Month
2.1 Noise
One noise complaint was received during the reporting period.
Hauraki District Council (HDC) advises Waihi Gold of any complaints it receives. Complaints are reported by HDC with only broad details, e.g. cause and general area from where the complaint originates.
Council did not receive any noise complaints during the reporting period. For details and mitigating actions, please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 1 of this report.
2.2 Vibration
Due to the temporary closure of the open pit, there were no complaints received during the reporting period.
2.3 Dust
Four dust complaints were received during the reporting period. For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 1 of this report.
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MARTHA July to December 2105 Noise Vibration Dust Felt & Heard
Property AEP Noise from Blasting Air Quality
Gas/Fumes Total Noise Total Vibration Total Dust
Total Felt & Heard Total Property Total AEP Total Noise from Blasting
Total Air Quality Total Gas/Fumes
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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Complainant concerns are tabled at Management meetings which ensure appropriate mitigation measures are implemented. Total suspended particulate (TSP) & deposited particulate (DP) monitoring results are shown in Figures 4 & 5 respectively. There were no exceedances of the DP or TSP limits during the reporting period.
Figure 4: Total Suspended Particulate
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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Figure 5: Deposited Particulate
2.4 Property
Two property complaints were received during the reporting period.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 1 of this report.
2.5 Air Quality
One air quality complaint was received during the reporting period.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 1 of this report.
2.6 Gas & Fumes
One gas and fumes complaint was received during the reporting period.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 1 of this report.
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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Section B –CORRENSO UNDERGROUND PROJECT
3 CORRENSO UNDERGROUND PROJECT SUMMARY RESULTS
Complaints received during the July - December period in respect of the Correnso Underground project are summarised in the following table.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 2 of this report. Complaints by type were:
Type Number Period
Vibration 73 July - December
Felt & Heard 120 July - December
Noise from Blasting 42 July - December
Noise 1 September
Dust 1 December
Property 9 July - November
AEP 4 August - November
Total 250
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Figure 5: Complaint Trends by Month
3.1 Vibration
Seventy three vibration complaints from 38 separate locations were received during the reporting period.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 2 of this report.
The vibration performance over the reporting period is summarised in the following tables:
Rolling 12 month performance Rolling 6 month period Jul-15 100% Blast events Exceedances Aug-15 100% 410 1 Sep-15 100% Oct-15 99.9% 99.7% Nov-15 99.9% Compliance
Dec-15 99.9%
There was one Correnso blast that exceeded 5mm/s for the reporting period; a production blast at 14:23 on 09 Oct 2015 recorded a vibration of 5.7mm/s at the Main South monitor. The result was investigated and mitigation implemented. Blast vibration levels recorded were 100% compliant with the consent requirements in the land use consent.
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UNDERGROUND July to December 2015 Noise Vibration Dust Felt & Heard
Property AEP Noise from Blasting Smoke & Odour
Total Noise Total Vibration Total Dust Total Felt & Heard
Total Property Total AEP Total Noise from Blasting Total Smoke & Odour
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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3.2 Noise from Blasting
76 complaints were received from 11 separate locations that experienced noise from blasting activities.
For details and mitigating actions, please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 2 of this report.
3.3 Felt and Heard
120 complaints were received from 22 separate locations that both heard and felt vibration from the blast.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 2 of this report.
3.4 Noise
Two noise complaints were received from two separate locations during the reporting period.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 2 of this report.
3.5 Property
Seven property complaints were received during the reporting period from seven separate locations.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 2 of this report.
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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Section C – CONCERNS
4 CONCERNS SUMMARY RESULTS
Nine concerns were raised by residents during the July - December period all in respect to the Correnso Underground project and are summarised in the following table.
For details and mitigating actions please refer to complaints summary in Appendix 3 of this report. Complaints by type were:
Type Number Period
Vibration 3 August - November
Noise from Blasting 1 August
Odour 1 September
Felt & Heard 4 August - September
Total 9
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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APPENDIX 1 – MARTHA OPEN PIT COMPLAINTS BREAKDOWN
BY
DATE
LOCATION
COMPLAINTS SUMMARY
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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APPENDIX 2 – CORRENSO UNDERGROUND OPERATION BREAKDOWN
BY
DATE
LOCATION
COMPLAINTS SUMMARY
Complaints / Concerns Summary Report July – December 2015
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APPENDIX 3 – CONCERNS RAISED
BY
DATE
LOCATION
COMPLAINTS SUMMARY
