20784 29Metals AR 2022 WEB V1 - Flipbook - Page 36
Responsible environmental stewardship continued
Environmental performance
Executed by our dedicated site
environmental teams, 29Metals’
Environmental Management Systems
support regulatory requirements
and key environmental risks at our
operating mines
Our mining operations are mature operations with a history of
mining activity of more than 70 years and 30 years at Capricorn
Copper and Golden Grove, respectively, under various owners
and operators. This history brings with it a legacy of different
environmental practices and performance, all of which must
be managed by 29Metals today. The Company has been
progressively developing and implementing integrated plans that
enable current mining operations to progressively rehabilitate
former disturbance sites and environmental performance issues.
In addition, the 29Metals HSEC MS Standards and supporting
performance standards include management standards for
environmental performance (refer to Sustainability & ESG
governance, above).
Reportable environmental incidents during the year ended
31 December 2022 are tabled below (by site).
Reportable
incidents10 Enforcement action11
Site
Golden
Grove
5
■
■
Capricorn
Copper
512
■
■
Redhill
0
Warning received in relation to one
reportable incident, reported in 2021
Engagement with regulatory authorities
regarding two reportable incidents
remains ongoing
Three warnings issued, with requirement
to undertake certain corrective actions
Subsequent to Reporting Period, a new
Environmental Protect Order (‘EPO’)
was issued
Nil
In December 2022, Capricorn Copper received a notice
of non-compliance relating to the annual review of Water
Management Plan. Capricorn Copper has responded to the notice.
Except as outlined above, all reportable incidents were resolved
without action, or causing environmental harm.
Subsequent to Reporting Period
The Queensland Department of Environment & Science (‘DES’)
issued EPOs to Capricorn Copper in 2020 and 2021 in relation
to, materially, the volume of water held on site in regulated water
storage facilities (the Esperanza Pit and the Mill Creek Dam).
Under the successive EPO’s, 29Metals was required to reduce
water levels in the Esperanza Pit and the Mill Creek Dam to
levels prescribed by the EPO, which levels corresponded to the
prescribed Design Storage Allowance (or, ‘DSA’) for the relevant
structures, by 1 November 2022.
During the period of the consecutive EPOs, 29Metals successfully
reduced the water levels significantly, including reducing water
levels in the Mill Creek Dam to within the prescribed requirement
before 1 November 2022. However, while water levels in the
Esperanza Pit were reduced significantly, on 1 November 2022
the water levels in the Esperanza Pit were above the prescribed
level13. 29Metals received a notice of potential non-compliance
regarding this matter and remains engaged with the DES.
In parallel, following detailed work to update the site water
balance model, 29Metals has submitted an application to amend
the environmental authority for Capricorn Copper, seeking to
amend the DSA for the Esperanza Pit to reflect the outcome of
the updated water balance model. The environmental authority
amendment process remains ongoing.
In the context of a forecast heavy wet season in Northwest
Queensland and the elevated water levels at Capricorn Copper,
the DES issued a new EPO in January 2023. The new EPO covers
the remainder of the current wet season (ending 1 May 2023) and
requires site to take certain steps to manage water levels in the
Esperanza Pit and a second water storage structure on site, the
Mill Creek Dam, including a requirement to release treated water
(as permitted by the environmental permit at Capricorn Copper,
subject to water quality requirements) currently held on site.
Capricorn Copper Recovery Plan
Operations at Capricorn Copper were suspended due to extreme rainfall
event in early March 2023.
Read more, page 2
10. Reportable incidents excludes administrative notifications and periodic reporting.
11. Enforcement actions as result of notifiable incidents.
12. Includes reportable incident relating to the pipe burst event involving a third-party water pipeline that traverses Capricorn Copper leases.
13. Consequently, water levels in the Esperanza Pit also exceeded the prescribed DSA as at 1 November 2022.
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29Metals 2022 Annual Report