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Magnetite Concentrate Slurry & Return Water Pipeline Mobile Screening Project - Supporting Document

IB Operations Pty Ltd.

9 March 2021 NS-0000-WA-EN-0001

Works Approval Supporting Document NS-0000-WA-EN-0001

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 6

1.1 Project Background ........................................................................................... 6

1.2 Purpose and Scope of the Application............................................................. 7

1.3 Applicant/Occupier Details ............................................................................... 7

1.4 Prescribed Premises Details ............................................................................. 8

1.5 Other Approvals ................................................................................................ 8

1.6 Stakeholder Consultation ................................................................................. 8

1.7 Siting and Location ........................................................................................... 9

2. SITE ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS ........................................................... 10

2.1 Climate ............................................................................................................. 10

2.2 Landforms, Geology and Soils ....................................................................... 10

2.3 Hydrology and Hydrogeology ......................................................................... 11

2.3.1 Hydrology ............................................................................................. 11

2.3.2 Hydrogeology ....................................................................................... 11

2.4 Flora and Vegetation ....................................................................................... 12

2.5 Fauna ................................................................................................................ 12

3. MOBILE SCREENING EQUIPEMENT DESIGN AND OPERATION ............................. 12

3.1 Key Characteristics ......................................................................................... 12

3.2 Location and Area of Disturbance .................................................................. 13

3.3 Inputs and Outputs .......................................................................................... 13

3.3.1 Fuel Supply .......................................................................................... 14

3.4 Mobile Screening Plant description ............................................................... 14

3.5 Staged Construction and Commission .......................................................... 17

4. EMISSIONS, DISCHARGES, AND WASTE ................................................................. 17

4.1 Noise ................................................................................................................ 18

4.2 Dust .................................................................................................................. 18

4.3 Contaminated or Potentially Contaminated Stormwater .............................. 19

4.3.1 Chemicals and hydrocarbons management ......................................... 19

4.4 Waste and Leachate ........................................................................................ 19


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FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. 22

APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................... 26

Works Approval Supporting Document

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Proponent Details ......................................................................................................... 7 Table 2: Prescribed Activities and Prescribed Premises details .................................................. 8 Table 3: SMUs within the Project area ...................................................................................... 11 Table 4: Description of the proposed equipment ....................................................................... 13 Table 5: Inputs and Outputs of the mobile screening plant ....................................................... 13

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Slurry/Return Pipeline Screening Project ................................................................... 22 Figure 2: Siting and Location: Slurry/Return Pipeline Screening Project ................................... 24

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Mine and Rail Dust Management Plan (45-PL-EN-0030)

Appendix 2: Surface Water Management Plan (100-PL-EN-1015)

Appendix 3: Chemical and Hydrocarbon Management Plan (100-PL-EN-0011)

Appendix 4: Waste Management Plan (45-PL-EN-0014)

Appendix 5: SPD-350 and SPD-450 specifications.


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1. INTRODUCTION

This document supports a works approval application for the North Star Magnetite Project. It contains information required for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) to assess the application under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act).

1.1 Project Background

Iron Bridge Operations Pty Ltd (IBO) (a joint venture between FMG Magnetite Pty Ltd and Formosa Steel IB Pty Ltd) is developing the North Star Magnetite Project (the Project). The Project mine site is located approximately 110 km south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia (WA). The Project will mine approximately 100 Mtpa of magnetite ore, which will be processed into 22 Mtpa of concentrate product, for shipping out of Port Hedland.

IBO consists of two distinct phases of mining at North Star: The Stage 1 North Star Hematite Project and the Stage 2 North Star Magnetite Project. Stage 1 was fully constructed, and the existing Ore Processing Facility (OPF), Power Station and Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) are licenced under Industry Licence L8845/2014/1.

Stage 2 of the Project was approved on the 6 January 2015 under Part IV of the EP Act, pursuant to Ministerial Statement (MS) 993 and commenced construction in late 2019.

The Project is currently undergoing infrastructure expansion to include pipelines approved under MS 993. The pipeline project consists of two pipelines approximate 135km (each) in length, located side-by-side, within a shared infrastructure corridor. One pipeline will transport high grade magnetite ore concentrate slurry (slurry) from the OPF at the mine site, to the Concentrate Handling Facility (CHF) at Fortescue’s Port Hedland port facility. The other pipeline will transport the return water, extracted from the slurry at the CHF back to the mine site for re- use. MS 993 describes the pipeline(s) as buried for the entirety of the project area, where possible.

To support construction activities for the proposed pipeline project, the prescribed activity, category 12, is required. This category is triggered by the proposed use of “Padding Machines” and excavators with screening buckets, that will provide screened, earthen padding material to place around each pipeline when buried. The padding process improves the longevity of each pipeline by removing sharp rocks or objects from the vicinity of the pipeline, that may cause damage.

This document has been drafted to align with the DWER application form ‘Application form: works approval, licence, renewal, amendment, or registration (v13, April 2020)’.


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PER, as such no other consultation is considered necessary to support this Works Approval application.

1.7 Siting and Location

The material screening is to be located within the proposed Prescribed Premise Boundary (PPB) (Figure 1), this boundary is located on the following tenements L45/317; L45/318; L45/319; L45/360; L45/361; L45/364, L45/389; L45/435; L45/561 (pending), L45/569 (pending), L45/577 (pending).

Nearby environmentally sensitive receptors and aspects were assessed as per Guidance Statement: Environmental Siting. The proposed PPB may intersect or be adjacent to the following areas (Figure 2):

• Heritage Protected areas,

• Proclaimed surface water regions; Turner River and Turner River (East),

• Significant flora and fauna locations/habitats.

The sensitive receptors and associated aspects, as per Guidance Statement: Environmental Siting, have been assessed under Part IV Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and conditioned accordingly through the approved MS 993. With additional risk assessment(s) and controls implemented in the approved Mining Proposal (Reg I.D. 87630).

The proposed material screening will be undertaken within the approved MS 993 envelope, the pipeline design and associated PPB has, where possible, been designed to avoid sensitive receptors. The mobile material screening is considered remote and temporary in nature, with potential emissions and discharges not considered to be of long-term exposure, or negative impact to the abovementioned areas.

Extensive survey of the proposed PPB has taken place for flora, vegetation and faunal communities and fauna habitat to best understand the siting and location in which the prescribed activity will take place. The infrastructure design and planning reflect the best utilisation of the mitigation hierarchy and avoidance to best eliminate and/or minimise environmental harm to threatened flora and fauna species and habitat. Where avoidance is not possible IBO has or will utilise the appropriate approvals and management measures to disturb areas of concern.

IBO’s approach to the management of Aboriginal cultural heritage and Heritage Protected areas is based on the ‘avoidance’ principle. That is, IBO will work to avoid impacting Heritage Protected areas wherever possible and will otherwise minimise and mitigate impacts. Where IBO cannot avoid impacts to Heritage Protected areas, IBO will seek Ministerial consent under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA) (AHA) to impact those places and prior to doing so will


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seek to discuss and agree management and impact mitigation measures with the Traditional Owners of the area.

Boodarie, Indee and Wallareenya homesteads are located approximately within 20 km of the proposed PPB. With the northern portion of the PPB located in the Town of Port Hedland. There are no planned discharges as a result of the category 12, screening project. Dust and noise emissions may be produced at a low frequency and output. The project emissions are considered remote regarding the sensitive land use locations and the mobile nature of the project, resulting in no long term planned emissions.

2. SITE ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

North Star Magnetite Project Public Environmental Review (PER) (Fortescue, 2013) provided an extensive overview of the physical, biological and social environment associated with the North Star project area; this includes the installation of the proposed pipeline works. The sections below provide a summary of this information as well as any additional information that is deemed necessary and/ or current to the project.

2.1 Climate

The Pilbara has an arid climate with two distinct seasons being a pronounced dry period between August and October; and a wet season between December and March, continuing through until June. Average yearly evaporation is 3,000 millimetres (mm) which exceeds the average yearly rainfall (457.9 mm). The region is characterised by low and variable rainfall, generally resulting from local thunderstorms and occasional high intensity cyclonic events (BoM, 2020).

2.2 Landforms, Geology and Soils

The Project is located in the Chichester subregion of the Pilbara Bioregion as described in the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (Thackway and Creswell, 1995). The Chichester subregion comprises plains that support a shrub steppe characterised by Acacia inaequilatera over Triodia wiseana hummock grasslands, while Eucalyptus leucophloia tree steppes occur on ranges. This subregion covers an area of approximately 9,044,560 ha (Kendrick & McKenzie, 2001).

The main geological units within the Project area are the Kangaroo Caves Formation, the Pincunah Hill Formation and the Corboy Formation. The Project also includes part of the Paddy Market Formation, which outcrops in the northern part of the Project area. The Project area lies largely within the Gorge Range on an eroded peneplain with remnants forming plateaus, hills and ridges within the landscape (GHD, 2012). The ore body is primarily situated beneath the


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2.4 Flora and Vegetation

A flora and vegetation survey has been undertaken over the entire Project area and surrounding areas. During this survey a total of 472 flora taxa were recorded from the survey area. The families and genera recorded in the project area during this survey are considered typical of the Pilbara region (ecologia Environment, 2012a).

Impacts to flora and vegetation associated with the development of the pipeline were assessed during the North Star Magnetite Project Public Environmental Review (FMGL, 2013). Ministerial Statement 993 authorises the disturbance of flora and vegetation associated with the Project and places conditions on the Project in relation to the management of flora and vegetation.

2.5 Fauna

A two-phase Level 2 vertebrate fauna survey has been undertaken over the entire North Star Project area and surrounds. In addition, a targeted survey for the Northern Quoll, the Pilbara Leaf‐nosed Bat and the Pilbara Olive Python was also carried out in the Project area and surrounds.

This survey work resulted in the identification of 19 native and three introduced mammal species, 81 bird species, 75 reptile species and six amphibian species within the Project area (ecologia Environment, 2012b).

Impacts to fauna associated with the development of the Project were assessed during the North Star Magnetite Project Public Environmental Review. Ministerial Statement 993 (approved 9 January 2015) places conditions on the Project in relation to the management of significant fauna species.

3. MOBILE SCREENING EQUIPMENT DESIGN AND OPERATION

3.1 Key Characteristics

The proposed project will operate multiple mobile padding plant and excavator mounted screening buckets to generate screened material to be used as construction bedding and padding material for the installation of the North Star slurry/ return pipeline project. A description of the proposed facilities is provided in Table 4.


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3.3.1 Fuel Supply

Multiple screening plant will be mobilised throughout the proposed PPB area. Each mobile plant is diesel fuelled and track operated, refuel will occur via service truck.

3.4 Mobile Screening Plant description

The screening project will operate multiple mobile plant throughout the project area. Each screening plant will have a varied maximum capacity throughput, depending on the equipment type available, this will further vary with potential limitations in the field (topography, material type etc.). It is expected that the maximum throughput will be less than the manufacturer specification which are approximately 158 t/hr, 207 t/hr and 300 t/hr for the SPD-250, SPD-350 and SPD-450 respectively (appendix 5). Mobile screening equipment may vary pending equipment availability.

Raw material will be utilised from the excavated trench and/ or borrow pits if required by the project. The plant will track alongside the trench, reclaiming raw material into the screening plant by the hydrostatic escalator located at the front of the plant. The output feed will supply bedding/ padding material for the pipeline trench via the output conveyor belt (Plate 1). Surplus material (oversized) will output at the rear of the mobile plant (Plate 2).


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Plate 1 Example of screened material output


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Plate 2 Example of oversize material output

Additional to the mobile plant, screening of material will occur in lower volumes by excavator mounted screening buckets (Plate 3). The buckets will be mounted to excavators and reclaim raw material to be screened through the modified buckets directly into the trench to provide safer egress points and/ or screen material into plant limited locations throughout the pipeline trench. The screen rate is highly variable, based on the design and material encountered within the proposed PPB. Manufacturer theoretical calculations suggest the conservative capacity to be around 200 t/hr. The use of excavators with mounted screening buckets will not be a primary screening method throughout the pipeline project and used more so to supplement the project where the tracked plant my not be able to access or provide service.


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Plate 3 Example of excavator mounted screening bucket

3.5 Staged Construction and Commission

There are no construction requirements for the mobile screening plant equipment, the equipment operates as a complete tracked mobile plant, manufacturer constructed and commissioned. There is no onsite commissioning required for the mobile screening plant equipment. Equipment will be mobilised and demobilised to and from site operationally ready.

4. EMISSIONS, DISCHARGES, AND WASTE

An assessment of the potential emissions, receptors and adverse effects relevant to the screening activities in the proposed PPB and the corresponding management measures are provided in this section.

IBO have provided information using the same emissions and discharges categories listed in the DWER works approval application form.


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The following emissions and discharges categories are deemed relevant to the operation of the prescribed activities:

• noise

• dust

• contaminated or potentially contaminated stormwater

• waste and leachate

4.1 Noise

The operation of the mobile screening plant which may result in noise emissions will be managed in accordance with the Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997. Noise emissions will be mitigated by implementing the following management measures:

• Inspection and maintenance of exhaust and silencing systems on machinery,

equipment and plant will be conducted, and the use of low noise equipment, where practicable.

4.2 Dust

There is the potential for dust emissions from the mobile plant associated with the screening and handling of material. The potential impacts associated with the emissions of dust include:

• Loss of amenity in dust affected areas; and

• Physical impacts on the health of vegetation and fauna habitat.

The operation of the screening plant which may result in dust emissions will be mitigated by implementing the following management measures:

• Where applicable, ensure that operation of the MCSF is managed in accordance with the Mine and Rail Dust Management Plan (45-PL-EN-0030);

• Enforce speed limits in work areas to reduce dust generation;

• Ongoing visual assessment of operational practicality based on atmospheric conditions; and,

• Utilise water carts where possible to supress dust.

The proposed screening methods require that there be limited moisture present in the dry feed material. There is limited water dust suppression proposed for the process of screening the material, however, exclusive to the operation of screening plant, water carts will be used for dust suppression of supplementary activities within the proposed PPB where possible to assist with dust control.


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It is recognised that the remote location and temporary nature of the screening activities do not pose long term dust emissions to the environment.

4.3 Contaminated or Potentially Contaminated Stormwater

Each screening plant proposed will operate as a dry screen of materials and there are no planned discharges associated with the operation of the mobile screening plant. The equipment will be located away from major water courses for most of the operation, further reducing the risk of potentially contaminated stormwater effecting surrounds. The proposed PPB’s may intersect ephemeral drainage and creek lines, given the temporary, short-term nature of the material screening project within these areas it is proposed that no additional controls are required in these areas. Padding activities river and major watercourse crossing will be scheduled to take place during the dry season to minimise the environmental impact and risk to potential stormwater contamination.

IBO will utilise Fortescue’s Surface Water Management Plan (100-PL-EN-1015) in order to manage stormwater where practicable. There are no planned contaminant discharges that will attribute to contaminated stormwater because of the material screening project. The highest risk contaminants are chemicals and hydrocarbons utilised in operation of the screening plant.

4.3.1 Chemicals and hydrocarbons management

Hydrocarbons will be used during operation of the mobile screening plant, this will be managed in accordance with the Chemical and Hydrocarbon Management Plan (100-PL-EN-0011). Hydrocarbon management measures relevant to the MCSF include:

• Store hydrocarbons, lubricants and greases in bunding in accordance with AS 1940-

2004 (The storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids) and Chemical and Hydrocarbon Storage Procedure (45-PR-EN-0015);

• Position spill kits near areas where the potential for hydrocarbon spills has been identified, in accordance with Chemical and Hydrocarbon Spills Procedure (45-PR-EN- 0014); and

• Utilise spill trays and other containment mechanisms during maintenance activities to prevent any discharge to the environment.

4.4 Waste and Leachate

Solid waste generated from the mobilisation and operation of the MCSF will be appropriately contained, stored and disposed of in line with the Waste Management Plan (45-PL-EN-0014) for the site. Controlled waste will be disposed of in accordance with the Environmental Protection


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(controlled waste) Regulations 2004. Chemical and hydrocarbon contaminated materials generated will be disposed of in accordance with the Chemical and Hydrocarbon Spills Procedure (100-PR-EN-0014).

Waste rock material and rock material surplus will be used to refill the trench at the completion of the screening project. Additional surplus material beyond the trench fill requirements will be landscaped accordingly within the project disturbance footprint to ensure there is minimal impact to surface water flow as a result of the screening of material within the proposed PPB.


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REFERENCES

Bureau of Meterology. (2020). Climate Data Online. Retrieved 2020, from Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/

Ecologia Environment. (2012a). Fortescue Metals Group Ltd North Star Vegetation and Flora Assessment. Perth: Unpublished report for Fortescue Metals Group Limited.

Ecologia Environment. (2012b). North Star Project Level 2 Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna Assessment. Perth.

FMGL. (2013). Public Environmental Review, North Star Magnetite Project. Unpublished.

GHD. (2012). North Star Soil and Landform Report. Perth: Unpublished report prepared by GHD for Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.

Kendrick, P. and McKenzie, N.L. (2001). Pilbara 1 (PIL1 Chichester subregion). In McKenzie, N. L., May, J. E. and McKenna, S. (2003). Bioregional Summary of the 2002 Biodiversity Audit for Western Australia. The National Land and Water Resources Audit and the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth, Western Australia.

Thackway, R., and Creswell, I. D. (1995). An Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia: A framework for setting priorities in the National Reserves System Cooperative Program Version 4.0. Canberra: Australian Nature Conservation Agency.


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FIGURES

Figure 1: Slurry/Return Pipeline Screening Project

Works Approval Supporting Document of 33 NS-0000-WA-EN-0001 .

Figure 2: Siting and Location: Slurry/Return Pipeline Screening Project


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. APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Mine and Rail Dust Management Plan (45-PL-EN-0030)

Appendix 2: Surface Water Management Plan (100-PL-EN-1015)

Appendix 3: Chemical and Hydrocarbon Management Plan (100-PL-EN-0011)

Appendix 4: Waste Management Plan (45-PL-EN-0014)

Appendix 5: SPD-250, SPD-350 and SPD-450 specifications.


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Appendix 1: Mine and Rail Dust Management Plan


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Appendix 2: Surface Water Management Plan


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Appendix 3: Chemical and Hydrocarbon Management Plan


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Appendix 4: Waste Management Plan


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Appendix 4: SPD-250, SPD-350 and SPD450 Specifications


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