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

community@rexminerals.com.au

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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