TERRITORY IRON LIMITED FRANCES CREEK PROJECT PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT w:\territory iron\frances ck\per\report\volume 1 final per frances ck.doc 17 Open pits from the previous mining follow a line initially trending south to north then curving to the east at the northern end. A full width, all weather haul road follows the line of pits. Helene Pits 1 to 5, 6/7, and 9 to 11 run in a roughly south to north line from Helene 10, two kilometres south of the plant site to Helene 1, two kilometres north. North of Helene 1, the haul road turns east and carries on past Thelma 1, Thelma 2 and Thelma Rosemary Pits to Jasmine Pit. The pits are cut into the sides of a series of steep, low hills. The Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) and decant dam (Helene 11 Dam) were created by damming an upper tributary of Frances Creek. An upstream dam wall creates the smaller of the two water dams (Helene 9 Dam), which overflows via a saddle to join Helene 11 Dam downstream of the TSF wall. The larger dam (Frances Creek Main Dam) is created by a dam further downstream on Frances Creek. Frances Creek, downstream of the dam, flows alongside the haul road to the old pits and then east out of the project area. Ochre Hill is five kilometres north of the existing haul road and accessed by seven kilometres of narrow track and a ford across Frances Creek (Figure 4). This track needs substantial upgrading to allow all-weather heavy vehicle access. The former Frances Creek township site is 1.5 kilometres south of the project area. The visible remains are mainly concrete foundations. The only standing building is a church located on a low hilltop. The original concrete swimming pool also remains. The aerial photograph in Figure 5 shows the town site before buildings were removed. Frances Creek Road, a well-constructed dirt road, links the project area with the public Mt Wells Road, 12 kilometres to the south (Figure 2). It may form part of the haul road between the existing pits and the stockpile area. 4.4 MINING 4.4.1 Mining Schedule Mining will be in a staged process from five pits, starting with extensions of the historic Helene 6/7, Helene 5 and Thelma Rosemary open pits in the south. Then a new pit will open at Ochre Hill in the north of MLA 24727 and a new pit at Jasmine East, at the eastern extremity of MLA 24727. Ore from Ochre Hill will be stockpiled next to pit exits in the final waste rock stockpile footprints. It will be loaded onto road trains for transport to the ROM pad. Ore from Helene 2/3, Helene 5, Helene 6/7, Jasmine East and Thelma Rosemary will be hauled directly to the ROM stockpile and loaded into the crusher. Table 2 and Chart 1 outline the proposed schedule for pit development, subject to necessary approvals. Topsoil clearing is scheduled to begin in November 2006 and mining in January 2007 for the first three pits. The operation has an expected life of three years, but is likely to continue after this depending on exploration success.
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Open pits from the previous mining follow a line initially trending south to north then curving to the east at the northern end. A full width, all weather haul road follows the line of pits. Helene Pits 1 to 5, 6/7, and 9 to 11 run in a roughly south to north line from Helene 10, two kilometres south of the plant site to Helene 1, two kilometres north. North of Helene 1, the haul road turns east and carries on past Thelma 1, Thelma 2 and Thelma Rosemary Pits to Jasmine Pit. The pits are cut into the sides of a series of steep, low hills. The Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) and decant dam (Helene 11 Dam) were created by damming an upper tributary of Frances Creek. An upstream dam wall creates the smaller of the two water dams (Helene 9 Dam), which overflows via a saddle to join Helene 11 Dam downstream of the TSF wall. The larger dam (Frances Creek Main Dam) is created by a dam further downstream on Frances Creek. Frances Creek, downstream of the dam, flows alongside the haul road to the old pits and then east out of the project area. Ochre Hill is five kilometres north of the existing haul road and accessed by seven kilometres of narrow track and a ford across Frances Creek (Figure 4). This track needs substantial upgrading to allow all-weather heavy vehicle access. The former Frances Creek township site is 1.5 kilometres south of the project area. The visible remains are mainly concrete foundations. The only standing building is a church located on a low hilltop. The original concrete swimming pool also remains. The aerial photograph in Figure 5 shows the town site before buildings were removed. Frances Creek Road, a well-constructed dirt road, links the project area with the public Mt Wells Road, 12 kilometres to the south (Figure 2). It may form part of the haul road between the existing pits and the stockpile area.
4.4 MINING
4.4.1 Mining Schedule Mining will be in a staged process from five pits, starting with extensions of the historic Helene 6/7, Helene 5 and Thelma Rosemary open pits in the south. Then a new pit will open at Ochre Hill in the north of MLA 24727 and a new pit at Jasmine East, at the eastern extremity of MLA 24727. Ore from Ochre Hill will be stockpiled next to pit exits in the final waste rock stockpile footprints. It will be loaded onto road trains for transport to the ROM pad. Ore from Helene 2/3, Helene 5, Helene 6/7, Jasmine East and Thelma Rosemary will be hauled directly to the ROM stockpile and loaded into the crusher. Table 2 and Chart 1 outline the proposed schedule for pit development, subject to necessary approvals. Topsoil clearing is scheduled to begin in November 2006 and mining in January 2007 for the first three pits. The operation has an expected life of three years, but is likely to continue after this depending on exploration success.
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4.4.2 Pit Resources Table 3 lists volumes of ore and waste rock to be mined for each pit.
Table 3: Inventory of Ore and Waste in Proposed Pits
Pit Mined Waste (bcm)
Mined Ore (bcm)
Mined Ore (tonnes)
Helene 5 2,460,627 238,920 776,490 Helene 6/7 1,288,594 216,375 703,218 Jasmine East 545,118 58,299 189,473 Ochre Hill 825,593 309,101 1,004,577 Thelma Rosemary 1,971,130 277,141 900,708 TOTAL 7,091,062 1,099,836 3,574,466
4.4.3 Pit Characteristics The proposed pit locations are shown in Figure 6. Plan and cross-sectional views of the proposed pits are in Appendix 3. Dimensions of the pits are summarised in Table 4.
Location of economic ore deposits has determined the pit locations. The pits are all located at or near the top of hills, so no diversion of surface water will be needed. Final pit floors will be between about 130 and 200 metres AHD, and the maximum depth below the original ground surface will be about 100 metres at Helene 6/7, 70 metres at Thelma Rosemary and Helene 5 and 50 to 55 metres for the other three pits.
4.4.4 Mining Method Conventional open cut methods of drilling, blasting, excavation and haulage will be used to mine the Helene 5, Helene 6/7, Jasmine East, Thelma Rosemary, and Ochre Hill orebodies. Methods are described in the following sections.
4.4.4.1 Drill and Blast Due to the scale of mining and terrain involved at the Frances Creek mine site, it is proposed to use two Gardner Denver GD5000 drill rigs or similar to perform production drilling. Blasting patterns are expected to have the following basic parameters:
• Five and ten metre bench heights.
• 102 to 165 millimetre diameter drill holes.
• ANFO (dry blasting) and emulsion (wet blasting).
• Ore powder factor of 0.7 kilograms per bank cubic metre in a 3.8 by 4.4 metre drill pattern.
• Waste powder factor of 0.5 kilograms per bank cubic metre in a 3.8 by 4.4 metre drill pattern.
Five and ten metre bench heights have been selected to match the loading equipment. The lower bench height allows faster drill bench turnover due to limited floor space available on each bench. Powder factors are nominal at this stage with the high specific gravity of the ore principally determining the higher powder factor in ore.
4.4.4.2 Load and Haul A Hitachi EX1200 will be primary excavator for most of the project with a Hitachi EX1100 excavator on site at commencement and as backup. This unit, in backhoe configuration, may
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be used in pioneering areas and tight-working areas at the end of pits. It could also be used for detailed selective mining, if required, and where factors other than the size of excavator control productivity. The contractor will mobilise a fleet of four or five Caterpillar 777 trucks to site to start the project. A fleet of three to four trucks will suit most of the mining operations, but at the start it is proposed to use pre-strip waste material from Helene 5 to build the haul road to Ochre Hill. This will require some hauls of up to nine kilometres. The Hitachi EX1100 will be used during this period when production is low due to haul distance and pioneering of new benches. Over the longer term the fifth truck will act as backup. It may allow occasional use of the backup excavator to advance mining if weather causes stoppages or when working conditions allow higher production rates for short periods of time. Ore from Helene 2/3, Helene 5, Helene 6/7, Thelma Rosemary and Jasmine East will be hauled direct to the ROM stockpile for loader rehandle into the crusher. Ore from Ochre Hill will be stockpiled next to the pit and rehandled to the ROM pad, possibly using subcontract road trains. The ROM pad design will allow grade control and blending of ore types with one Cat 988 or equivalent loader The mobile mining fleet needed for the project is summarised in Table 5.
Table 5: Required Mobile Mining Equipment
Description Number
110 Tonne Excavator 2 85 Tonne Dump Truck 4 to 5 D10 Dozer 1 16G Grader 1 Water Cart 1 GD5000 Drill 2 988G FEL 1 980 FEL 1 Road Trains (triple wagon) 2
4.4.5 Waste Rock Stockpile Characteristics Waste rock and overburden will be deposited in purpose built waste rock stockpiles next to the pits (Figure 6). Limited potential exists to place waste rock as backfill in the pits. This will be done where it is economically feasible i.e. without double handling. It is estimated that about 3,000,000 tonnes of overburden and waste rock will need to be moved annually. It is unlikely that more than 10% of this will be backfilled into pits. Dimensions of proposed waste rock stockpiles are shown in Table 6.
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Table 6: Proposed Waste Rock Stockpile Dimensions Helene 5 Helene 6/7 Jasmine East
Other than the Helene 5 waste rock stockpile, all waste rock stockpiles will be within 200 metres of associated pits. Locations have been chosen to minimise haulage distances and to avoid the need to divert water courses. The Thelma Rosemary and Ochre Hill waste rock stockpiles have been positioned between their respective pits and the existing haul roads. This allows the haul route to be built over the waste rock stockpiles, minimising the need to clear vegetation. The Thelma Rosemary waste rock stockpile has been positioned to bury the existing Thelma 2 waste rock stockpile which still has little or no vegetation 30 years after closure. This will rehabilitate this historic disturbance. A small upstream surface water catchment will need to be diverted around this stockpile. The Helene 5 waste rock stockpile will be constructed over the former stockpile area and TSF. This site has been chosen to minimise native vegetation clearing and improve rehabilitation of a disturbed area from the previous mine. The stockpile has been located to retain the existing surface water flow path over the tailings surface to the south of the stockpile. Waste rock management is described in more detail in Section 8.2.
4.5 ORE PROCESSING Ore processing will initially involve only mechanical crushing and dry screening. The processing plant will be west of Helene 5 pit, on an old waste rock stockpile next to the previous iron ore processing plant and stockpile area (Figure 6). This location minimises native vegetation clearing by using the previously cleared area. It is next to the existing haul road and Helene 5 and 6/7 pits, and close to the project area’s haulage route exit which minimising haulage distances. It is also close to water supply from the existing dams. A run of mine (ROM) stockpile and a product stockpile will be on either side of the plant. Plant operation requires these stockpiles to be next to the plant.
4.5.1 Crushing and Screening The crushing and screening plant is designed to achieve an average throughput of 450 tonnes per hour. It has three main units and will require an area of about 60 by 40 metres to operate
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in. Two-wheel loaders of Caterpillar 980G size will load feed raw material into the plant and take processed products away. Ore will be processed using a thre- stage process, passing through the plant’s three units:
(i) A self powered track mounted primary jaw crusher (Metso L110 or equivalent) will reduce material to a size of about 160 millimetres before transerrfing material to the screen. A five cubic metre receiving hopper/feeder with a grizzly section in the front will allow fines to bypass the jaw crusher.
(ii) A self-powered track-mounted screen (Cedarapids TSR620 or equivalent) has a triple-deck horizontal screen as its main component. It will split processed ore into three fractions (less than 6.3 millimetres, 6.3 to 31.5 millimetres, and greater than 31.5 millimetres). The greater than 31.5 millimetre rock will pass onto a cone crusher, while the smaller two product streams will be stockpiled for export as Lump (greater than 6.3 millimetres) and Fine (less than 6.3 millimetres) product.
(iii) A self-powered track-mounted cone crusher (Metso LT300Hp or equivalent) will receive the greater than 31.5 millimetre rock from the screen, crush it to a size less than 31.5 millimetres and return it to the screen.
After the screening process, Lump (<35 millimetres to >6.3 millimetres) and Fines (<6.3 millimetres) product will be stockpiled for transport. No chemicals will be used in the process. The plant incorporates diesel engines to power its operation and does not require any external power supply. Figure 7 shows the crushing and screening process schematically.
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Figure 7: Crushing and Screening Process Flowchart
4.5.2 Plant Power Requirements Diesel engines will self-power the plant. Each unit includes a diesel engine of up to 400 kilowatts output. Total fuel usage for the three plant units and two loaders will range between 175 and 200 litres per hour. The plant is expected to operate for about 300 hours a month, resulting in fuel consumption of around 56,000 litres per month.
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4.5.3 Potential Wet Screening Wet screening and tailings storage were included in the Notice of Intent for the project (MBS Environmental, November 2005), but will not occur in at least the first year of mine operation. The scope of the project in this Public Environmental Review does not include a screening plant or a storage facility for the fine wastes (tailings) that such wet screening would produce. Depending on future market conditions and ore characteristics, it may become desirable to add a wet screening process later in the operation. If a wet screening process is added in future, detailed wet screening plant design will be prepared and discussions held with regulatory authorities to determine the need for additional approvals. It is likely that wet screening would be added to the three stage dry crushing and screening plant. This would receive output from the dry crushing and screening plant and remove particles less than one millimetre from the product stream. Only selected ore would pass through this process. Output from a wet screening plant would be fine rock mixed with water, as no chemicals are used in the wet screening process. The fine wastes (particles less than one millimetre) would be disposed of in a purpose-built TSF on the site of the previous mine’s storage facility or as pit backfill. Water would be recovered from the TSF and reused in the wet screening plant.
4.6 WATER MANAGEMENT
4.6.1 Water Requirements Water requirements for the proposed operations are limited to dust control, equipment wash down and personal use. Dust control will use most water. It includes spraying of roads, stockpiles, loading operations and crushing and screening plant.
4.6.2 Water Sources and Dewatering Frances Creek has three large surface water dams. These supplied water to the previous iron ore mine. A TSF from the previous mine is located between the water dams. The middle dam (Helene 11 Dam) receives runoff from the TSF surface and would most likely have been a decant dam for the TSF. Figure 6 shows location of surface water storages and drainage lines. Historic pits also contain varying volumes of differing qualities. Helene 6/7 Pit has been pumped dry for exploration drilling and dewatering will continue to allow mining. The water pumped from Helene 6/7 Pit will go to the Helene 11 Dam and be the primary source of water for dust suppression on site.
Other than Helene 6/7, all pits are expected to be above the water table, however they will collect direct rainfall in substantial quantities during the wet season. Rainfall runoff will be collected in sumps within the pits and used for local dust suppression. It is likely that sufficient water will accumulate during the wet season that water will have to be pumped out of the pits to allow continued mining operations. Excess stormwater in Jasmine East Pit will be pumped to Jasmine Pit as necessary to allow continued mining. Excess stormwater from Helene 5 Pit will be pumped to Helene 11 Dam
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along with Helene 6/7 water. Excess stormwater from Thelma Rosemary Pit will be pumped to Thelma 2 Pit. Excess stormwater from Ochre Hill Pit will be pumped to a settling pond and discharged to Maude Creek tributary next to the pit. A number of groundwater bores remain in the project area from previous mining operations. Groundwater resources are described in more detail in Sections 6.4 and 8.3. Potable water supplies will be trucked in from Pine Creek.
4.6.3 Water Balance Water requirements for the proposed operations will be lower than the previous operations because no wet screening of ore will occur and it will not have a township. It is anticipated that dust suppression and evaporation will consume all available water during the dry season. Increased rainfall, lower dust suppression water requirements and reduced evaporation during the wet season means excess water is likely to be present. Table 7 presents an estimated water balance for the Helene 11 Dam for four years of operation assuming average rainfall and runoff. Table 7: Estimated Annual Water Balance Frances Creek Dewatering Decant Pond
(megalitres)
Year 2006 2007 2008 2009
Rain (Mean) 98 126 126 97
Runoff (Mean) 770 770 770 770
Dewatering 70 586 586 30
Dust Suppression -16 -190 -190 -190
Evaporation (Mean) -242 -304 -304 -211
Helene 11 Dam Minimum Storage 143 251 251 63
Discharge to Frances Creek Main Dam 571 804 882 695 From Table 7 it can be seen that:
• Estimated dewatering is almost more than three times dust suppression requirements.
• The Helene 11 Dam has a natural catchment area of about 1.6 square kilometres, which results in rainfall and runoff being greater than evaporation in average rainfall conditions.
This will result in an increase in discharges from the Helene 11 Dam to Frances Creek Main Dam from a pre-mining average of 550 megalitres a year up to 882 megalitres a year. The discharges will occur during the wet season only (December to April). Dust suppression water use will continue for some time after dewatering stops, resulting in less overflow from the Helene 11 Dam in 2009. An immediate return to pre mining flow patterns (about 550 megalitres annual discharge) will occur when operations cease.
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In below average rainfall conditions, it is possible that no discharge will occur. In event of above average rainfall conditions, greater discharge will occur, but a greater proportion of the discharge will be natural runoff.
4.6.4 Water Discharge The water balance analysis indicates that it is likely that the Helene 11 Dam will fill and overflow into Frances Creek Main Dam during the wet season when dust suppression requirements and evaporation are low. At the same time Frances Creek Main Dam will be full and overflowing into Frances Creek. Dewatering flows will be diluted by about 50% by natural runoff before discharge into Frances Creek Main Dam where further dilution would occur. Discharge will only occur during natural periods of high water flow. Discharge of rainwater accumulation from Ochre Hill Pit to the environment will also be needed after heavy rainfall. Rainwater discharge from Ochre Hill Pit will go to a settlement basin and allowed to discharge to the nearby tributary of Maude Creek. Discharges of pit rainwater accumulation will coincide with natural high water levels in the receiving water courses caused by the same rainfall as rainwater accumulation in the pits.
4.6.5 Water Diversion All proposed pits and the Ochre Hill waste rock stockpile are on hilltops and will not require any diversion of surface water. The Helene 6/7 and Thelma Rosemary waste rock stockpiles (Appendix 3) partially fill minor valleys with ephemeral water courses. These water courses will be diverted around the stockpiles. The Jasmine East waste rock stockpiles fill small steep valleys and will not require any diversion of water courses.
4.7 TRANSPORT
4.7.1 General Site Access Existing roads from Pine Creek provide general access to the mine site, as shown in Figure 2. Road access to the site from Pine Creek will be about 23 kilometres as described below:
• Three kilometres on Kakadu Highway. The Department of Planning and Infrastructure manages this sealed road.
• Eight kilometres on Mount Wells Rd. This is an unsealed rural type road under the control of the Pine Creek Community Government Council. From the Frances Creek turnoff, the Department of Planning and Infrastructure manages the rest of the road to Mt Wells. The Mt Wells Road is part of the Northern Goldfields Loop tourist heritage
• 10.5 kilometres to site on private road called Frances Creek Road. This is on the Mary River West Pastoral Lease and will be maintained by Territory Iron.
Several existing stream crossings on the Frances Creek Mine-Pine Creek access road may require additional maintenance during the wet season to provide the company with continuous all-weather access.
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Estimated maximum daily volumes of traffic which the mine is likely to generate on the site access route:
• Three return trips by a small to medium sized bus to transport workers.
• 10 return trips by 4WD vehicles.
• Two return trips by semi-trailer or road train. The volume of traffic along the site access route will not rise significantly as a result of mining operations at Frances Creek.
4.7.2 Iron Ore Road Haulage Territory Iron intends to begin operations at a production rate equivalent to 700,000 tonnes a year. This will rise to 1,500,000 tonnes annually as markets are secured. Road trains will transport ore to a new stockpile and rail loading facility at a new railway siding (Roney Siding) on the Alice Springs-Darwin Railway (Figure 2).
Triple or quadruple road train units will transport ore produced at the mine site along the haul road for stockpile at Roney Siding. From there it will be loaded onto rail wagons which will travel to Darwin for unloading at the Port of Darwin. A minimum of 20 daily road train movements will occur initially, rising to at least 40 daily road train movements along the haul road, in each direction, once full production is achieved. Territory Iron expects that no more than two road trains will operate at any one time, so the frequency of road trains passing will be low. Haul time will be about 70 minutes for a complete two-way cycle including loading and unloading. Ore trains will run daily. Territory Iron will use one of two alternative routes for haulage. The two routes are described in the following sections. Route 1 is the preferred option. Territory Iron wants to retain the option of using Route 2 in case of unforeseen difficulties with Route 1. A final choice of route option will be made before construction. Only the chosen route will be used. Road construction is scheduled to begin as soon as all necessary approvals are obtained, with the aim of completion by late 2006.
4.7.2.1 Route 1 - Former Rail Spur Line. Territory Iron’s preferred iron ore road haulage route option is to construct a dedicated iron ore haul road along alignment of the previous iron ore mine’s old railway spur line. Roney Siding will be 14.2 kilometres from the mine site by this route. The NT Land Corporation owns the rail corridor. It crosses Mary River West Pastoral Lease. An agreement to allow haul road construction will be negotiated with the tenure holders before construction begins. The 12.6-kilometres of haul road in the former railway corridor will be established by modifying the remnant spurline formation. This formation is still very sound even after more than 30 years of neglect. The cuttings will be widened slightly and a running surface re-established using the former gravel capping layer and remnant ballast left behind when steel rail and sleepers were removed some time in the late 1970s. This material will be strengthened where needed by importing gravel from adjoining local sources.
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On raised sections across streams and low lying areas between hills, the top of the formation will be lowered to increase the width to a minimum of five metres. The gravel materials and remnant ballast will be salvaged before lowering the top of the formation and returned to the lowered top to provide a solid running surface. Several passing loops will permit the empty returning vehicle to move off the haul road and park or travel along the passing loop when a loaded truck approaches. The company expects no more than two road trains to operate at any one time so the frequency of passing will be low. Territory Iron will maintain the haul road in a safe condition. A cross roads intersection will be needed to allow haul trucks to cross from the north to the south side of Mt Wells Road. This will be about 1.2 kilometres from the railway crossing. Signs on the Mt Wells Road would give priority to fully laden road trains travelling along the haul road. The intersection will be built to Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) requirements. It is noted that all traffic on this road already needs to stop at a level crossing on the Alice Springs-Darwin Railway Line, about 1.2 kilometres away. Road train traffic will be significantly greater than equivalent traffic movement on Mt Wells Road, which means that the iron ore haul road will become the dominant road at this intersection. A 0.6-kilometre section of new haul road will link the old railway alignment to the Mt Wells Road intersection, and a further 1.6 kilometres of new haul road will link the Mt Wells Road intersection to Roney Siding. The new road will typically be seven metres wide (wider on curves) with an open table drain on one side.
4.7.2.2 Route 2 - Mt Wells Road This route consists of the existing Frances Creek Road for 9.7 kilometres to Mt Wells Road, then the existing Mt Wells Road west for seven kilometres to where Route 1 crosses Mt Wells Road. A new T-intersection at this site will allow trucks to turn off onto a new 1.6 kilometre section of haul road to link Mt Wells Road to Roney Siding as for Route 1. If Route 2 is adopted, Territory Iron will improve intersections and watercourse crossings on Mt Wells Road and improve sight lines. Signs on Mt Wells Road, will give warning of road trains entering, leaving and travelling along the haul road. Territory Iron will reach an agreement with DPI to keep the road maintained to a suitable standard. All public road works will be constructed to DPI requirements.
4.8 PRODUCT LOADING AND EXPORT
4.8.1 Rail Loading and Stockpile Facility Stockpiles at Roney Siding will store Fine and Lump ore product separately before loading on trains for transport to Darwin for export. A 2.4 hectare area will be cleared for the stockpile area at Roney Siding (Figure 8). Ore will be unloaded by side tipping from road trains. It is anticipated that all stockpiles will be within 30 metres of the train-loading point. A front-end loader will load material from stockpiles directly into rail wagons. The front-end loader will also shape the stockpiles and
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remove any spillages. A 10 kilolitre self-bunded diesel fuel storage tank located at the siding will be used to refuel the front-end loader.
4.8.2 Rail Haulage FreightLink will own and operate rail haulage from Roney Siding to the Port of Darwin. Each train will have up to 60 rail wagons capable of carrying about 70 tonnes per wagon, giving a total train load of 4,200 tonnes. Fewer carriages will be used before full production. Trains are expected to run daily (365 return trips per year). They will be unloaded at the bottom dump bulk unloading facility at Darwin Port. Conveyors will transfer the ore to a stockpile area. Trucks and purpose-built port facilities will load ore from the stockpile area onto ships. The port stockpile areas and loading and unloading facilities are outside the scope of this PER. Use of the port facility for storage and export of ore was addressed in an Environmental Impact Statement prepared for the Port Corporation and issued in 2003. The Port Corporation has developed an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) to ensure environmental impacts are prevented or minimised. This EMP places particular emphasis on dust management. Territory Iron will comply with requirements of the Port Corporation’s Environmental Management Plan which relate to their operations. Territory Iron will develop procedures to address unloading of rail wagons and managing product stockpiles.
Roney Siding Stockpile Concept Plan
1 1 TI-P-F006 A
TERRITORY FIGURE 8
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4.9 INFRASTRUCTURE Infrastructure necessary that has not already been described in Sections 4.3 to 4.8 will include offices, ablution facilities, workshop and warehouse/store facilities, an explosives magazine, a rubbish dump, water pipelines and power generation facilities. Existing commercial service providers will provide the telephone system and data communication for the site. In-plant communication between plant operators, maintenance personnel and the control room will generally be by UHF or VHF radios. Further details of infrastructure are provided in the following subsections.
4.9.1 Offices and Ablution Facilities Offices at the Frances Creek mine site will consist of:
• Three transportable office buildings and a crib block (all 12 by three metres), plus a six by three metre male/female transportable ablution block, plumbed to an approved wastewater system.
• A first aid room including induction/safety training area.
• A potable water storage tank. All government approvals necessary will be obtained before construction or use of buildings and ablution facilities. The site will not have accommodation or food preparation facilities. Offices will be built about 400 metres south of the Helene 6/7 Pit entry on Frances Creek Road. The office site has been chosen to be the first point of contact for any vehicles entering the project area. This will allow appropriate control of access to the site. It is also the site of previous mine offices. This minimises impact on native vegetation because only regrowth and weeds need to be cleared. The site was levelled for the previous mining operation and is elevated well above the Frances Creek floodplain. A mobile crib room (12 by three metres) and ablution unit (six by three metres) will be moved between Ochre Hill, Thelma Rosemary and Jasmine East as required. The mobile ablution unit will be self-contained. It will be either a dry composting unit or fitted with a holding tank which will periodically have effluent pumped out and trucked to an approved facility for disposal.
4.9.2 Power Generation A diesel generator unit of around 75 kilowatts rated output will supply electrical power for offices and workshops. Several smaller units of five to ten kilowatt output will supply power to crib rooms, pumps and lighting at locations other than the main generator. All units will be independent, portable and contained on spill trays. A dedicated self-bunded 10 kilolitre tank will supply the main generator with diesel. Small generators will use two kilolitre self-bunded tanks. The crushing and screening plant is self-powered.
TERRITORY IRON LIMITED FRANCES CREEK PROJECT PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
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4.9.3 Workshops and Store A single bay 12 by 18 metre workshop will have a 300 millimetre concrete slab floor and 10 metre concrete apron in front. It will be in a workshop yard with sufficient hardstand to park mining equipment safely. These will be next to the haul road between the offices and the entry to Helene 6/7 Pit. Concrete foundations remain from previous mine buildings and will be used in workshop construction. The proposed workshop site is already disturbed from previous mining operations, again minimising the need for additional clearing. This site is also well above flood risks. A vehicle wash down bay will be constructed on a bunded concrete slab and connected to an oil water separator. Hydrocarbon storage facilities at the workshop will comprise a 70 kilolitre self-bunded diesel tank and three two kilolitre self-bunded oil and waste oil tanks. The bunding of these tanks will comply with Australian Standard AS 1940:2004.
4.9.4 Pipelines and Dewatering Pipeline needs are minimal and will consist of:
• Water supply line from the Helene 9 and 11 dams to the screening plant and standpipes.
• Water supply line from any bores used to the screening plant and dams.
• Pit dewatering lines to the screening plant and settlement ponds. All pipelines will be in previously-disturbed areas with the possible exception of bore supply pipelines. No bunding of pipelines will be needed because all pipelines will carry good quality water. Portable diesel generators on spill trays will power dewatering pumps. Two kilolitre self-bunded fuel tanks will supply fuel.
4.9.5 Explosives Magazine An explosives magazine will be in the entrance to the Jasmine Central Pit. It is planned to have the magazine inside pit confines. The only entry to the magazine site will be fenced and locked in accordance with appropriate Dangerous Goods standards. Explosives will be contained in purpose-built explosives containers within the magazine site.
4.9.6 Waste Disposal Site Non hazardous wastes will be disposed of in a trench type landfill waste disposal site at an approved location on the Helene 6/7 waste rock stockpile. Wastes will be periodically covered with waste rock. Further details of landfill management are given in Section 8.10.2.2.
TERRITORY IRON LIMITED FRANCES CREEK PROJECT PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
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4.10 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS USE AND STORAGE Hazardous substances to be used within the mining operation will be diesel, lubricants and explosives. A diesel storage tank will be located next to the heavy vehicle workshop to allow refuelling of mining equipment. No reagents will be usedfor ore processing. Table 8 details the hazardous materials required, the area of use, likely storage amount and expected annual usage.
Table 8: Hazardous Materials Required
Substance Area of Use Annual Usage Storage Type Storage Amount
Diesel Mining 4,000,000 litres 1 x 70kL, 1 x 10kL, 2 x 2kL Self bunded tanks
84,000 litres
Diesel Power generation 300,000 litres 1 x 10kL Self bunded tanks
The main 70 kilolitre diesel tank will be filled directly from tanker trucks importing diesel to the site. Minor storages at the rail siding and generator and dewatering pumps will be filled using service trucks. A service truck will refuel equipment at more distant open pits once per shift. Explosive magazines containing ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO), packaged explosives and detonators will be stored in purpose-built facilities in the old Jasmine Central Pit. The storage, use and disposal of explosives will be in accordance with the Explosives Act 1999, the Explosives Regulations 2003 and manufacturer’s guidelines. A heavy vehicle workshop will be constructed beside Frances Creek Road at the site entrance, just south of Helene 6/7 Pit (Figure 6). It will be used to service mining equipment (trucks, excavators, drill rigs, water carts and graders). Light vehicles will be serviced at a small workshop next to the heavy vehicle workshop refuelling facility.
4.11 SITE PREPARATION AND CONSTRUCTION Construction will begin with:
• Upgrading the existing access road to the site.
• Building the haul road to the rail facility.
• Installing the workshop, offices, power generation and fuel storage facilities. The processing facility will be a mobile plant. A level pad will be built to contain the processing facility, ROM and product stockpiles. All materials used will be sourced within the mining tenements with possible exception of gravel materials for most distant areas of the haul road, which may be sourced from nearby borrow pits.
TERRITORY IRON LIMITED FRANCES CREEK PROJECT PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
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Water needs for construction will be low, and can be met by reusing dewatering flows from Helene 6/7 Pit, and water captured in existing dams on Frances Creek. Subject to all necessary approvals being in place, mining equipment is planned to be mobilised during the 2006-07 wet season. A construction environmental management plan (CEMP) will be incorporated into the site environmental management plan (Section 12). This plan will ensure appropriate environmental procedures are followed during construction to minimise impacts and facilitate later rehabilitation. Measures detailed in the EMP will include stripping and appropriate stockpiling of topsoil, minimisation of clearing and control of dust generation.
4.12 WORKFORCE Construction will begin with a workforce of 23 people. This will increase to a permanent workforce of 73 once start-up is complete. It will include 45 Territory Iron staff and 25 contractor staff. The breakdown of positions is detailed in Table 9.
4.13 PROJECT SCHEDULE Territory Iron aims to begin mining as soon as all approvals have been granted. Construction is planned to start at Frances Creek in October 2006 assuming all approvals have been obtained. This will allow the planned first shipment of ore product in March/April 2007. To meet this schedule, the following key milestones need to be achieved:
• All approvals in place.
• Building rail siding, stockpile area and access road.
• Building port facilities for stockpile.
• Completing bulk ship loading facilities at Darwin Port.
TERRITORY IRON LIMITED FRANCES CREEK PROJECT PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
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Table 9: Permanent Workforce Details
PRIME CONTRACTOR MANNING LEVELS Dec 2006
Jan 2006
Mar 2006
Territory Iron Staff Positions Mining Manager 1 1 1 Area Coordinator 1 1 1 Production Superintendent 1 1 1 Production Supervisor 1 3 3 Mobile Plant Operators 3 25 30 Mining Technician 0 1 1 Mine Production Engineer 1 1 1 Senior Mine Surveyor 1 1 1 Survey Technician 0 2 2 Senior Geologist - Mining 1 1 1 Production Geologist 1 1 1 Senior Geology Technician 0 2 2 Total Territory Iron Staff 11 40 45 Contractors Drill and Blast Site Supervisor 1 1 1 Driller 3 6 6 Blast Crew 2 3 3 Fitter 1 1 1 Serviceman 1 1 1 Maintenance Project Manager 1 1 1 Fitter 2 3 3 Serviceman 1 2 3 Other Road Train Operators 0 0 3 Crusher Supervisor 0 1 1 Crusher Operators 0 3 3 Train Loading 0 2 2 Total Contractor Work Force (On-Site) 12 24 28 TOTAL MANPOWER 23 64 73
