Ginkgo Mineral Sands Mine &
Crayfish Expansion
Mining Operation Plan
2016 - 2021
Contents
1
Introduction
6
1.1
History of Operations
6
1.2
Current Consents, Authorisations and Licenses
7
1.3
Land Ownership and Land Use
9
1.4
Stakeholder Consultation
9
2
Proposed Mining Activities
10
2.1
Project Description
10
2.2
Asset Register
11
2.3
Activities over the MOP Term
12
2.3.1 Exploration ............................................................................................................ 12
2.3.2 Construction .......................................................................................................... 12
2.3.3 Planning and Mine Path Clearing .......................................................................... 12
2.3.4 Overburden emplacement ..................................................................................... 13
2.3.5 Processing residues and tailings ........................................................................... 14
2.3.6 Waste Management .............................................................................................. 14
2.3.7 Decommissioning and dismantling activities ......................................................... 15
2.3.8 Temporary Stabilisation......................................................................................... 15
2.3.9 Progressive rehabilitation and completion ............................................................ 15
2.3.10 Material Production Schedule during MOP Term ................................................. 16
3
Environmental Issues Management
18
3.1
Environmental Risk Assessment
18
3.2
Environmental Risk Management
26
Specific Risks relating to Rehabilitation ........................................................................... 26
3.2.1 Geology and Geochemistry ................................................................................... 26
3.2.2 Erosion and Sediment Control .............................................................................. 27
3.2.3 Soil type(s) and Suitability ..................................................................................... 27
3.2.4 Flora and Fauna .................................................................................................... 28
Stage 1 - Preliminary habitat assessment .................................................................... 30
3.2.5 Overburden Characterisation ................................................................................ 31
3.2.6 Slopes and Slope Management ............................................................................ 31
3.2.7 Air quality ............................................................................................................... 32
3.2.8 Surface water ........................................................................................................ 32
3.2.9 Ground water ......................................................................................................... 33
3.2.10 Hazardous materials ............................................................................................. 33
3.2.11 Noise
................................................................................................................ 33
3.2.12 Visual and lighting ................................................................................................. 33
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
3.2.13 Heritage (Aboriginal and European) ...................................................................... 33
3.2.14 Bushfire 34
4
Post Mining Land Use
35
4.1
Regulatory Requirements
35
4.2
Post Mining Land Use Goal
37
4.3
Rehabilitation Objectives
37
4.3.1 Rehabilitation Design Principles ............................................................................ 38
4.3.2 Short Term Rehabilitation Objectives .................................................................... 38
4.3.3 Long Term Rehabilitation Objectives .................................................................... 38
5
Rehabilitation Planning and Management
39
5.1
Domain Selection
39
5.2
Domain Rehabilitation Objectives and Rehabilitation Phases
41
5.2.1 Domain 1 Infrastructure Area ................................................................................ 41
5.2.2 Domain 2 Tailings Storage Facility ........................................................................ 41
5.2.3 Domain 3 Water Management Area ...................................................................... 42
5.2.4 Domain 4 Overburden Emplacement Area ........................................................... 42
5.2.5 Domain 5 Void ....................................................................................................... 42
5.2.6 Domain 6 Rehabilitation Area – Native Vegetation ............................................... 43
6
Performance Indicators and Relinquishment Criteria
45
7
Rehabilitation Implementation
57
7.1
Status at MOP Commencement
57
7.2
Proposed Rehabilitation Activities during the MOP Term
57
7.3
Relinquishment Phase achieved during MOP period.
62
7.4
MOP 2014 achievements
62
Rehabilitation Monitoring and Research
62
Rehabilitation Monitoring
62
8
8.1
8.1.1 Site and Topographic Delineation and Description ............................................... 62
8.1.2 Transect Monitoring............................................................................................... 62
8.1.3 Ground Condition Assessment ............................................................................. 63
8.1.4 Timing of Vegetation Assessments ....................................................................... 63
8.1.5 Permanent Fixed-Area Quadrats and Photo point Monitoring .............................. 65
8.1.6 Fauna Monitoring .................................................................................................. 65
8.1.7 Reporting ............................................................................................................... 65
9
8.2
Research and Rehabilitation Trials and Use of Analogue Sites
65
8.3
Threats to Rehabilitation
67
8.4
Trigger Action Response Plan
71
Reporting
75
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
9.1
Annual Review
75
9.1.1 Annual Environmental Management Report ......................................................... 75
9.1.2 Results of Trials ..................................................................................................... 75
9.1.3 Environmental Incidents ........................................................................................ 76
9.1.4 Results of Rehabilitation Monitoring ...................................................................... 76
10
Plans
76
10.1
Cross Sections
76
10.2
Review and Implementation of the MOP
76
10.2.1 Review of the MOP ............................................................................................... 76
10.2.2 Implementation ...................................................................................................... 77
11
References
77
12
APPENDIX
77
Tables and Figures
Table 1 Summary Table ............................................................................................................................... 6
Table 2 Current Consent, Authorisations and Licences .............................................................................. 7
Table 3 Ginkgo/Crayfish Asset Register .................................................................................................... 11
Table 4 Maximum vegetation clearance in front of void ............................................................................ 13
Table 5 Material Production Schedule during the MOP term .................................................................... 16
Table 6 Qualitative Risk Analysis Matrix – Level of Risk ........................................................................... 18
Table 7 Ginkgo Risk Assessment .............................................................................................................. 19
Table 8 Characteristics of the Crayfish ore body ....................................................................................... 27
Table 9 Ginkgo Rehabilitation Regulatory Requirements .......................................................................... 35
Table 10 Ginkgo Rehabilitation Objectives ................................................................................................ 37
Table 11 Domain Selection ........................................................................................................................ 39
Table 12 Summary of Rehabilitation phases at this beginning of the MOP .............................................. 43
Table 13 Summary of Rehabilitation phases proposed for the end of MOP ............................................. 44
Table 14 Performance Indicators and Relinquishment Criteria ................................................................. 45
Table 15 Status at MOP Commencement ................................................................................................. 57
Table 16 2015 Ginkgo Seed list *varies dependent on seasonally available species. .............................. 59
Table 17 Disturbance and Rehabilitation Progression during the term of the MOP .................................. 60
Table 18 Rehabilitation phases and areas at commencement and completion of MOP ........................... 61
Table 19 Flora and Fauna Monitoring Schedule to end of MOP ............................................................... 64
Table 20 Threats to Rehabilitation ............................................................................................................. 67
Figure 1 Crayfish deposit profile ................................................................................................................ 26
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Ginkgo Mineral Sands Mine-Crayfish Expansion
Mining Operations Plan
Name of Mine: Ginkgo Mineral Sands Mine
MOP Commencement Date: February 2016
MOP Completion Date: December 2021
Mining Authorisations (Lease / Licence No.): ML 1504
Name of Authorisation / Authorisation holder(s): Peregrine Mineral Sands Pty Ltd
Cristal Mining Australia Limited
Name and Contact Details of the Operations Manager:
Logan Francis
Ph.: 0427 423 791
E: [email protected]
Name and Contact Details of Environmental Representative:
Andrew Schweitzer
Ph.: 0455 244 427
E: [email protected]
Name of Representative of the Authorisation Holder:
Ronaldo Alcantara
Title of Representative of the Authorisation Holder: Director Mining
Signature of Representative of the Authorisation Holder:
th
Date: 16 December 2015
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Summary of Tables, Figures and Plans
This table in the MOP provides a summary of the tables, figures and plans required as part of a MOP.
Table 1 Summary Table
Section of MOP
Table Reference
Plan Reference
Source
Section 2.2 Asset Register
Table 3
Plans 2, 3A-3C
Imagery
Section 2.3.10 Material Production
Schedule during MOP Term
Table 5
Plans 3A-3C
Mine Planning
Department
Section 5.1 Rehabilitation Planning
and Management
Table 10
Plans 2, 3A-3C
Environmental
Department
Section 5.2 Domain Rehabilitation
Objectives and Rehabilitation
Phases (Start of MOP)
Table 12
Plan 2
Environmental
Department
Section 5.2 Domain Rehabilitation
Objectives and Rehabilitation
Phases (End of MOP)
Table 13
Plan 3C
Environmental
Department
Section 7.1 Status at MOP
Commencement
Table 15
Plan 2
Environmental
Department
Plans 2, 3A-3C
Environmental &
Mine Planning
Department
Section 7.2 Proposed Rehabilitation Table 18
Activities during the MOP Term
1 Introduction
In accordance with the objectives of Industries and Investment NSW (I & I NSW), the Ginkgo Crayfish
Extension Mining Operations Plan (MOP) has been configured to provide proper consideration to the
environment through the operations stage and through to the closure of the mine. This MOP has been
prepared as a requirement of the Ginkgo Mineral Sands Project Development Consent conditions and
Mining Lease conditions. The structure and content of the MOP have been formulated in accordance
ESG3: Mining Operations Plan (MOP) Guidelines September 2013.
1.1 History of Operations
The Ginkgo and Crayfish extension mineral sands deposit is located approximately 85 kilometres (km)
north of Mildura and some 40 km west of the township of Pooncarie in western New South Wales (NSW)
(Figure 1).
In 2005, the Ginkgo Mine became the first commercial mining operation in the NSW Murray Darling
Basin. The Ginkgo Mine is the first mine to commence operations as part of Cristal’s Murray Darling
Basin development program, and was the first stage of the two mine Pooncarie Project (Ginkgo &
Crayfish Extension and Snapper Mines).
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
In 2012 the Crayfish extension was submitted for approval as a Section 75W Modification of the Ginkgo
development consent to NSW Department of Planning and Environment. Approval for Crayfish was
granted on March 20th 2015.
The Ginkgo and Crayfish extension has an excellent suite of products including the highly sought after
zircon product. The Snapper Mine, which is mined in conjunction with the Ginkgo Mine, is an even richer
mine containing an overall higher tonnage and greater percentages of both rutile and zircon. The Ginkgo
Mine and Crayfish extension is located 220km from Broken Hill.
The Ginkgo mine Project involves a wet dredging mining operation that is allowed to produce up to 12
Million Tonnes per annum (tpa) of ore. A floating wet plant behind the dredge concentrates the ore to
produce an average of 576 000 tpa of heavy mineral concentrate (HMC). The HMC is then transported by
double or triple road trains to the Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) in Broken Hill for further processing.
The Crayfish extension will be a dry mine using conventional earth moving equipment. The ore will
trucked to the front of the Ginkgo dredge face and dumped for processing using the Ginkgo dredge and
concentrator.
1.2 Current Consents, Authorisations and Licenses
Ginkgo/Crayfish is a mineral sand mine of State Significance as defined in ESG3: Mining Operations Plan
(MOP) Guidelines, September 2013; and as such is described as a Level 1 mine.
Table 2 Current Consent, Authorisations and Licences
Statutory Approval
Granted
Expires
Approval Authority
Mining Lease
ML 1504
March 2002
Development Consent
January 2002
-Modification
September 2003
-Modification
May 2005
-Modification
April 2006
-Modification
April 2007
-Modification
December 2008
-Modification
April 2009
-Modification
December 2009
-Modification
October 2010
-Modification
February 2015
-Modification
October 2015
2023
NSW Trade and
Investment
2023
NSW Department of
Planning and
Infrastructure
December 2004
Environment Protection
Licence:
May 2006
No: 12264
December 2007
October 2006
Renewed Annually
NSW EPA
August 2009
July 2012
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Mining Operations Plan
o
Jan 05 – Dec 06
- Variation
o
Sept 05 – Dec 07
January 2005
June 2005
January 2006
- Variation
August 2006
- Variation
August 2007
o
Jan 08 – Dec 12
May 2008
-
Variation
May 2009
-
Variation
October 2009
-
Variation
December 2009
-
Variation
December 2010
o
Jan 13 – Dec 16
December 2013
-
Variation
September 2013
Groundwater Bore
Licences
2015
NSW Trade and
Investment
December 2016
2025
NSW Office of Water
60WA582837
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
1.3 Land Ownership and Land Use
Land tenure of the Project area is shown on Plan 1B.
The Ginkgo and Crayfish extension mine site is located on pastoral leases (Aston and Mallara Stations)
administered under the jurisdiction of the Western Lands Commissioner appointed by the NSW Land and
Property Management Authority (LPMA).
European historic land use in the mining lease area has predominantly been livestock grazing of native
pastures by sheep and cattle for over 100 years.
Over 100 years of pastoralism has significantly altered the structure and composition of native plants in
the Western Division. The use of water bores has spread stock watering points across the landscape
allowing sheep and feral goat’s access to most of the vegetation. In general the rate of domestic stocking
is low due to the poor vegetative productivity of this semi-arid environment. The abundance of plant
species favoured by sheep has declined, while less palatable species have increased. There has been a
decline in palatable perennial shrubs, particularly saltbushes and bluebushes, and an increased
dependence on annual species such as grasses. The timber vegetation of the area has also been
affected by clearing and thinning of vegetation to allow improved grazing and also for opportunities for
cultivation. The spread of feral animals such as goats and rabbits has also had a significant effect on the
vegetation.
The archaeological records indicate that the Barkandji peoples foraged up and down the Darling River
system. They also moved out into the “back country” between the Darling River and the Great Darling
Anabranch when significant rainfall filled topographical basins and depressions.
Current land use in the mining lease is the mining of mineral sands and associated ancillary
development.
The future land use beyond life of mine is a rehabilitation program to revegetate the disturbance areas to
return the land to a condition suitable for light intensity grazing of native pastures.
1.4 Stakeholder Consultation
Consultation for the project has been ongoing with all related stakeholders throughout: the Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS), approval modification process, and through the development and approval of all
site management plans.
Consultation has also occurred through the Annual Environmental Management Report and review
process and as well as formal and informal consultation with local landholders and the community on an
ongoing basis.
The expectations from the neighbouring landholders are that the area be left in a state that is amenable
to grazing sheep and cattle at a low intensity scale.
The expectations from the regulators who include the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of
Lands and the Department of Trade and Investment – Division of Resources and Energy, are that the
area is to be non-polluting, stable and self-regenerating.
Cristal undertakes progressive rehabilitation and is committed to the closure of all its operating premises.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
2 Proposed Mining Activities
2.1 Project Description
Mining at Ginkgo involves a wet dredging operation with a floating mineral separation plant behind the
dredge. This process will be supplemented by ore feed from Crayfish, which will transported from the
crayfish pit to Ginkgo pit. The ore will then be mined by the Ginkgo dredge and processed by the mineral
separation plant to produce a concentrate; this Heavy Mineral Concentrate (HMC) is produced at an
average of 55 tonnes per hour.
The HMC is pumped to the nearby Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separator (WHIMS) where it is further
refined. Material produced at the WHIMS is then transported to the Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) in
Broken Hill for further processing.
Mining at Ginkgo and Crayfish is expected to continue until ~2020
The general sequence of mining operations at Ginkgo and Crayfish is outlined below:
 Survey to identify the area for mining 2 years ahead of the current mine face,
 Flora and fauna surveys of the area identified by survey – relocation of wildlife and/or rare flora,
 Clearance of vegetation and stripping of soils on a campaign basis ahead of the advancing mine
operation,
 Overburden stripping, “truck and shovel” type operation utilising excavators and dump trucks,
conveyors, OB sand pumping units and/or a dredge,
 Dredge mining of ore by a conventional floating bucket wheel dredge located in the pond is now
the predominant mining method,
 Transportation of ore from Crayfish to Ginkgo pit through a trucking fleet,

Water supplied from the bores within the ML area,
 Water for dust suppression of crayfish Haul-road to be sourced from a Crayfish bore or
freshwater dams located along the length of the haul road.

Ore concentration in the primary gravity concentration unit to produce HMC,

Stockpiling of HMC,
 Supply of desalinated water from the Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant for HMC salt washing, potable
water supply and wash down water,
 HMC separation via the WHIMS circuit to produce three types of concentrates; Mags 1 (Primary
Ilmenite), Mags 2 (Secondary Ilmenite/Leucoxene) and Non-mags (rutile and zircon),

Stockpiling of mineral concentrates at Ginkgo,

Transport of the mineral concentrates to the MSP,
 Placement of tails from the primary gravity concentration unit (i.e. pure sand residues) at the rear
of the dredge pond as mining advances,
 Direct placement of OB behind advancement in crayfish pit, sand tailings to remain at Ginkgo
unless ore is pre concentrated then sand tailings may be placed at rear of Crayfish void behind
mine advance,
 Treatment of process water to remove fines material (i.e. particles less than 53 microns in
diameter) from the ore,

Transport and placement of back loaded process waste from the MSP into Ginkgo pit,
 Replacement of overburden on top of sand residues using “truck and shovel” method, conveyors
or pumping units, and/or a dredge,

Staged replacement of soils and progressive rehabilitation.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
2.2 Asset Register
Table 3 Ginkgo/Crayfish Asset Register
Domain
Current Size (ha)
Asset
Description
Boom Gate Entrance*
Cristal Site Office*
Cristal Workshop*
1 – Infrastructure Area
214 Ginkgo
0 Crayfish
Reverse Osmosis
Plant*
Provides low salinity
process water
Production Bore field*
6 x Production Bores.
Power Lines*
4km length at 12 m
height.
Contractor Office*
Contractor Workshop*
Contractor 50K Fuel
Bay*
HMC Stacker*
2 – Tailings Storage
Facility
3 – Water
Management Area
16 Ginkgo
0 Crayfish
15MG Watts
Tails Stacker*
Builds tail cell walls 5m
high.
Mobile Slurry Cannon*
7 Ginkgo
225 Ginkgo
5 – Void and area
cleared in front of pit
40 Ginkgo
N/A
N/A
N/A
Floating Concentrator*
N/A
N/A
N/A
0 Crayfish
0 Crayfish
6 – Rehabilitation Area
Native Vegetation
297 Ginkgo
(Overlaps OB Emplacement
Areas)
0 Crayfish
Fills tail cells
N/A
0 Crayfish
4 – Overburden
Emplacement Area
(includes mine path)
Total
Electrical Substation*
Dredge*
799
*Indicates Ginkgo location
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
2.3 Activities over the MOP Term
2.3.1
Exploration
The Ginkgo/Crayfish mine is surrounded by Exploration Licence 7449. As part of conditions for the
Exploration Licence, explorative drill programs are completed within the licence regularly to explore for
further economic mineralised deposits and to meet expenditure commitments.
All exploration within EL 7449 is completed under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act 1979 and as such environmental approvals are sought from the Division of Resources
and Energy before the commencement of any program (depending on the Category of disturbance).
Within the Mining Leases, mineral grade infill drilling and tails drilling programs are planned as part of the
mining and mineral recovery processes which is conducted on an ongoing basis.
This drilling is completed within the approved disturbance boundary and clearing of any vegetation is
completed under the conditions outlined in the development consent (and Environmental Management
Plans (EMPs)).
2.3.2
Construction
The general construction phase of the installation and commissioning of surface facilities to allow the
commencement of the Ginkgo mineral sands mining has been complete.
During the MOP term the:

Internal roads will be constructed as the mine path moves forward, and subsequently redundant
roads may be decommissioned and prepared for rehabilitation,

Booster pumps and pipes will be disconnected and relocated several times to allow rolling mine
services to continue; and

Additional fresh and salt water storage dams will be constructed to supply dust suppressant
water to the advancing mine.
The construction phase at Crayfish will consist of an access haul road from Crayfish to Ginkgo, an initial
start-up pit and overburden dump and mine lease fencing.
During the MOP term the:

Internal roads will be constructed as the mine path moves forward, and subsequently redundant
roads may be decommissioned and prepared for rehabilitation,

A salt water storage dam will be constructed to supply dust suppressant water to the active
mining area and haul road.
Locations of key infrastructure can be sighted on MOP Plans in Domain 1 Infrastructure Area.
2.3.3
Planning and Mine Path Clearing
The ore deposits at Ginkgo and Crayfish consist of varying ore domains that have varying mineralogy’s
including varying concentrations of Zircon and Titanium within a wide range of less valuable heavy
minerals.
Due to market forces, at any point in time, the demand for Zircon or Titanium can rise or fall
independently of each other. This impacts selling price, which in turn impacts business profitability.
Mineral sands mine planning must remain flexible to accommodate the external factors outlined below.
This in turn will influence the mining rate, clearing/stripping rate and rehabilitation scheduling.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
1. Zircon and Rutile market fluctuations
2. Scale (very large deposit), Economic shells of ore body (see below)
3. Ore body definition (continuous drilling and interpretation)
4. Continuous improvements to mining methods, Overburden material transportation.
Therefore the mine plan must be able to change as market demand changes, otherwise the mine could
suffer large losses and jeopardise life of mine feasibility.
Extensive planning and recent economic changes over the past few years has determined that the
Crayfish deposit will extend the Ginkgo mine life prior to the Ginkgo mine closure. Mine path vegetation
clearing ahead of the dredge face has two main driving forces.
These are:
1. The speed at which the mining pit advances each year, determined by the detailed mine plan,
and
2. The limited opportunities within the calendar year to clear the vegetation. The timing of the pre
clearance flora and fauna surveys can only occur from late summer to early winter to avoid
fauna breeding and hibernating times.
The mine advances approximately 200m - 300m per calendar year so the vegetation clearance in front of
the dredge face needs to be well ahead of the mine face to allow uninterrupted/continuous mining. See
table 4 below.
T
Table 4 Maximum vegetation clearance in front of void
Item
Distance of clearing in
front of void for each
item
Cumulative total
clearing in front of void
Hectares
per item
(Cumulative)
Start- Dredge face
0m
0m
Overburden benches in front of
dredge face that needs to be
clear of vegetation
450-500 m
450-500 m
Vegetation & Topsoil removal
in front of Overburden benches
400-500 m
Finish- Vegetation cleared in
front of topsoil removal
0
44-47
(44-47)
51-57
850-1000 m
(95-104)
57
500 m
1350-1500 m
(152-161)
This table represent the maximum cleared vegetation distance in front of the mine void at any given
moment. The clearing includes mine path, infrastructure corridor and topsoil stockpile areas.
2.3.4
Overburden emplacement
Ginkgo mine has achieved a steady state of operation where: overburden is emplaced such that material
is cut in the direction of mine advance and is placed in the tailings area behind.
Overburden dumps (OBDs) built during the start-up of Ginkgo, are referred to as: OBD1, OBD2, OBD3
and OBD4. Of which OBDs 1, 2, and 3 are in progressed stages of rehabilitation, whilst rehabilitation of
OBD4 is planned to commence during 2020.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
In addition to these dumps Off Path Tails Dam (OPTD) was built, this structure is due to be rehabilitated
during 2016.
Similarly Crayfish will require the use of an OB Dump during the formation of the start-up pit the
rehabilitation of this structure will occur during the time frame of the MOP, so as to leave a stable
landform as outlined in section 4.3.1 of this report and will remain after the cessation of mining.
Once the Crayfish start-up pit has been completed, the mine will transition into a steady state of operation
where the OB will be emplaced within the active void, behind the direction of advance.
Overburden for both Ginkgo and Crayfish can be broadly categorised as: deeper sandy overburden and
shallow clay overburden.
2.3.5
Processing residues and tailings
Ginkgo mine utilises the following processing infrastructure:
A Floating Wet Concentrator Plant (FCP); used to separate the heavy mineral from the ore, through
means of gravity separation, utilising: screens and a series of spiral separators. This produces a heavy
mineral concentrate (HMC), containing approximately 95% heavy mineral content.
CMA has attained EIS approval for Crayfish tailings disposal through either:


Sand residues and coarse rejects from a pre-concentrator which would be placed in either a sand
residue dam or in the active mining area (behind the advancing ore extraction area) in the
Crayfish area.
o The tailings produced from further refining this concentrate would be placed in the active
mining area (behind the advancing ore extraction area) at the existing Ginkgo Mine.
o This would not cause a change to the existing sand residue and coarse reject
management at the Ginkgo Mine
Ore is processed fully at Ginkgo such that no tailings are disposed of in the Crayfish void, and all
tailings and residues are disposed of in Ginkgo.
The HMC is then pumped to the nearby WHIMS, whilst the tailings produced by the process (essentially
clean quartz sand) are returned to the dredge pond behind the FCP via a combination of: boom stacker,
cyclone stacker or tails cannon.
There is no current off path tailings (OPT) for Ginkgo.
2.3.6
Waste Management
All sewerage sludge waste, putrescibles and non-putrescibles waste are currently removed from site by a
third party contractor. Sludge waste is delivered to a Wentworth Shire Council (WSC) sewerage
treatment facility, and all putrescibles and non-putrescibles are collected and delivered to the WSC
Pooncarie Landfill site.
An application was made in May 2015 has been made to the Department of Planning & Environment,
NSW EPA to have a landfill site based at Ginkgo to treat all non-putrescible waste. This was approved in
October 2015 and will now eliminate the use of the Pooncarie tip which will assist the WSC by extending
the life of their Pooncarie facility.
General solid (putrescible and non-putrescible) waste would be collected and transported by rubbish
truck from only Ginkgo, Crayfish and Snapper mines to the on-site landfill for disposal as required.
The waste would be deposited in the on-site landfill to achieve maximum practical in-situ density. Each
layer of waste deposited in the pit would be evenly placed and compacted by earthmoving equipment
(e.g. excavator, dozer) to achieve a target effective waste density of greater than 650 kilograms of waste
3
per cubic metre (or a landfill consumption rate of 1.54 m for each tonne of waste landfilled).
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
A cover layer of virgin soil (excavated from the pit) would be placed over the waste once it has been
compacted. The cover layer would be a minimum of 0.15 m thick. The active tipping face would be kept
as small as possible.
A 0.30 m thick layer of virgin (excavated from the pit) soil would be placed over waste in areas where no
more waste would be applied but the final capping layer would not be constructed for a period greater
than 90 days.
Cristal Mining would maintain records of waste disposed at the on-site landfill (i.e. date, estimated
quantity, waste description).
The on-site landfill will be located inside the Ginkgo Mine where public access is not available. In
addition, the on-site landfill would be securely fenced (i.e. locked) and only authorised personnel would
be provided access.
Currently all mineral waste from the Broken Hill Mineral Separation Plant is returned to the Ginkgo mine
site.
Contaminated soil from hydrocarbons or salt water is scraped up and removed to a contaminated soil
bunded area. All contaminated soils are disposed of in a manner that meets the requirements under the
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997. The amount of contaminated soils from
hydrocarbons or salt varies from year to year, but overall the waste stream is very low.
2.3.7
Decommissioning and dismantling activities
Decommissioning consists of the removal of all infrastructure including buildings, workshops, roads,
water storages facilities, bore fields, sewerage treatment plants, process plants, dredge, piping, power
lines and all items listed in domains in table 13 in section 6 Performance Indicators and relinquishment
criteria’s.
The final void will be battered to a minimum of 1:5 and at a minimum of 3m above natural groundwater
level. The entire area will be capped with a minimum 1m of un-saline overburden material.
A close out void will be used to dispose of all non-polluting materials such as concrete, steel and timber.
All materials will be placed in the void and capped with the minimum required overburden material and
rehabilitated.
All decommissioned areas will be rehabilitated as per rehabilitation design principals specified in section
4.3.1
2.3.8
Temporary Stabilisation
Slopes within Ginkgo and Crayfish mining lease will be assessed and classified in-line with Cristal’s:
Ground Instability Management plan (or similar relevant standard at the time): of which temporary slopes
will be built so as to have a Factor of Safety (FOS) of at least 1.3 when construction is completed, in most
cases this will require a batter angle between 1:5 and 1:7.
2.3.9
Progressive rehabilitation and completion
Please refer to Section 5 for a detailed description of rehabilitation.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
2.3.10 Material Production Schedule during MOP Term
Table 5 Material Production Schedule during the MOP term
120Mt
Material
Unit
Mine Site
85Mt
Ginkgo
4.56
Stripped topsoil*
m
0
C=5.26
C=5.26
Crayfish
m
0.49
0.24
C=0.73
78
3
3
4.5
C=81
C=84
C=88.5
4
2.4
0
C=6.4
C=6.4
8
5
4
C=93
C=98
C=102
7
10
1
C=17
C=18
5
2
3
C=55
C=57
C=60
4*
6*
0.6*
C=10
C=10.6
260
86
75
C=3260
C=3346
C=3421
228
20
C=394
C=414
C=0.73
3
0
85
Mt
Crayfish
0
Ginkgo
50
Million
m
3
Crayfish
0
Ginkgo
3000
Product
5.26
0
Million
Ginkgo
Reject material
0.70
(End of
MOP)
3
Crayfish
Ore
115Mt
Million
Ginkgo
Overburden
100Mt
Tonnes
(000)
Crayfish
0
166
* Stripped topsoil is calculated to a depth of 600mm.
* Crayfish rejects to be handled at Ginkgo
C = Cumulative totals
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
3 Environmental Issues Management
3.1 Environmental Risk Assessment
In order to undertake the qualitative risk assessment for this MOP the various levels of consequences of
a particular event, and the likelihood of such an event occurring were combined. Table 6 provides the
qualitative risk analysis matrix used to assess risk levels.
Table 6 Qualitative Risk Analysis Matrix – Level of Risk
Consequence (C)
Probability (P)
A
B
C
D
E
1
1 (H)
2 (H)
4 (H)
7 (M)
11 (M)
2
3 (H)
5 (H)
8 (M)
12 (M)
16 (L)
3
6 (H)
9 (M)
13 (M)
17 (L)
20 (L)
4
10 (M)
14 (M)
18 (L)
21 (L)
23 (L)
5
15 (M)
19 (L)
22 (L)
24 (L)
25 (L)
Notes:
Legend:
L = Low; M = Medium; H = High
Risk Levels:
Tolerable
ALARP
Intolerable
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Table 7 Ginkgo Risk Assessment
Aspect
Issue
Proposed Controls
Flora
Impacts to threatened flora species
and communities due to vegetation
clearance.
Controls outlined in Appendix 1: Cristal’s Mines Flora and
Fauna Environmental Management Plan.
Flora
Impact to flora as a result of
vegetation clearance.
Fauna
Impacts to threatened
known/unknown fauna species due
to loss of habitat associated with
vegetation clearance.
Road Transport
Mineral
Concentrate/
Waste Materials
Impacts of mineral concentrate
transport traffic on the safety and
performance of the road network.
Sand residue dam storage failure.
A complete pre clearance survey is conducted by ecologist
in the weeks leading up to the mine path clearing. These
surveys check all hollows/vegetation and remove any fauna
found. All fauna found during surveys are relocated to
nominated sites on the same evening of capture.
Cristal Mining has limits on the trucking movements to and
from the mine site. These limits ensure the safety and
performance of the road network is not negatively impeded.




Changes to groundwater gradients
resulting in impacts on surface and
groundwater water features.
Consequence
Risk
A
4
10
(Medium)
A
5
15
(Medium)
A
4
10
(Medium)
C
5
22 (Low)
D
4
21 (Low)
E
4
23 (Low)
Controls outlined in Appendix 11 Cristal’s Traffic
Management Plan & Code of Conduct.

Hydro geological
Probability
Geotechnical studies
Mine planning in consideration of geotechnical
studies
Dam management/construction (i.e. minimum
freeboard of 1 m)
Incorporation of on-site containment embankments
(in case of failure)
Compliance with Dam Safety Committee
requirements
Controls outline in Appendix 6: Cristal’s Mines Bore field
Impact Management Plan.
A monthly and quarterly monitoring program measures
depth change and water quality change within the bore
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
wells.
This monitoring will influence preventative action should any
trigger levels be breached.
Surface Water
Changes to surface water flow
regimes at the mine and surrounding
areas and as a consequence
potential impacts on vegetation
features/landscape.
Controls outlined in Appendix 2: Cristal’s Mines Integrated
Erosion and Sediment Control Environmental Management
Plan.
All surface water runoff from rain events or dam failures are
contained within the mining disturbance boundaries. Bund
walling, dams and drainage are all designed to specification
to minimise the likelihood negative impacts on the
surrounding landscape.
A
4
10
(Medium)
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Aspect
Issue
Agricultural
Resources
Permanent loss of agricultural lands
(final void or rehabilitation failure).
Rehabilitation
Failure of rehabilitation
Proposed Controls

Mining Lease and offset sterilised to agricultural
production

Potential for sub-lease of Cristal owned property for
agricultural use

Final landform to be considered appropriate for final land
use (in accordance with Division of Resources and
Energy requirements)

Rehabilitation trials - including landforms, vegetation
types and growth medium

Maintenance of toe drain at the base of overburden
emplacements (post rehabilitation) to catch incident
rainfall which feeds catch dams

Local endemic seed collection/seed farming.

Characterisation of topsoil and subsoil pre-mining

Soil management/storage procedure

Geotechnical controls/basis for landform design

Landform design stability modelling

Laser GPS profiling of overburden emplacements to
minimise erosion/failure associated with tunnelling

Terracing and topsoiling of overburden
emplacements to prevent landform
degradation/failure (including tunnelling)

Adequate cover over sodic material during
rehabilitation.

Progressive rehabilitation (including progressive
planning)

Rehabilitation requirements considered in mine
planning (e.g. material movements)
Probability
Consequence
Risk
A
5
15
(Medium)
D
4
21 (Low)
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Aspect
Issue
Rehabilitation
Provision of appropriate habitat
structure and linkages for native
species.
Rehabilitation
Noise
Dust (air quality)
Casuarina pauper (Belah) failing to
survive
Disturbance of surrounding land
uses and residences associated with
mining and transport.
Generation of excessive dust from
mining operations and transport on
sensitive receptors
Proposed Controls

Rehabilitation efforts aim to return suitable habitat using
endemic species

Revegetation efforts for vegetation targeted to post
mining landform type

Mine planning for the final landform to mimic pre-mine
floristic linkages

Rehabilitation trials to include 'like for like' soil and
vegetation types

Grow from tube stock and implement planting in good
seasonal conditions.

Use of precision tree seeder for optimal placement of
seed.

PHD Student engaged to investigate methods of
establishment.

Stringent goat management on rehab areas.

Extensive rehab monitoring to measure success or
failure.

Incorporate different methods of plantings; ie. Trials with
soil conditioners, fertilizers, drip irrigation vs. no irrigation.
Probability
Consequence
Risk
D
4
21 (Low)
C
4
18 (Low)
C
5
22 (Low)
C
5
22 (Low)
Controls outlined in Appendix 10: Cristal’s Mines Noise
Environmental Management Plan.
Monitoring of Noise occurs annually and results captured in the
Ginkgo AEMR. Strategies are in place to negotiate suitable
outcomes between the landholder at Cristal Mining should noise
limits be consistently breached.
Controls outlined in Appendix 3: Cristal’s Mines Air Quality
Environmental Management Plan.
Monitoring of dust occurs on a monthly basis and results analysed
to ensure compliance with the Ginkgo mine Environmental
protection Licence. During times of prolonged dry and high winds,
operations that produce excessive dust are shut down for safety
and environmental purposes.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Aspect
Issue
Cultural
Heritage
Damage or loss to identified or
unidentified cultural heritage items.
Proposed Controls
Probability
Consequence
Risk
D
5
24 (low)
C
5
22 (Low)
C
4
18 (Low)
Controls outlined in Appendix 4: Cristal’s Mines Cultural Heritage
Management Plan.
During induction onto Cristal Mining lands all staff are informed of
the procedure to stop work if they believe they have come across
any cultural heritage sites. The Environmental officer will then
notify the appropriate government agency. Other operations on the
mine that do not directly impact the cultural heritage find will
continue as normal.
All known heritage sites are identified and mapped.
Energy usage
Excessive use of energy and
consequential increase of
greenhouse gases.
Controls outlined in Appendix 12: Cristal’s Mines Energy
Management Plan.
Cristal Mining captures and measures energy use levels annually;
this is reported in our National Energy Efficiency Opportunities
report card.
Cristal Mining has an annual meeting to discuss potential energy
saving initiatives. If approved by management these initiatives will
be implemented.
Water
management
Erosion and sedimentation from
stockpiles and cleared areas.
Controls outlined in Appendix 2: Cristal’s Erosion and Sediment
Control Management Plan.
All clearing is completed in the cooler months of the year to link
directly in with the predominate winter rainfall. This allows
stockpiles and cleared areas time to develop groundcover before
the onset of the dryer summer months.
Timber is placed on all batters after topsoil has been replaced to
slow the movement of water down on these surfaces.
The top perimeters of raised structures are formed up to prevent
water runoff down the batters.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Bushfire – risk to safety, amenity,
assets, and surrounding land
holders.
Controls outlined in Appendix 5: Cristal’s Mines Bushfire
Management Plan.
Aspect
Issue
Proposed Controls
Radiation
management
Transport of waste from Broken Hill
MSP, storage and disposal.
Transport controls outlined in Appendix 11: Cristal’s Traffic
Management Plan & Code of Conduct. Waste controls outlined in
Cristal’s Mines Landfill & Waste Management Plan.
Bushfire and
land
This plan outlines responses to bushfire hazard days, and control
plans should fire impact mining lease land or surrounding
landholders.
Waste is blended with tailings to obtain a radiation absorption dose
of 0.70 microgray’s per hour or less and deposited in the mining
pit.
Hydrocarbon
Diesel or lubricant spill into dredge
pond or ground contamination.
D
3
17 (low)
Probability
Consequence
C
4
18 (Low)
A
5
15
(Medium)
D
5
24 (Low)
C
4
18 (low)
Risk
Controls outline in Appendix 8: Pollution Incident Response
Management Plan.
All spills above 10 litres are internally reported through Cristal
Mining chain of command.
If environmental harm has taken place the Senior Environmental
Officer will notify the NSW EPA, and work with the EPA to rectify
the issue.
Waste and
landfill – general
waste
Build-up of rubbish and general
refuse associated with operations.
Controls outlined in Appendix 9: Cristal’s Mines Landfill & Waste
Environmental Management Plan.
All rubbish is collect 3 times weekly from the Ginkgo mine site and
transported to the Pooncarie Landfill.
Most green waste is utilised on site for worm farms, compost and
chicken feed.
All waste steel is collected on an as needs basis and recycled.
Community
consultation and
Community not aware or informed on
mine operations and management –
concerned/misinformed community
Controls outlined in Appendix 7: Cristal’s Community Consultation
Plan.
Each year the local landholders are invited to the Annual
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
management
members/groups
Environmental Management Review meeting. This is a chance for
both parties to transfer information about the mines future direction
and performance. A site tour is included in the day.
A Mining Operation Plan meeting is held at the beginning of each
new MOP in which regulators and local landholders are invited.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
3.2 Environmental Risk Management
Specific Risks relating to Rehabilitation
3.2.1
Geology and Geochemistry
The Ginkgo Crayfish extension Project is located in the Murray Basin, a large sedimentary basin covering
2
some 300,000 km of inland south-eastern Australia and extending across the borders of NSW, Victoria
and South Australia. Within the Murray Basin, sedimentary accumulations of the Early Tertiary to Recent
age up to 600 m thick overly a basement of Proterozoic to Mesozoic sediments and granitic rocks.
The host unit for the mineral sands deposits in the Murray Basin is the Loxton-Parilla Sands, a series of
shallow marine beach, dune, estuarine and fluvial sands. The sequence of weakly consolidated, near
horizontally bedded sands were deposited during marine transgressions and regressions in the Late
Miocene to Late Pliocene period. The sands underlie a series of Quaternary clays and recent sand
dunes.
Heavy minerals occur intermittently throughout the sequence of the Loxton-Parilla Sands. The mineral
deposits of the Murray Basin, although older, have similar geological characteristics to the recent mineral
deposits presently being mined on the east and west coasts of Australia.
At both Ginkgo and Crayfish deposits the Loxton-Parilla Sands unit consists of fine to medium grained
quartz sands which are generally unconsolidated, well sorted and contain little clay. The Shepparton
Formation overlies the Upper Loxton-Parilla Sands and is a sandy clay unit with thick layers of clay. The
Shepparton Formation can outcrop in places but is generally overlain by a thin layer of the Woorinen
Formation consisting of very fine to coarse sand, silty sand, sandy clay and minor calcrete. The profile
described above is shown conceptually in the figure below.
Figure 1 Crayfish deposit profile
The Ginkgo deposit is a series of stacked beach accumulations of ilmenite, altered ilmenite, leucoxene,
rutile and zircon that dip at a shallow angle toward the southwest. The deposit is approximately 14 km
long and has a central high-grade core approximately 6 km long and 400 m wide. The base of the deposit
is approximately 60 m below the ground surface and is generally flat and well defined. Mineralisation is
well defined on the south-western side of the deposit and generally diffuses to the northeast.
The Crayfish deposit on average it is 439m wide and 20m in thickness. Overburden averages 10-20
metres but commonly becomes as thin as 2-3m in places. The mineralisation at Crayfish remains largely
unaffected by any apparent faulting or warping except on the southernmost drill line (CF01) where the
host sands appear to drop in elevation by approximately 15-20m. The potentially economic portion of the
Crayfish deposit is 1.6 kilometres in length. Table 8 Characteristics of the Crayfish ore bodyis a summary
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
of the characteristics of the ore deposit along drill lines. The Crayfish deposit contains a mineral
assemblage consisting of approximately 19% Rutile, 11% Zircon, 6% Leucoxene and 40% Ilmenite.
Table 8 Characteristics of the Crayfish ore body
3.2.2
Erosion and Sediment Control
As a result of the limited rainfall, the sandy soils, limited topographical relief and high evaporation rates,
there are no well-defined drainage channels within the ML areas. This limits the potential for fluvial
erosion and sedimentation. Overland flow does occur during prolonged rainfall events and surface waters
accumulate in topographic depressions and then evaporate or seep into the groundwater table over time.
Notwithstanding, an Integrated Erosion and Sediment Control Plan has been prepared to specifically
address erosion and sediment control requirements for project areas until they are rehabilitated and
stabilised.
3.2.3
Soil type(s) and Suitability
Each year prior to stripping soil, Cristal Mining conducts soil pit tests to examine the soil chemistry and
the ability to form suitable soil media to grow native endemic plants for rehabilitation. The soil profile
examinations are the basic starting point for characterisation of the soil found at any Australian site. The
soil profile description or SPD at each pit within Snapper Mine pre-clearance areas consisted of:
 Measurement of the depth and soil texture of each soil horizon or layer
 Assessment of the carbonate (lime) content of each layer as determined by reaction to dilute
hydrochloric acid
 The classification of the carbonate layer (Wetherby and Oades 1975), including
 percentage, size and lithology of coarse fragments (if present)
 The classification of the geology of each soil layer
 Determination of the wet soil colour from a Munsell Colour Chart
 Relative assessment of the moisture content of each layer
 Classification of pedality (structure)
 Measurement of the depth of topsoil and of the observed primary rootzone (PRZ).
Soil pits were excavated to 1.3 to 1.5 m depth with the aid of a mechanical backhoe. The soil
characteristics were described in the field, in accordance with the “Australian Soil and Land Survey Field
Handbook” (McDonald et al. 1990).
Samples from all soil horizons identified were bagged and subsequently despatched for chemical
analyses by CSBP Laboratories in Bibra Lake Western Australia. Soil sample parameters assessed
included:

ECe or soil conductivity as saturation paste extract;
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA

pH (CaCl₂); and

Calcium carbonate as a % after dilute HCl₂ digestion.
Soils within the Ginkgo Mine pre-clearance area were dominantly Calcarosols, with some Chromosols
present as well. Calcarosols are soils which are calcareous throughout the soil profile (Isbell 2002).
Within the context of soils occurring within the Murray-Darling Depression Bioregion of southeastern
Australia, they include Woorinen Formation (Qpo) soils (Lawrence 1966), as well as the Loveday
Carbonate (Qlo) and sheet calcrete layers of Ripon (Qcar) and Bakara (Qcab) ages which are collectively
termed Bk soil horizons in soil description terminology (Wetherby and Oades 1975). Ripon and Bakara
pedoderms are Lithocalcic Calcarosols in the Australian Soil Classification (Isbell 2002). Some gypseous
soils of Yamba Formation origin are also included within a sub-order classification termed Hypergypsic
Calcarosols. Lithocalcic Calcarosols and Hypergypsic were not encountered in the soil survey. Calcarosol
sub-orders present within the Snapper Mine pre-clearance area, including Bk horizon soils with calcrete
present as lime and/or rubble, include Calcic, Hypercalcic and Supracalcic Calcarosols. Chromosols were
also found to occur at five locations. Chromosol soils occur when there is a strong texture contrast
between the A horizon and the B horizon.
Soil chemistry analyses conducted on topsoil and subsoil soil layers occurring within the PRZ (Primary
Rootzone) of the native vegetation present indicates the soil has good potential for use in rehabilitation
programs. The topsoil and in most cases, the shallow subsoil carbonate layer horizon occurring
immediately below the topsoil layer has low conductivity or non-saline characteristics. The deeper subsoil
carbonate layer often does have a saline signature, however.
Topsoils also had overwhelmingly good soil pH and low calcium carbonate properties with averages for
all four major soil types present ≤ 7.7 (pH) and < 1% (calcium carbonate). As is the norm for Mallee
Region Woorinen Formation soils, calcium carbonate values rise sharply in the subsoil layers.
Soil stripping will be undertaken as a three-pass operation using tractors with attached laser buckets to
separate upper and lower topsoil from subsoil material. Stripping will be to an average depth of 600 mm
and direct returned to remade ground or placed in stockpiles within the proposed disturbance areas.
Height of stockpiles will be 2 metres for (100mm upper topsoil), 5m for (300mm lower Topsoil) and 10
metres for all subsoil.
Where soils cannot be used directly in rehabilitation works, they will be stored in stockpiles constructed
with a ‘rough’ surface condition to reduce erosion hazard, improve drainage and promote revegetation.
When respreading the topsoil and subsoil both are applied to a minimum depth of 200 mm each.
3.2.4
Flora and Fauna
The main potential environmental impacts for flora and fauna at the Ginkgo/Crayfish mines are
summarised below.

Removal of habitat for threatened flora species;

Loss of native vegetation ranging in condition from good to poor and also secondary vegetation;

Direct impacts to fauna (e.g. mortality during clearance, removal of nests);

Disturbance of fauna during breeding or nesting;

Loss of habitat for fauna species considered both threatened and common;

Potential introduction of new weeds or spread of existing weeds; and

Fragmentation of habitats.
Cristal has implemented mitigation measures to reduce the negative impacts on flora and fauna at the
site.
The measures are:
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA

Vegetation Clearance Protocol

Threatened Species Management Protocol

General flora and fauna management initiatives
A Vegetation Clearance Protocol has been developed to minimise the impact of vegetation clearance
activities at Ginkgo/Crayfish mine on flora and fauna. The key components of the Protocol are:
Delineation of areas to be cleared of native remnant vegetation
Pre-clearance inspections
Fauna management strategies
Vegetation clearance, and
A link to the Threatened Species Management Protocol
Information obtained throughout each stage of the Protocol will contribute to the rehabilitation program for
the mine.
The vegetation stockpiled as a result of clearance will be used as a resource for the mine rehabilitation
program. For example, shrub species cleared may be used as mulch/ brush- matting (for wind erosion
control) and tree species as habitat resources. Accordingly, vegetation clearance activities will be
specifically managed on an area basis and will vary depending on the potential rehabilitation resources
which may become available. This protocol is intended as a guide for the vegetation clearance contractor
or Cristal operator undertaking clearance activities. The Vegetation Clearance Protocol is facilitated in
consultation with a qualified ecologist as required by Conditions for Approval.
Delineation of areas to be cleared of native remnant vegetation aims to minimise unnecessary clearance.
The boundary between the proposed clearance area and remnant native vegetation immediately adjoining
proposed clearance areas will be clearly marked and fenced to prevent accidental damage during
vegetation clearance activities or construction works. Protection, where feasible, will extend to all strata
and life forms including trees, shrubs, grasses, other herbs and forbs, ground litter, fungi and logs
At Ginkgo/Crayfish, the pre-clearance inspections will be comprised of fauna habitat assessments of
vegetation to be cleared within disturbance areas on the MLA. There are targeted flora surveys required for
Ginkgo and Crayfish.
Targeted Flora Assessment
Targeted surveys for threatened flora species Violet Swainson-Pea (Swainsona adenophylla)
and Yellow-Keeled Swainsona (Swainsona flavicarinata) are required, as per the approval for
Crayfish. Although these species appear in the conditions, neither species has been detected in
the area. Suitable habitat for both species does not present in the impact area. S. adenophylla
in particular is considered highly unlikely to occur in the area, with just one previous record from
NSW.
Surveys must be carried out by a suitably qualified ecologist, at least one week prior to the
commencement of vegetation removal, to allow detection and documentation of these, or
potentially other threatened flora species, and possible translocation of individuals to a suitable
area following consultation with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH). If either of
these or other threatened flora species are recorded, details including population size will be
submitted to the Atlas of NSW Wildlife.
Targeted survey would include random meander transects through potential habitat for these
species.
A more detailed flora translocation procedure will be developed in consultation with OEH in the
highly unlikely even that either of these species are found on site. This procedure will vary
depending upon the species detected during pre-clearance threatened flora surveys, and would
follow other similar translocation management plans for these or similar species produced
previously, with individuals photographed, location recorded with GPS, and details documented
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
and submitted to OEH.
Fauna Habitat Assessment
Fauna habitat assessments are required at Ginkgo/Crayfish as part of pre-clearance process.
Stage 1 - Preliminary habitat assessment
The preliminary habitat assessment stage of the pre-clearance surveys involves the inspection of habitat
resources located within the areas of vegetation to be cleared, for features with the potential to provide
roosting/nesting resources for birds, bats and arboreal mammals. The results of the preliminary habitat
assessment will be utilised to determine appropriate secondary habitat assessment activities (described as
Stage 2 below).
Parameters recorded by the preliminary habitat assessment may include:
r at breast height;
ow);
mammals (by assessing the feature in terms of location, height, size and aspect);
in the rehabilitation program;
During the preliminary habitat assessment stage, trees will be checked where appropriate for their
provision of seed to be utilised in the Ginkgo or Snapper rehabilitation programs, followed by the collection
of seed during felling activities.
In addition, observations of general fauna including reptiles such as the Western Blue-tongued Lizard will
be noted (there are no targeted surveys required for this species). In the event that any threatened species
are observed during the preliminary habitat assessment, the Threatened Species Management Protocol
(TSMP) will be initiated.
Stage 2 - Secondary habitat assessment
The secondary habitat assessment stage involves further surveys of habitat resources identified in the
preliminary habitat assessment (Stage 1, above) to determine their usage by birds, bats and arboreal
mammals. This may include, but not necessarily be limited to:
Where practicable, the secondary habitat assessment stage and associated clearing activities will be
conducted with consideration of seasonal and temporal factors (e.g. outside hibernating and peak nesting
seasons). For a large number of species, the most appropriate timing is considered to be towards the end
of summer/early autumn (i.e. prior to bat hibernation and subsequent to the peak breeding season for
many hollow nesting birds such as the Red- rumped Parrot, Galah and Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo).
Where the secondary habitat assessment determines that vegetation is not utilised by fauna as a roosting
and/or nesting resource, clearance can proceed (in accordance with the vegetation clearance stage of the
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Protocol).
Where the secondary habitat assessment determines that vegetation is being utilised as a roosting and/or
nesting resource, the fauna management strategies stage of the Protocol should be enacted in the event
of a non-threatened species and the TSMP be enacted in the event that a threatened species is identified.
Cristal Mining through its rehabilitation program is committed to return the vegetation communities that
were present before clearing. These communities, primarily Black Oak Western Rosewood and Chenopod
Mallee communities are the target in the rehabilitation program. As part of the rehabilitation process, seed
species endemic to the area are collected and stored in cool rooms to increase viability and longevity of
the seed. These seeds are the cornerstone to the rehabilitation process and ensure that key species are
entered back into the disturbed areas. To minimise risk of failure, seeding will only occurring if the soil
st
profile has adequate moisture and the preparation times are completed prior to May 1 . Timing of the
seeding program is another tool used to reduce the risk of failure as the Ginkgo/Crayfish mine is located in
an area where historically rainfall is winter dominate. By seeding in May this will give the seed the
maximum chance of germination and establishment prior to the hot summer months.
After all seeding programs, flora and fauna monitoring occurs in spring to check establishment rates and
ensure fauna re-colonisation has begun. All information gathered is stored in a Cristal Mining
Environmental data base. This data base allows staff to check establishment trends overtime and make
adjustment to future programs based on actual Ginkgo/Crayfish related data.
3.2.5
Overburden Characterisation
As the overburden is typically slightly higher in salt levels, it is kept separate from topsoils and subsoils
during handling, replacement and rehabilitation works. Overburden stripping and handling is undertaken
within operational areas where surface water runoff is contained.
An evaluation of the physical and geochemical characteristics of each of the overburden units within the
Snapper mine are provided in full detail in the Snapper Mineral Sands Project Environmental
Assessment.
The Ginkgo/Crayfish overburden derived from the upper stratigraphic layers, the Woorinen and
Shepparton formations have varying levels of soil conductivity, pH, boron and sodicity.
The Loxton-Parilla Sand overburden units have varying sodicity or Exchangeable Sodium percentage
(ESP) values and generally high sulphur levels, neutral to slightly alkaline pH, negligible boron and
moderate conductivity levels.
The sand residues are the waste stream from the primary gravitational minerals separation process. The
geochemical properties of the sand residues are essentially the same as the in situ ore. The sand
residues are saline owing to the presence of entrained saline groundwater.
Overburden derived from the geologically younger facies such as Woorinen Formation and the
Blanchetown Clay have variable levels of soil conductivity, pH, boron, and sodicity. Materials from these
layers with potential limiting characteristics are not placed within the Preferred Root Z (PRZ) one of the
rehabilitated landform. The older Loxton-Parilla sands have high sodicity and sulphur levels, neutral pH,
negligible boron levels and moderate conductivity levels. The Loxton-Parilla sand units with low boron
and conductivity are suitable for rehabilitation media with the addition of gypsum.
All Overburden material regardless of sodicity will have a clean 1 metre cap of clay overburden prior to
sub and top soils being returned. This method has been proven at both the Ginkgo and Snapper sites to
provide a sound platform for the growth of native flora.
3.2.6
Slopes and Slope Management
The final design for landforms are to be flat topped structures, with linear outer batters, and no run off
discharged from the top of the landform onto outer batter slopes. The major parameters for the landforms
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
will be a maximum height of 20 m for overburden dumps and 10 m for raised mine paths. All slopes will
have an outer batter slope of between 1:5 and 1:7.
Assessments conducted by Landloch Pty Ltd [specialist environmental soil consultancy] have indicated a
conclusion that for the landforms designed and constructed with 1:5 gradient and an application of tree
debris at 20-30% cover would have a reasonably high probability of achieving successful and stable
rehabilitation with an expected erosion rate of below 2t/ha. Cristal in most cases exceeds this criterion
with 1:7 slopes.
The rehabilitation of the landforms are planned and designed as per the recommendations of the
Landloch Pty Ltd report, which include the following design parameters:

linear outer batter slopes without benches, berms or pondage banks,

contour ripping on outer batter slopes to 300mm depth,

retention of all run off on the top of the landforms,

soil profile to minimise deep drainage, and

drains to contain sediment at the toe of the landform slopes.
3.2.7
Air quality
A network of 18 static dust deposit gauges have been installed at various locations and results analysed
monthly to calculate dust fallout levels measured in grams per square metre per month (g/m2/month).
Cristal’s Air Quality Management Plan details the management strategies to minimise the potential
impacts of the mine on air quality.
3.2.8
Surface water
The potential impacts of the mine on surface water systems are limited due to the remote location of the
site to any surface water systems. Water management strategies are covered in detail in the Mines
Erosion and Sediment Control Plan and include site drainage, water containment and diversions to
prevent releases of any potentially contaminated water from the site.
A summary of the main potential environmental impacts for water, erosion, sedimentation and salinity at
the Murray Basin mines are summarised below:
Saline water used for dust suppression impacts surrounding vegetation;
Saline water used for dust suppression increases salinity levels in soil;
Run-off from stockpiles impacts surrounding vegetation;
Spills and leaks of hazardous materials (such as hydrocarbons) enters drainage channels; and
Changes to surface water flow regimes at the mines and surrounding areas and as
consequence, potential impacts on vegetation features/landscape.
The water management scheme incorporates interception drains (toe drains) and collection storages
(temporary sediment basins and contained water storages) around stockpile areas and overburden
emplacements containing saline materials.
Groundwater is used as dust suppression water within the Mining Lease Area (MLA) on roads where
runoff is controlled and directed to evaporation sumps. Groundwater salts collected in these sumps is
periodically removed and deposited with sand residues behind the dredge pond.
Following cessation of mining, areas that have been subject to dust suppression watering will be
rehabilitated. Rehabilitation of these areas will comprise stripping of any salt contaminated materials for
disposal under overburden (in the final depression) followed by chemical testing of foundation soils,
contour ripping and, if required, chemical amelioration. Stockpiled soils would then be applied as
necessary and stabilised. Revegetation would be undertaken with suitable endemic plant species.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Drainage from disturbance areas around the overburden stripping and overburden replacement
operations will be directed to the evaporation/sediment sumps for containment. Waters collected in
evaporation/sediment sumps may be utilised for dust suppression at the mine site or allowed to
evaporate.
Upslope diversion drains/bunds will direct runoff from undisturbed catchments upslope of the disturbance
areas. Storm water diversion systems installed at the commencement of the construction period include
both permanent and temporary structures. Permanent structures will continue to operate post-closure,
while temporary structures will be required until rehabilitated areas are stabilised.
The mining area whilst in operation will effectively act as its own retention structure. The perimeter of the
construction pit will be stripped an additional 60 m to accommodate bunding, pipelines and the haul road.
This area is bunded to divert clean storm water away from the disturbed and contaminated land surfaces.
The final void at the Ginkgo and Crayfish will effectively be its own catchment with all surface water
flowing into the void. To minimise erosion batters will be at 1:7, with cross ripping and timber spreading to
slow waters erosional effects.
The vegetation on the floor of the void will comprise that are similar in nature to a Black Box woodland
area. These species are suited to areas of inundation from time to time.
3.2.9
Ground water
A network of monitoring bores is used to monitor groundwater levels and quality. The groundwater
monitoring program utilises existing landholder bores/wells and existing NSW Department of Primary
Industries Office of Water regional monitoring bores. In addition, monitoring is conducted at production
bores and monitoring bores within the mining lease area.
The Bore-field Impact Management Plan (BIMP) outlines the project groundwater source, supply
requirements and monitoring program.
3.2.10 Hazardous materials
Hazardous materials on-site are managed in accordance with Material Safety Data Sheets, Work Cover
and EPA requirements. Due to the free digging nature of the mining operation and the lack of reagents
required in the concentrator plant, the only potentially hazardous material required in significant volume is
diesel.
Diesel is classified as a combustible liquid (Class C1) for the purposes of storage and handling but is not
classified as a dangerous good by the criteria of the Australian Dangerous Goods Code for Transport by
Road or Rail. The diesel storage tanks and bunding have been constructed and operated in accordance
with the requirements of the AS 1940 – The Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible
Liquids.
3.2.11 Noise
Due to the remote location of the mine site, noise pollution beyond acceptable standards is considered
unlikely. Cristal’s Mines Noise Environmental Management Plan details the management strategies to
minimise the potential impacts of noise.
3.2.12 Visual and lighting
Visual amenity or stray light is not deemed to be an issue due to the remote location of the site.
3.2.13 Heritage (Aboriginal and European)
Cristal’s Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) provides details of the environmental management
and performance requirements related to cultural heritage for the Gingko/Crayfish and Snapper mines.
The plan includes:

The requirements for environmental management of Aboriginal and European cultural heritage for
operations at Gingko/Crayfish as stipulated by regulatory approvals for the project,
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA

The responsibilities for implementing this CHMP,

A description of the environmental controls and associated limits to meet objectives, targets and
regulatory approval requirements; and

An overview of the environmental monitoring programs and contingency plans associated with
environmental controls and management actions.
3.2.14 Bushfire
Cristal’s Mines Bushfire Management Plan details the management strategies to minimise the potential
impacts of bushfire and the roles and responsibilities of site personal.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
4 Post Mining Land Use
4.1 Regulatory Requirements
Table 9 Ginkgo Rehabilitation Regulatory Requirements
Document
Condition
Overview (for full detail refer to corresponding regulatory document)
Location
The Applicant shall rehabilitate the site to the satisfaction of DRE. This
rehabilitation must be generally consistent with the proposed rehabilitation
strategy for the development, and comply with the objectives in Table 5.

Table 5: Rehabilitation Objectives

Feature Objective
Mine site (as a whole) Safe, stable & non-polluting
Final land use compatible with surrounding land uses
Final landforms designed to incorporate micro-relief, natural
drainage lines and minimise visual prominence by integration with
the surrounding landscape
Notice of Modification
th
20
March 2015 DA
251-09-01
Schedule
3 Section
32
Restore self-sustaining ecosystems, including establishing local
native plant species
All disturbed areas
Final Void - minimise the size and depth of the final voids as far
as is reasonable and feasible
Minimise the drainage catchment of the final voids as far as
reasonable and feasible
Overburden Emplacement Areas, Ensure that areas subject to
slurried overburden emplacement are covered with a minimum of:
- 1 metre of non-slurried overburden on the initial slurried sand
storage dam;
- 3 metres of non-slurried overburden for all other areas; in addition
to at least 0.2 metres of topsoil and at least 0.2 metres of subsoil.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Surface infrastructure to be decommissioned and removed,
unless DRE agrees otherwise
Agriculture, Reinstatement of the infrastructure areas to land
suitable for light intensity grazing
Community, ensure public safety and minimise the adverse
socioeconomic effects associated with mine closure
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
4.2 Post Mining Land Use Goal
The post mining land use goal for the Ginkgo/Crayfish mine is to: return the land back to light intensity
grazing with local native vegetation. The rehabilitation goal on disturbed lands is to be consistent with
the current agricultural suitability class 4 and the rural land soil capability Class VI.
Class 4 agricultural lands are lands that are suitable for grazing but not agriculture, have native
pastures that are capable of high seasonal production but are overall very low.
Class VI Rural Land Capability is land not capable of cultivation but suitable for grazing with soil
conservation practices.
4.3 Rehabilitation Objectives
The 3 key post mining land use objectives for the Ginkgo mine are for the rehabilitated areas to be;
 Stable;
 Non-polluting; and
 Self-sustaining i.e. regenerating.
Table 10 Ginkgo Rehabilitation Objectives
Feature
Objective

Safe, stable and non-polluting.

Final land use compatible with surrounding land
uses.
Surface infrastructure

To be decommissioned and removed, unless
DRE agrees otherwise
Other land affected by the project

Restore ecosystem function including
maintaining or establishing self-sustaining
ecosystems comprised of;

local native plant species, and

landforms consistent with the surrounding
environment.

Ensure public safety.

Minimise adverse socio economic effects with
closure.
Rehabilitation Materials

Materials are recovered, appropriately managed
and used effectively.
Landforms

To sustain intended post mining land use.

To complement topography of the surrounding
region.

To incorporate design relief patterns and
principles consistent with natural drainage.

Water retained onsite is fit for intended end land
Mine Site (as a whole)
Community
Water Quality
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
use.
Biodiversity
Agriculture
4.3.1

Size, location and species of native tree lots and
corridors are established to sustain biodiversity
habitats.

Species selected to re-establish and
complement regional and local biodiversity.

Reinstatement of areas suitable for light
intensity grazing consistent with pre mining land
use and land use of surrounding areas.
Rehabilitation Design Principles

Landform batters are constructed at approximately a 1:7 ratio with overall heights ranging from
10m to 20 m

Landform structures are designed with flat tops which have paddies of approx. 3-5 hectares

Bunding of approximately 300mm high around the tops of all batters

Minimum of 200mm topsoil and 200mm subsoil respread

Timber spread and batters ripped along contour

Stag trees stood up for bird and bat habitat

1m of non slurried overburden over any slurried overburden or salt affected areas

Seeding of all disturbed areas
4.3.2
Short Term Rehabilitation Objectives

Minimise clearing disturbance areas

Commence vegetation pre clearance in accordance with the Flora and Fauna Management Plan

Clear approved vegetation areas 12 months in advance of mining operations in the appropriate
season

Carry out topsoil assessments as part of the Vegetation Clearance Protocol VCP

Employ suitable topsoil removal and storage practices to allow maximum survival of soil biota

Schedule mine planning operations so that OB placement to be consistent with rehabilitation
requirements and designs

Progressive rehabilitation

Pest flora and fauna control

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting to ensure continual improvement
4.3.3
Long Term Rehabilitation Objectives

Restoration of a self-generating native landscape that is capable of supporting light intensity
grazing

Development and completion of low maintenance, non-polluting and stable rehabilitation
landforms

Removal/burial of all required infrastructure and complete rehabilitation of the site

Relinquishment of the mining lease and release from any further liabilities
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
5 Rehabilitation Planning and Management
5.1 Domain Selection
Table 11 Domain Selection
Domain
Code
1
Operational
Domains
Infrastructure
Area
Description – Ginkgo mine site






2
Tailings Storage
Facility
3
Water
Management
Area
4
Overburden
Emplacement
Area
5
Void



Administration Buildings
Bores and RO plant
Access and Haul roads
Power lines
Workshops and Contractor
lay down areas
HMC Tower
OPTD (Off Path sand Tails
Dam)
In pit sand tails disposal

Water management
structures
Storm water management
structures


Off mine path waste dumps
On mine path backfill

Active pit includes dredge
pond and overburden
removal area
Description- Crayfish mine site




Post Mining
land use Code
Post Mining land use Domains
Bore
Access Haul Road
Mine Lease Fencing
Temporary workshops
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land Capability
Classification VI
6

NA
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land Capability
Classification VI
6

Water management
structures
Storm water
management structures
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land Capability
Classification VI
6
Off mine path waste
dumps
On mine path backfill
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land Capability
Classification VI
6
Final Void
6




Active mining pit includes
ore and overburden
removal areas
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
6
Rehabilitation
Area – Native
Vegetation
Areas under rehab which
have been seeded
Areas under rehab which
have been seeded
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land Capability
Classification VI
6
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
5.2 Domain Rehabilitation Objectives and Rehabilitation Phases
Note: As the Ginkgo mine is utilizing dredge mining techniques and operates as a strip mine, the Domain areas change
regularly as the mine is opened up and back filled.
5.2.1
Domain 1 Infrastructure Area
The Domain 1 Infrastructure Area which as summarised in section 5.1 above consists of much of the
ancillary structures and site roads.
All administration, crib rooms and ablution buildings are demountable and will be removed from the
site.
The workshop sheds, water tanks, sewerage treatment plants and utilities will be removed from site
unless alternate arrangements are made with the incoming landholder/s.
Sites access roads, ancillary infrastructure areas and car parks will be ripped, topsoiled and seeding
as part of the rehabilitation program, unless alternate arrangements are made with the incoming
landholder.
Hardstand areas that have been subject to salt water dust suppression will be tested to determine
salinity levels and, if required, rehabilitated by disposing salt contaminated materials with slurried
overburden and/or sand residues overburden. Stockpiled rehabilitated media would then be applied
as necessary and stabilised. Revegetation would be undertaken with suitable endemic plant species.
All concrete footings or concrete pads such as workshop floor will be broken up and disposed of in pit.
Power services will be terminated at the Mine lease boundary and removed. The power infrastructure
outside the mine lease boundary is the property and the responsibility of the service provider.
All scrap recyclable metals and recyclables will be removed offsite for recycling.
All contractors’ areas will be removed and cleaned as per the contract requirements and consistent
with above mentioned methods.
The WHIMS processing facility and all surrounding infrastructure including reverse osmosis plant,
buildings, tanks, water dams, MORT facility and stackers will be removed. All stockpiles and
remaining HMC products will be removed and topsoil replaced followed by revegetation works.
During the life of the mine the Domain 1 areas will mostly remain active until final closure.
The exceptions for Domain 1 are the internal access and haul roads which are closed out as the mine
path progresses. Sections of these areas will change from Active Mining Areas through to the
Ecosystem and Land Use Sustainability phase during this MOP.
5.2.2
Domain 2 Tailings Storage Facility
The Ginkgo Off Path Tails Dam is a permanent structure that has been decommissioned. Works have
commenced to shape and cap the entire structure with 1m of clay in preparation for direct subsoil
topsoil replacement from the mine path. Post topsoil replacement the entire structure will be direct
seeded. (This is explained in section 7.2)
The in-pit tails area is continually changing as the mine progresses along its path. The tails cells are
produced by cyclone stacking and open piping methods. These cells are allowed sufficient time to dry
and are then capped during the overburden replacement in the backfill. These tailings are buried by
the overburden sand and clay to a depth generally in excess of 10m and mimic the original
stratigraphy of the region.
The tails cells are temporary structures which are active for a period of 3 to 6 months before they are
capped with clay and OB as the mine backfill progresses. As they are temporary, they change
regularly from Domain 2 to Domain 4.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
All tailings from the Crayfish ore will be deposited at Ginkgo, this will reduce the size of the final void
at Ginkgo.
5.2.3
Domain 3 Water Management Area
Domain 3 is split between process water structures and storm water structures.
The process water structures include the HMC drainage and overflow dam, WHIMS process water
dam, Mags 1 return water dam and a number of salt water dams for dust suppression. The storm
water management areas include the site sedimentation dams, associated drainage lines and desilting sumps.
Process water structures
Water management areas that have had salt water stored in them, will, after drying out, be capped
with a minimum of 1m of clean overburden material and subsoil/topsoil replaced and revegetated.
Storm water structures
The storm water structures will remain post closure and may be utilised by the incoming landholder
for stock watering points or goat traps. If not required by the incoming landholder these structures will
be filled in and rehabilitated.
5.2.4
Domain 4 Overburden Emplacement Area
As the Ginkgo mine progresses and the tailing sand areas dry out, overburden material is placed over
and caps this area. The overburden backfill areas contain both sand and clay material. Currently
trucks are depositing overburden material in paddock dumps then spread out with a dozer. The mine
path backfill area is constructed to a height not exceeding 10m and design parameters are consistent
with the Cristal rehabilitation principles.
Upon completion, overburden areas are surveyed to allow ‘sign off’ from the earthworks department
to the rehabilitation/environmental department. This process ensures that the landforms and backfill
areas are completed to the correct design parameters.
At the commencement of the MOP an area of 170 ha of reclaimed Mine path at Ginkgo is in various
stages of rehabilitation. During the MOP term it is anticipated a further 370ha of Ginkgo mine path will
be rehabilitated.
Initially the Crayfish overburden will be placed directly off path to create a raised OB waste dump of
approx. 20ha in size. Once the pit is opened up and progresses forward the overburden material will
be placed behind the active pit creating a backfill area of approx. 50ha. All overburden emplacement
areas will be completely rehabilitated to design as described in section 4.3.1.
5.2.5
Domain 5 Void
At Ginkgo the void consists of both the active overburden stripping area and the active dredge pond.
The Crayfish deposit also involves active overburden stripping but the ore is also removed dry by
earthmoving equipment and transported to the Ginkgo dredge face.
The final dredge pond will be partially backfilled with overburden material pushed down from the pit
walls and from the final overburden replacement area to a level approximately 2 to 4 m above the
groundwater table. This height above the water table may be increased with the addition of sand
tailings from the Crayfish mine and will further reduce the final void at Ginkgo. This will result in a final
depression comparable to the local topographic depressions that occur in the region. The existing
topographic depressions provide short term surface water storage as well as infiltration and
groundwater recharge.
As the Ginkgo mine progresses the active pit moves along the mine path and is opened up and also
closed out progressively. As the pit is closed out it changes from Domain 1 Active pit through to
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Domain 2 Tailings Storage as it passes through the tails cell cycles, then into Domain 4 Overburden
Emplacement Area as the pit is back filled.
At the commencement of the MOP 80 ha of backfilled Ginkgo Mine path was in various stages of
rehabilitation. A further 65 ha of dredge pit had been capped with OB and is now in OB rehabilitation
phase 2 Landform Establishment.
The final void at Crayfish will be kept to the smallest practical size possible. The area will be capped
with a minimum of 1m of overburden material and topsoil/subsoil replaced and rehabilitated.
5.2.6
Domain 6 Rehabilitation Area – Native Vegetation
The rehabilitation areas are termed ‘completed’ after the seeding program has been undertaken.
These areas are then monitored as per the monitoring regime as detailed in Section 8. Management
and maintenance activities such as drainage and pest control are also continued in these areas.
Table 12 Summary of Rehabilitation phases at this beginning of the MOP

Decommissioning

Landform Establishment



Domain 5 - Void

Domain 4 –
Overburden
Emplacement Area
Active Mining Area
Domain 2 - Tailings
Disposal Facility
Rehabilitation Phase
Domain 1 Infrastructure
Domain
Domain 3 – Water
Management Areas
Ta


Growth Medium Development

Ecosystem and Land use Establishment

Ecosystem and Land use Sustainability
Relinquished Lands
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Table 13 Summary of Rehabilitation phases proposed for the end of MOP
Active Mining Area




Decommissioning
*
*
*
*
Landform Establishment




Growth Medium Development




Ecosystem and Land use Establishment




Ecosystem and Land use Sustainability

Domain 5 - Void
Domain 4 –
Overburden
Emplacement Area
Rehabilitation Phase
Domain 1 Infrastructure
Domain 2 - Tailings
Disposal Facility
Domain
Domain 3 – Water
Management Areas
* Portions of Domains decommissioned


Relinquished Lands
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6 Performance Indicators and Relinquishment Criteria
Table 14 Performance Indicators and Relinquishment Criteria
Objective
Performance
Indicator
Completion
Criteria
Justification/Source
Complete
(Yes/No)
Progress at start of MOP
Link to TARP
Complete removal
of buildings and
sheds
2.9.3 Ginkgo Mineral
Sands Project
Environmental
Assessment 2012
No
Not Commenced
No
Not Commenced
TARP#5
Phase 1- Decommissioning
Domain 1- Infrastructure
Administration
All mining related
Buildings ,
infrastructure
Workshops and
removed
Amenities removed
Bores
Decommissioned
and pipes removed
Bore pumps and
infrastructure
removed
Bores capped
Bore field Impact
Management Plan
Bore licences
cancelled
Access and haul
roads closed
All unnecessary
roads closed and
rehabilitated
Reverse Osmosis
(RO) Plant
removed
RO plant
decommissioned
and removed
No
No
Not Commenced
TARP#5
Not Commenced
TARP#5
E22 Rehabilitation
Ginkgo Mineral Sands
Project Environmental
Impact Statement – Main
Report – 2001
Ginkgo 2012
Environmental
Assessment Modification
Section 5
Mining lease Condition
12
E22 Rehabilitation
Ginkgo Mineral Sands
Project Environmental
No
Not Commenced
TARP#3
No
Not Commenced
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Impact Statement – Main
Report – 2001
Power services
disconnected and
infrastructure
removed
Power is
disconnected,
Power
infrastructure
dismantled and
removed
All buildings, plant
and equipment
removed
Contractor lay
down yards
The HMC tower,
pumps and
associated
equipment will be
decommissioned
and removed.
Oil and fuel
storage removed
HMC Tower,
pumps and
pipelines removed
Ginkgo 2012
Environmental
Assessment Modification
Section 5
E22 Rehabilitation
Ginkgo Mineral Sands
Project Environmental
Impact Statement – Main
Report – 2001
No
Not Commenced
No
Not Commenced
No
Not Commenced
No
Not Commenced
Ginkgo 2012
Environmental
Assessment Modification
Section 5
E22 Rehabilitation
Ginkgo Mineral Sands
Project Environmental
Impact Statement – Main
Report – 2001
Ginkgo 2012
Environmental
Assessment Modification
Section 5
E22 Rehabilitation
Ginkgo Mineral Sands
Project Environmental
Impact Statement – Main
Report – 2001
Ginkgo 2012
Environmental
Assessment Modification
Section 5
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
HMC material
removed
Objective
Performance
Indicator
HMC material
relocated into pit
Completion
Criteria
E22 Rehabilitation
Ginkgo Mineral Sands
Project Environmental
Impact Statement – Main
Report – 2001
No
Not Commenced
Complete
(Yes/No)
Progress at start of MOP
Link to TARP
Ginkgo 2012
Environmental
Assessment Modification
Section 5
Justification/Source
Domain 2 - Tailings Storage Facility
Off Path Tails
Dam (OPTD) to
be safe and all
infrastructure
removed
In pit tails cells
infrastructure
removed
Pipelines, pumps,
wire boxes,
decants and any
other temporary
infrastructure
removed
Infrastructure
removed ie
pipelines, tail
stacker facility,
pumps
All infrastructure
removed
All infrastructure
removed
E22 Rehabilitation
Ginkgo Mineral
Sands Project
Environmental
Impact Statement –
Main Report – 2001
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Yes
Complete
Yes
Complete
No
Not Commenced
No
Commenced
TARP#3
Domain 3 - Water Management Areas
Process water
management
structuresincludes Fresh
Water Dam, HMC
Dams are drained,
decommissioned
and infrastructure
such as pumps
and pipelines
Dams are dry and
all infrastructure
has been removed
NSW Dam Safety
Committee
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
drainage and
overflow, and salt
water truck fill
dam (closed and
capped)
removed
Salt areas
removed after
drying
Mines Water,
Erosion and
Sediment Control
Management Plan
No
Not Commenced
TARP#3
Dams are
backfilled with
clean fill
Dams capped with
minimum 1 m
clean OB
NSW Dam Safety
Committee
No
Not Commenced
TARP#3
Storm water
management
structures retained
These areas will
remain after
rehabilitation
Structures left in
safe non-polluting
condition
Gingko & Snapper
Erosion and
Sediment
Management Plan
No
Not Commenced
TARP#5
Objective
Performance
Indicator
Completion
Criteria
Justification/Source
Complete
(Yes/No)
Progress at start of MOP
Link to TARP
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Salt affected
material is
excavated
Domain 4 - Overburden Emplacement areas
Overburden
Dumps- to be safe
and all
infrastructure
removed
Lighting towers,
signage and haul
road delineators
removed
Ramps, bunding
and batters left in
safe condition
No infrastructure
or plant or
equipment left on
OB dumps. No
rubbish or other
debris remaining
All ramps, bunds
and batters left in
safe condition
Mining Lease
Section 12
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Mine path Backfill
area to be safe
and all
infrastructure
removed
Lighting towers,
signage and haul
road delineators
removed
No infrastructure
or plant or
equipment left in
pit. No rubbish or
other debris
remaining
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Ramps, bunding
and batters left in
safe condition
All ramps, bunds
and batters left in
safe condition
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Dredge and
Concentrator to be
dismantled and
removed
Dredge and
concentrator
removed
No
Not Commenced
No
Not Commenced
Domain 5 - Void
Dredge, wet plant
and associated
infrastructure is
removed
Mining Lease
Section 12
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Overburden plant
and equipment
removed
All Earthmoving
contractors
machines and
equipment are to
be removed
Equipment has
been removed
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Objective
All ancillary
equipment is
removed
Performance
Indicator
All pipes, pumps,
power, water and
communications
infrastructure are
removed
Completion
Criteria
Infrastructure has
been removed
Justification/Source
Complete
(Yes/No)
Progress at start of MOP
Link to TARP
No
Not Commenced
No
Not Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Mining Lease
Section 12
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
Phase 2- Landform Establishment
Domain 1- Infrastructure
Landform
established to
blend in with
surrounding
landscape and is
suitable to sustain
a native
ecosystem
Areas are graded
relatively smooth
ready for topsoiling
Areas are level
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
Any elevated areas
are contoured at
1:7 batters
Elevated areas are
surveyed to ensure
batters at 1:7
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Not Commenced
TARP #1, #3
Drainage, bunding
and paddies
installed in areas
with elevated
finished levels
Drainage and
paddies installed
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Not Commenced
TARP #1
Domain 2 - Tailings Storage Facility
Landform
established to
blend in with
surrounding
landscape and is
suitable to sustain
a native
Saline material
capped with
minimum of 1m of
clean OB fill
Mining Lease
Section 12
1m of clean OB fill
capped over area
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
No
Commenced
TARP #3
Ginkgo Modification
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
ecosystem
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
Mining Lease
Section 12
Landform
established to
blend in with
surrounding
landscape and is
suitable to sustain
a native
ecosystem
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Areas are graded
relatively smooth
ready for topsoiling
Areas are level
Batters are graded
and contoured at
1:7 on the batters
Elevated areas
battered at 1:7
Drainage, bunding
and paddies
installed in areas
with elevated
finished levels
Drainage and
paddies installed
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #3
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Commenced
TARP #3
No
Not Commenced
TARP #3
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
Domain 3 - Water Management Areas
Mining Lease
Section 12
Water
Management
areas closed
Salt water dried
and salt affected
material excavated
Salt affected
material disposed
of into pit
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Mines Water,
Erosion and
Sediment control
MP
Mining Lease
Section 12
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Saline material
capped with
minimum of 1m of
clean OB fill
Landform
established to
blend in with
surrounding
landscape and is
suitable to sustain
a native
ecosystem
1m of clean OB fill
capped over area
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
No
Not Commenced
TARP #3
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Mines Water,
Erosion and
Sediment control
MP
Mining Lease
Section 12
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Areas are graded
relatively smooth
ready for topsoiling
Areas are level
Batters are graded
and contoured at
1:7 on the batters
Elevated areas
battered at 1:7
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2
Drainage, bunding
and paddies
installed in areas
with elevated
finished levels
Drainage and
paddies installed
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Commenced
TARP #1
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Objective
Performance
Indicator
Completion
Criteria
Justification/Source
Complete
(Yes/No)
Progress at start of MOP
Link to TARP
1m of clean OB fill
capped over area
Ginkgo
Development
Consent Section 32
No
Commenced
TARP #3
No
Commenced
TARP#3
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Commenced
TARP #1, #2
Domain 4 - Overburden Emplacement areas
Landform is stable
and established to
conform with
surrounding
landscape and is
suitable to sustain
a native
ecosystem
Landform is stable
and established to
conform with
surrounding
landscape and is
suitable to sustain
a native
ecosystem
Saline material
capped with
minimum of 1m of
clean OB fill
Mining Lease
Section 12
Areas are graded
relatively smooth
ready for topsoiling
Batters are graded
and contoured at
1:7 on the batters
Areas are level
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
Elevated areas
battered at 1:7
Drainage, bunding
and paddies
installed in areas
with elevated
finished levels
Drainage and
paddies installed
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Long term stability as
per Landloch 2009
simulation
Ability to withstand 1in
100 year rain events
with no failures.
Landloch Batter Design
Report 2009
(Batter simulations were
conducted on a 1:100
year climate model)
No ongoing, however
batters did experience
1:100 years rain event
with no failure.
Commenced
TARP #1
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Objective
Performance
Indicator
Completion
Criteria
Justification/Source
Complete
(Yes/No)
Progress at start of MOP
LINK to TARP
Dredge pond is
backfilled to 2- 4 m
above the local
groundwater table
level
Void has been
backfilled and final
landform is 2-4
metres above
water table
Ginkgo EIS
Ginkgo Closure Plan
No
Not Commenced
TARP #5
No
Not Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #3
Domain 5 - Void
Mining Lease
Section 12
Landform is stable
and established to
conform with
surrounding
landscape and is
suitable to sustain
a native
ecosystem
Areas are graded
relatively smooth
ready for topsoiling
Inverted batters
are graded and
contoured at 1:7
Drainage, bunding
and paddies
installed in areas
where required
Long term stability
Areas are level
Ginkgo Mining
Operation Plan
Ginkgo Modification
Environmental
Assessment Section
5
Batters at 1:7
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Drainage and
paddies installed
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No
Ability to withstand
1in 100 year rain
events with no
failures. As per
Landloch Batter
Design Report 2009
No, ongoing,
however batters
did experience
1:100 years rain
event with no
failure.
Not Commenced
TARP #1, #2, #5
Not Commenced
TARP #1
Commenced
TARP #1, #5
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Phase 3- Growth Medium Development
All Domains
To ensure
sufficient topsoil is
replaced to
support plant
growth
Ensure soil
amelioration
products are
applied as
required
Objective
Subsoil applied at
a minimum of
200mm
Survey confirms
200mm of subsoil
has been applied
Ginkgo
Development
Consent Section 32
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
Topsoils applied at
a minimum of
200mm
Survey confirms
200mm of topsoil
has been applied
Correct amounts of
gypsum applied as
per soil scientists
report
Soil is suitable to
grow native
vegetation.
Advice from
Contracted Soils
Specialist on
different Areas
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
Performance
Indicator
Completion
Criteria
Justification/Source
Complete
(Yes/No)
Progress at start of MOP
Link to TARP
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
Phase 4- Ecosystem and Land use Establishment
All Domains
Elevated areas
are stable and
non-eroding
Seeding and
germination of
native seeds
Salvaged timber is
replaced on the
batter areas
Batters are ripped
on the contour
Areas are seeded
by dozer whilst
ripping topsoil
Growth from
topsoil seed bank
Inspection to
ensure timber has
been laid
Inspection to
ensure batters
ripped correctly
Environmental
Department
Seedlings are
germinating
Species present
not in seed list
Rehabilitation
Monitoring
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Artificial habitat
reinstated
Salvaged timber is
spread on
landform
Stags are stood up
across the
landform
Inspection to
ensure timber has
been laid
Inspections to
ensure stags are
stable
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
No
Commenced
TARP #2, #3
No
Commenced
TARP#1, #2
No
Commenced
TARP #2
Environmental
Department
Phase 5- Ecosystem and Land use Sustainability
All Domains
Vegetation
established and
developing in
structure and
complexity
Native fauna
repopulating areas
Vegetation selfregenerating
Landforms are
stable and nonpolluting
Landform is
suitable to light
intensity grazing
Ground cover
>40% at all times.
Species richness
Range of 5 to 10
species as per
Vegetation
Communities
benchmarks
Lower Murray
Darling Catchment
Management
Authority
Recommendation
NSW Biometric
Benchmarks for
Vegetation
Communities in
NSW
Native fauna
species present in
survey counts
Native fauna
species present
Rehabilitation
Monitoring
No
Commenced
TARP #2 (Linked directly with
revegetation)
Native flora
species present
No erosion present
beyond acceptable
levels
Rehabilitation
Monitoring
No
Commenced
TARP #2
Rehabilitation
Monitoring
No
Commenced
TARP #1, #3
Successful light
intensity grazing
trials conducted
Trials completed as
per Western LLS
advice
No
New seedlings
establishing
Erosion monitoring
Species richness
suitable for grazing
to occur
Not Commenced
TARP#2
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
7 Rehabilitation Implementation
7.1 Status at MOP Commencement
Table 15 Status at MOP Commencement
Domain
Code
Operational
Domains
Rehabilitation Status
1
Infrastructure
Area


Active at Ginkgo
Not Active at Crayfish
2
Tailings Storage
Facility


Ginkgo OPTD is in the initial stages of rehabilitation
Not Active at Crayfish
3
Water
Management
Area


Active
Not Active at Crayfish
Overburden
Emplacement
Area

4

In various stages of rehabilitation with the exception of
OB4.
Not Active at Crayfish
Void

Active
5
7.2 Proposed Rehabilitation Activities during the MOP Term
Infrastructure Area domains will see minor progressive rehabilitation. Generally internal roads will
be closed off as required as the mine path progresses. After decommissioning and removal of
infrastructure, topsoil and subsoil will be spread over the area. Following topsoiling, surfaces will
be deep ripped with a dozer at machine width intervals.
Roads are often the last areas of the mine to see rehabilitation activities as they provide essential
travel routes between active and non-active parts of the mine.
Tailings Storage Facility Domain and Overburden Emplacement Area Domains will see
continued landform rehabilitation over the term of the MOP. Final off path landforms will be
constructed to a maximum height not exceeding 20 metres above natural ground level. Final on
mine path landforms will be constructed to a maximum height not exceeding 10 metres above
natural ground level. Design elements will focus on long term stability and the ability of surface
substrates to support a self-sustaining native vegetation cover.
V-shaped interceptor drains will be constructed at the toe of the domains, with any contained
surface water drained to sedimentation ponds positioned at strategic low points around the
perimeter of the dump (fall along interceptor drain to be accurately surveyed).
The top of the Tailings Storage Facility and Overburden Emplacement Area Domains will continue
to be constructed as level as possible (progressive survey to be undertaken during and following
construction), to reduce the potential for run-off to flow to a low point on the landform.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Perimeter bunds are essential to prevent uncontrolled discharge of runoff from the top of the
landform onto outer batter slopes, and are constructed to at least a height of 0.3m, thoroughly
compacted, at least 2 m wide at the peak, and sloping inwards at approximately 10% gradient. If
water does pond against the outer bund, the point of ponding will be re-designed to remove the
issue.
Small cross-bunds will continue to be constructed to create cells between 1 ha and 5 ha in area, to
further minimise the potential for flow concentration on the top of landforms.
The reconstruction of the soil profile for all domains will include as a minimum:

A surface topsoil layer respread to a minimum depth of 200 mm,

a subsoil layer respread to a minimum depth of 200 mm, and

Underlying in situ overburden.
Following completion of soil reconstruction, ripping with a dozer will create furrows up to 300 mm
deep to increase surface roughness and minimise potential for overland flows.
Water Management Areas will be closed off if requested by landholder and DRE.
The distance that tree debris can be spread by rake is limited, it is important that placement of the
timber truck loads be as even as possible. If done properly, the final ripping should cause a high
proportion of the tree debris to be aligned on the contour, thereby maximising its resistance to
overland flow.
Revegetation of the Ginkgo/Crayfish mine domains incorporate a combination of techniques that
have been applied successfully over the life cycle of the mine. Seed from common native species
are favoured for large-scale collection and incorporated into direct sowing mixes, with more difficult
to collect or germinate species (recalcitrant’s) preferred for nursery propagation from seed, cuttings
or division.
145 plant species were recorded during flora surveys completed at the mine site; only selections of
these taxa are specifically targeted for inclusion into the revegetation program. Many of the plant
species recorded are present at very low density, set low quantities of viable seed or show high
seasonal variability in seed set, or are difficult to propagate in the nursery. Many of these varieties
are expected to germinate from the topsoil seed store, or volunteer readily from the surrounding
rangeland.
Local contractors will continue to be engaged to collect seed, with particular focus on provenance
seed or vegetation complexes occurring within similar bioclimatic region. Seed is collected
preferentially from vegetation within the mine path to maximise provenance correctness, with this
stock supplemented by seed from proximal areas. Collection of seed has commenced and will
continue progressively on an annual basis throughout the mine life. In favourable flowering
seasons, additional seed stock of hard seeded varieties will be collected and kept at the seed store
on site at Ginkgo.
Individual species seed rates will be progressively manipulated in response to seed quality and
germination potential, and feedback received from annual monitoring programs.
Seed rates are being applied in the order of 10 kg per hectare for each rehabilitated domain. Native
seeds will be spread onto prepared ground in autumn to early winter using a mechanical seeder
(large scale rehabilitation).
A purpose built seeder has been utilised to sow seeds directly onto the rehabilitation behind a D9
dozer. The seeder box has the capacity to hold enough seed for 2 ha per load. The seeder is
mounted onto the ripper shanks of a D9 dozer and is operated from inside the cabin of the dozer,
by way of electric motor to start and stop the drum. Slots have been designed into the drums which
are able to be opened or closed to allow for a variation of seeding rates or ground speed.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
In 2015 a Burford Tree seeder has been used to sow native tree seeds to portions of the flat
sections of the rehabilitation areas. This addition to the rehabilitation fleet ensures tree seeds are
placed at the appropriate location and depth to maximise chances of germination.
Table 16 2015 Ginkgo Seed list *varies dependent on seasonally available species.
Family
Mimosaceae
Mimosaceae
Mimosaceae
Mimosaceae
Mimosaceae
Mimosaceae
Mimosaceae
Mimosaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Cupressaceae
Casuarinaaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Myrtaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Asteraceae
Scrophulariaceae
Zygophyllaceae
Asteraceae
Caesalpiniaceae
Asteraceae
Zygophyllaceae
2015
Seed rate applied
(grams/Hectare)
Species
Acacia burkitii
Acacia colletioides
Acacia victoriae
Acacia hakeoides
Acacia ligulata
Acacia oswaldii
Acacia rigens
Acacia sclerophylla
Atriplex lindleyi
Atriplex rhagodioides
Atriplex semibaccata
Atriplex stipitata
Atriplex vesicaria
Callitris gracillis ssp. murrayensis
Casuarina pauper
Enchylaena tomentosa
Eucalyptus mix (provenance)
Maireana apressa
Maireana brevifolia
Maireana sedifolia
Maireana pyramidata
Maireana triptera
Maireana turbinata
Minuria cunninghamii
Myoporum platycarpum
Nitraria billardiera
Olearia pimeliodes
Senna nothosubsp. coriacea/subsp.
filifolia/subsp. petiolaris/subsp. zygophylla
Vittadinia cervicularis
Zygophyllum aurantiacum
TOTAL
300
300
300
100
300
100
50
100
200
2500
200
400
400
200
50
200
300
100
150
125
2500
30
30
40
50
500
50
300
25
200
10100
Many plant species recorded from the mining lease are readily propagated from seed. As far as
practicable, seed, cuttings and rootstock material will be derived from vegetation within the mining
lease.
Planting operations are carried out by experienced contractors, and supervised by the Senior
Rehabilitation Officer. Seeding and planting densities will be prescribed for specific rehabilitation
blocks, determined largely by characteristics of the revegetation medium. Selected tree and shrub
species will be fertilized with an appropriate native fertiliser pill at the time of planting. Plant
species composition and density will be progressively updated according to the relative success of
field establishment determined by the annual monitoring programme. Initial planting rates for tree
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
and shrub species will be modelled on analogue (control) sites occurring at a similar position in the
unmined landscape.
Experience from the rehabilitation at the start of the Ginkgo site rehabilitation has shown that due to
the unpredictable and sometimes extremely dry and hot climate tube stock planting is very difficult.
A program of planting tube stock under varying conditions has been trialled on OB1 to test the
different planting methods to help the tube stock survive.
The management of cleared vegetation for all domains is as per the Flora and Fauna Management
Plan and the associated Vegetation Clearance Protocol (VCP).
As part of the rehabilitation protocol the cleared timber is windrowed and stored for future re-use as
rehabilitation media in the form of erosion control on batters and also some logs are stood back up
for habitat purposes (stag trees). It is anticipated that the collected hollows may be attached to
these stood up stag trees for habitat purposes.
The ongoing maintenance activities for rehabilitated domains will vary depending on climatic
condition but generally will include drainage management around the toe of the rehabilitation,
fencing, watering and replanting tube stock as necessary.
Table 17 Disturbance and Rehabilitation Progression during the term of the MOP
Mt of ore
Milestone
Mine Site
Total
Disturbance
Area (ha)
Total
Rehabilitation
Area (ha) Mt
milestone
Cumulative
Rehabilitation
Area (ha)
GK
GK
GK
CF
CF
Comments
CF
85Mt (~2015)
Start of MOP
799
-
-
-
297
-
Overburden 1 (OB1) 80%
Overburden 2 (OB2)
Overburden 3 (OB3)
Overburden DMU (DMU)
Mine Path
100Mt (~2017)
895
121
92
-
389
-
OB1 Complete
Off Path Tails Dam (OPTD)
115Mt (~2018)
895
187
69
27
458
27
Mine Path
120Mt (~2019)
897
220
98
43
556
70
Mine Path
Crayfish Overburden (OB1)
104
Mine Path
Final Voids (Ginkgo &
Crayfish)
Infrastructure areas
End of MOP
(~2021)
897
220
339
34
897
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA
Table 18 Rehabilitation phases and areas at commencement and completion of MOP
Primary Domain
Secondary
Domain
Rehabilitation Phase
Mine Site
Domain 1
Infrastructure
Domain 2
Tailings Disposal
Facility
Area at start of
MOP (ha)
Area at end of
MOP (ha)
GK
CF
GK
CF
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land
Active Mining Area
214
0
0
0
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land
Active Mining Area
16
0
0
0
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land
Active Mining Area
7
0
0
0
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land
Active Mining Area
225
0
0
0
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land
Active Mining Area
40
0
0
0
Decommissioning
0
0
0
0
Landform
Establishment
0
0
65
34
Growth Medium
Development
75
0
105
43
Ecosystem and Land
Use Establishment
112
0
172
27
Ecosystem and Land
use Sustainability
110
0
555
Relinquished Lands
0
0
0
799
0
897
Domain 3
Water
Management
Areas
Domain 4
Overburden
Emplacement
Area
Domain 5
Void
Domain 6
Rehabilitation
Area – Native
Vegetation
Rehabilitation
Area – Rural
Land
Total
104
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7.3 Relinquishment Phase achieved during MOP period.
During the Ginkgo/Crayfish MOP term it is envisaged that no domain will reach relinquishment
phase.
7.4 MOP 2014 achievements

The rehabilitation commitment stated in the Ginkgo MOP 2013-16 has been largely
achieved.

The overall land clearance in front of the pit was far smaller than anticipated. This was due to
rising Australian dollar prices and the falling mineral price. This process turns marginal mining
areas into uneconomic areas. Therefore reducing the total amount of vegetation clearance.

Goat control has stepped up in 2014-15 with over 2000 goats removed from the ML and
neighboring properties.
8 Rehabilitation Monitoring and Research
8.1 Rehabilitation Monitoring
8.1.1
Site and Topographic Delineation and Description
Description of the site and topographic characteristics of the rehabilitation site broadly follow those
as outlined by Speight (1990) in the Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook (ASLSFH). A
simplified modification of the topographic description in rangeland settings has been proposed by
Tongway (2009). The Tongway topographic classification being:







Crest
Upper Slope
Mid Slope
Lower Slope
Closed Depression or lake
Flat
Open depression or stream channel
These topographic features have been illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1:
8.1.2
Schematic representation of the topographic units present within Cristal’s Ginkgo
and Crayfish mine site rehabilitation.
Transect Monitoring
The rehabilitation monitoring program has repeat transect monitoring sites in each of the major
topographic elements represented at the monitoring location. The major topographic landforms
may have additional transects, depending on their distribution across the monitoring site.
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Cristal uses a 20 x 1 m marked belt transects as the standard transect type. Each transect has
been surveyed to establish elevation and accurate slope. The transect is divided into 20 (1 x 1 m)
quadrants.
Information collected from the belt transects should include:

a soil texture and soil profile assessment at establishment (as per ASLSFH),

soil surface roughness and resistance to disturbance (semi-quantitative measure from 1-5),

observations on erosion type and severity (semi-quantitative measure from 1-5),

incorporation and subsequent deposition of coarse organic debris and type (semi-quantitative
measure from 1-5),

a ground condition assessment for 5 of the 20 quadrats,

vegetation species composition, cover and height for each quadrats, and

a photograph taken from the start peg looking directly along the monitoring line at each
monitoring session.
8.1.3
Ground Condition Assessment
The ground condition portion of the field assessment includes:

% vegetation cover (perennial and annual)

% bare ground and bare ground/vegetation patch ratio along the ‘centre-line’ of the quadrat

% cryptogam cover

% litter cover and type
8.1.4
Timing of Vegetation Assessments
Transects will be assessed annually for the first three years, with feedback provided to the
rehabilitation program and field officers. A further assessment and review of the rehabilitation
areas will be conducted every three years thereafter. Table 18 shows the monitoring schedule to
end of MOP year 2021.
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Table 19 Flora and Fauna Monitoring Schedule to end of MOP
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
Year of Monitoring
Ginkgo Offset 1
Ginkgo OB1
Ginkgo OB2
Ginkgo OB3
Ginkgo DMU
Ginkgo SSP Seeded 2011
Ginkgo SSP Seeded 2014
Ginkgo SSP Seeded 2015
Ginkgo SSP Seeded 2016
Ginkgo SSP Seeded 2017
Ginkgo SSP Seeded 2018
Ginkgo MP Seeded 2014
Ginkgo MP Seeded 2015
Ginkgo MP Seeded 2016
Ginkgo MP Seeded 2017
Ginkgo MP Seeded 2018
Ginkgo Off Path Tails Dam
Ancillary Areas
Ginkgo Final Void
Crayfish Offset
Crayfish OB
Crayfish Final Void
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8.1.5
Permanent Fixed-Area Quadrats and Photo point Monitoring
A representative number of 20 x 20 m square quadrats will be permanently marked and located in
the major topographic land classification units existing within the rehabilitation site. Information
collected includes species composition and structure, as well as the ground condition assessment
outlined in 8.1.3.
Photo points have been established in the manner already used in the conservation offset
monitoring program. That is where two permanent stakes (a camera stake 1 m high and a photo
point board stake 0.5 m high) are located 8 m apart in a north-south direction. The orientation of
the camera stake (northern point) and photo point stake (southern point) is important so as to
ensure that the sun is always at the back of the photographer.
8.1.6
Fauna Monitoring
There are a number monitoring sites that have been established in each rehabilitation area at the
Ginkgo mine site, there is also reference sites located in undisturbed habitat close to the
rehabilitation areas. As more areas are rehabilitated at both the Ginkgo and Crayfish mines more
monitoring sites will be established in those areas.
Pit fall traps have been established at each of the monitoring sites with five 20 litre buckets at each
site connected by a 30cm high flywire fence. Pitfalls are run for five nights in both SeptemberOctober and November-December each year to monitor terrestrial vertebrate colonisation of the
sites.
Invertebrates are surveyed by pitfall trapping at each site using five 200ml specimen jars containing
ethylene glycol. Invertebrate pitfalls are left out for five days. Samples are pooled for each site and
ants are identified to species and used as an indicator group.
Bat surveys are carried out using anabat detectors in November-December each year at each
rehabilitation areas and in nearby remnant sites.
Bird surveys are carried out once per year within each rehabilitation area and in nearby remnant
sites via timed 20 minute random search surveys.
Sites used for fauna surveys are a subset of those used for vegetation monitoring and statistical
analyses of the faunal groups include co-analysis of the floristic and habitat variables collected
during that process in an attempt to explain patterns of faunal colonisation.
8.1.7
Reporting
The results are written up for each monitoring session and statistical analysis undertaken on the
results every three years. The reports will then be added to the Annual Environmental
Management Report.
8.2 Research and Rehabilitation Trials and Use of Analogue Sites
Cristal Mining has entered into a research partnership with the Centre for Environmental
Management, Federation University, in conjunction with Ogyris Ecological Research P/L.
The research project has appointed a PhD student in a multi-year project to investigate and
improve the practice of environmental rehabilitation post mining.
The project will benefit from the expertise of Ecologist, Dr. Simon Cook and Dr Nick Shultz at the
Federation university and Plant-Soil Ecologist Dr. Ian Sluiter from Ogyris Ecological Research who
is currently undertaking environmental monitoring at the Gingko and Snapper mine sites and
conservation offset. An integral partner in the project will be Cristal Mining’s Senior Rehabilitation
Advisor, Mr Andrew Schweitzer.
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The key objective of the project is to increase the overall rehabilitation outcome success rate of
revegetation at Cristal’s Murray-Darling Basin mineral sand mine sites. Of particular importance is
improving the revegetation success of local arid woodland vegetation.
The project focus is on tree plant species such as Belah Casuarina pauper, Sugarwood Myoporum
platycarpum, Wilga Geijera parviflora, Rosewood Alectryon oleiflious and Hooked Needlewood
Hakea tephrosperma, as well as understorey shrub species such as Pearl Bluebush Maireana
sedifolia and Black Bluebush Maireana pyramidata which are key species in the local arid
woodland ecosystem.
Substantial research into seed biology of these taxa and of the necessary environmental cues
required to break dormancy and lead to establishment in the rehabilitation landscape is predicted.
This research has not been attempted previously and is seen as a crucial step in the rehabilitation
life cycle for western NSW arid regions mines.
Seed purity, viability and germination testing has also been complete in 2015 for the first time in
CMA East history. This will be an ongoing research program to test for yearly and multi-year
viability of key seed varieties that are deployed in the annual seeding mix. Samples of the top soil
stockpiles of varying ages are being tested in a laboratory to what seeds they contain and how well
they germinate and if current stockpiling methods are satisfactory in maintaining seed viability.
In July 2015 a tree planting trial was established on over burden dump 1 at the Ginkgo mine site
where different variables are being tested including top soil depth, irrigated and non-irrigated and
the addition of water crystals. The trial consists of 60 plots each with 35 trees planted in rows
between direct seeding rip lines. Tree species used in the trial include Belah Casuarina pauper,
Hooked Needlewood Hakea tephrosperma, Silver Needlewood Hakea leaucoptera and Sugarwood
Myoporum platycarpum. Information obtained from the trial will help develop methods for future
rehabilitation to improve the success of hand planting campaigns and better survival rates for trees.
During 2015 a Bio-crust trial was established at the Ginkgo mine site. Bio-crusts contain small living
matter such as mosses and lichens that bind arid soil together. This small scale trial has been
undertaken to try and expedite the recolonisation process on our disturbed lands. A small area of
bio-crust was harvested from an undisturbed area, the bio-crust was then sieved to remove excess
soil. The living organisms were then combined with a psyllium husk product and applied at different
rates within the trail area using a watering can. If successful it is intended to be applied on a broad
scale to provide soil stability to newly returned topsoil especially areas prone to wind and water
erosion such as raised landforms and batters.
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Intervention and Adaptive Management
8.3 Threats to Rehabilitation
Table 20 Threats to Rehabilitation below has been developed by Cristal Mining Environmental
staff. The development of this was conducted by listing all known threats and then risk rating each
threat using the Qualitative Risk Analysis Matrix – Level of Risk as shown in section 3.1
Environmental Risk Assessment. Only threats that received a probability rating A, B or C were
given automatic inclusion into this table. All remaining risks were evaluated and issues the group
deemed important even though the risk was very low were included.
Table 20 Threats to Rehabilitation
Aspect
Issue
Probability
Consequence
Risk
Progressive rehabilitation to
take advantage of
favourable seasons
Complete earthworks but
hold off seeding until
seasons break
Rehabilitation designs to
capture rain events
A
2
High
Limit works during the
windy and dry times
Timber spread on
rehabilitation
Ripping with dozer to
roughen surface
A
3
High
Undertake seed viability
testing
Used known and reputable
seed supplier
House seed in optimal
conditions at the onsite
seed storage facility
Topsoil seed bank studies
as part of PhD studies
C
4
Low
Plant in optimum weather
conditions
Pre order tube stock early
so they are mature enough
to plant out
Use reputable supplier
Plant out in tree lots and
water when required
Minimise use of tube stock
to species that don’t
establish from seed
Tube stock survival part of
PhD studies
B
5
Low
Maintain seed supplier –
pay for seeds collected to
ensure supply
Onsite seed production
C
5
Low
Proposed Controls
Seasonal

Low rainfall
events



Wind and wind
erosion




Lack of seed
germination




Lack of tube
stock survival





Lack of seeds
stocks

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




area
Build onsite seed storage
facility
Maximise collection of
seeds during optimal
seasons
Spread area of collection
wider to get quantity of
seeds
Maximise quality of seeds
by viability testing
Minimise rates of seeding
on rehabilitation
Mechanical


Limited topsoil
supply




Mixing topsoil
and subsoil
materials



Addition of
salts
Loss of
nutrients and
soil structure



Rehabilitation team to
maintain control of topsoil
stripping contract
Topsoil assessments
completed as part of
Vegetation Clearance
Protocol to maximise
collection of topsoils
Ensure contractors are
operating correctly and
within guidelines of the site
soil management
procedure
Ensure stockpiled soils are
managed with ripping and
restrictions in place to
minimise access
D
1
Med
Undertake GIS mapping of
topsoils stockpiles
Correct strip and replace
plans developed for
contractors to avoid
working wrong stockpiles
Only use competent
contractors for topsoil with
fit for purpose equipment
D
3
Low
C
2
Med
D
3
Low
Ensure water trucks
operating on topsoil do not
use salt water
Ensure soil ameliorants
such as gypsum are tested
or certified prior to
application
Ensure windrows are
around the base of stored
stockpiles to ensure no
access or inadvertent
overspray from salt water.
Pre clearance soil
assessments and use of
EA baseline studies
Soils tested prior to and
after rehabilitation to track
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

Erosion,
Slumping and
Tunnelling
soil chemical and physical
attributes
Addition of soil ameliorants
as per advice from soil
specialist
Landform design to
minimise erosion and
tunnelling. i.e. 1:7 batters,
limited height and bunded
paddies
Ensure drainage structures
and water management are
in place during the
earthworks stages
Materials characterisation
and erosion modelling on
rehabilitation materials
D
3
Low
Upgrade/maintain
boundary fences to exclude
feral animals
Fence sediment dams to
trap goats
Local landholder contracted
to muster onsite
Undertake Vertebrate Pest
Management in
neighbouring lease and
offset lands
B
3
Med


Monitor
Implement ripping and/or
baiting as required
B
3
Med


Monitor
Implement fox baiting in
conjunction with local
landholders, include offset
areas
D
5
Low


Monitor during rehabilitation
Implement controls as
necessary
B
5
Low


Monitor
Implement control
techniques in conjunction
with Western Local Land
Services
C
5
Low
Maintain progressive
rehabilitation
Manage costs as
appropriate to revenue
C
4
Low
Long term contracts
established
Employ local established
workforce
Maintain good relations
B
4
Med


Pest Flora & Fauna


Goats


Rabbits
Foxes
Weeds
Locusts and
Grubs
Economical
Internal
revenue
limited
Change of
Contractors
(loss of
knowledge)





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
Change of
employee
(loss of
knowledge)



Unplanned
mine closure


with contractor
Quality KPI’s written into
contract
Ensure rehabilitation efforts
and results are
documented
Employ local established
workforce
B
4
Med
Ensure rehabilitation
techniques are documented
Rehabilitation bonds are
updated and provisioned
Progressive rehabilitation
has been undertaken
D
4
Low
Maintain contact and good
relations with the
community
Monitor general community
perception of the mining
industry
Update community on
mining and rehabilitation
progress through the
AEMR process as well as
community events such as
field days etc.
D
4
Low
Maintain up to date
knowledge of mining
rehabilitation regulations
via the local Mining
Environmental InspectorsBroken Hill
C
5
Low
Currently all lands are
Western Land Lease (WLL)
and the owner is the
Crown.
Maintain positive relations
with Land and Property
Management Authority
D
5
Low
Community/ Government Regulators

Community
acceptance or
change of
community
expectations



Change of
government
Policy

Change of
land
ownership

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8.4 Trigger Action Response Plan
This Trigger Action Response Plan has been developed by the Cristal Environmental team. The development of this was conducted by listing all known threats
and then risk rating each threat using the Qualitative Risk Analysis Matrix – Level of Risk as shown in section 3.1 Environmental Risk Assessment . Only
threats that the group deemed likely and had a defined trigger, action and response from Table 19 were included. Regulators and community were included to
cover the social aspect, however this threat is minor. The TARP was then sent to Dr I Sluiter OGYRIS Pty Ltd to review and make comment. His changes and
comments have been incorporated into this completed TARP.
This TARP will be review annually.
Trigger
Action
Response/ Management Measures
Completed/ Responsible person
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Environmental Officer
Seasonal Conditions TARP #1
Normal
Low rainfall
events
TARP #1
< 150mm rain
Monitor rainfall and
vegetation growth
< 50mm rain
Defer rehabilitation
works and seeding
Normal
Wind and Water
Erosion
TARP #1
> 10% Area
Inspect
> 30% Area
Monitor - included in
rehabilitation monitoring
program
Minimise rehabilitation areas seeded
Tube stock watering
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Tube stock watering
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Environmental Officer
Ensure correct drainage
Install wind breaks
Undertake remedial works
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Repair damage
Rehabilitation – Revegetation TARP #2
Seed
Germination
(mechanically
seeded and
Normal
Low
Monitor for 3 seasons
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Environmental Officer
If low germination or plant cover
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
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natural
regeneration)
TARP #2
Germination <
50% of species
germinated;
and/or < 10%
indigenous plant
cover
No Germination
, 10 % of
species
germinated;
and/or <5%
indigenous plant
cover
persist, reseed or continue to monitor
per Ecologists monitoring report
Monitor for 3 seasons
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Normal
Tube stock
Survival
TARP #2
If low germination or plant cover
persist, then reseed or continue to
monitor per Ecologists monitoring
report
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Environmental Officer
>50% mortality
Monitor for 2 seasons
Re plant at an appropriate time.
Investigate mortality cause.
>90% mortality
Monitor and prepare for
re planting
Re plant at an appropriate time.
Investigate mortality cause.
Normal
Monitor
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule outlined in Stepwise
Approach to Rehabilitation at Cristal
Murray-Darling Basin Mine Sites
>50% reduction
in N, P or K
Monitor for 3 seasons
Apply soil ameliorant as per Soil
Scientists recommendations
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
> 80 %
reduction in N, P
or K
Monitor for 3 seasons
Apply soil ameliorant as per Soil
Scientists recommendations
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Normal
0-5% calcium
carbonate
Monitor
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Rehabilitation – Soil TARP #3
Topsoil
TARP #3
Topsoil
Carbonate levels
% calcium
Test calcium carbonate % as per
normal soil chemistry testing
Environmental Officer
Environmental Officer
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carbonate
TARP #3
Med Fizz
5-10%
calcium
carbonate
Monitor vegetation for
response
Strategically re-seed with lime tolerant
indigenous species if deemed to be
required by Ecologist
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
High Fizz
>10% calcium
carbonate
Monitor vegetation for
response
Re-seed with lime tolerant indigenous
species if deemed to be required by
Ecologist
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
< 4 dS/m
(Normal)
Topsoil Salinity
ECe
dS/m
TARP #3
4-8 dS/m
(Medium)
8-16 dS/m
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Environmental Officer
Monitor for 3 seasons
Apply soil ameliorant as per Soil
Scientists recommendations
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Monitor for 3 seasons
Apply soil ameliorant as per Soil
Scientists recommendations
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Monitor and replace if
necessary
Apply soil ameliorant as per Soil
Scientists recommendations. Relay or
replace topsoil as per Soil Scientists
recommendations
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
(High)
>16dS/m
(Very High)
Pest Plants and Animals TARP #4
Normal
Feral Goats
TARP #4
Weeds
TARP #4
Mobs of <10
head sighted
regularly
Monitor
Mobs of >10
head
sighted regularly
Undertake control works
Normal
Control as per Cristal’s Mine Land
Management Plan
Instigate trapping, mustering and
culling immediately
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Environmental Officer
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Non Noxious
weeds
Monitor
Include in rehabilitation monitoring
schedule
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Declared
Noxious weeds
Map and monitor
infestation
Instigate weed control as per
Wentworth Shire council requirements
Senior Rehabilitation Officer
Normal
Continue as per Community
Consultation Plan
Human Resources /Environmental
Department
No Complaints
Continue as per Community
Consultation Plan
Human Resources /Environmental
Department
Respond to complaints and rectify any
issues within Cristal’s control.
Consultation with regulators if required
Human Resources /Environmental
Department
Normal
Monitor as per normal rehabilitation
schedule
Environmental Compliance Officer
Change in ideals
Review and/or update Rehabilitation
Plans and requirements
Environmental Compliance Officer
Change in
Policy
Review rehabilitation plans and consult
with regulator as required
Environmental Compliance Officer
Community/Regulators TARP #5
Community
TARP #5
Complaints
Regulators
TARP #5
Act on complaint as per
Community
Consultation Plan
All reporting in association with this Trigger Action Response Plan will be capture in the Ginkgo/Crayfish Annual Environmental Management Report. Should an
event be deemed reportable by the Cristal Environmental Department a written report will be prepared and submitted to NSW Trade & Investment – Division of
Resources and Energy.
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9 Reporting
9.1
Annual Review
DA 251-09-01 Schedule 5, Section 4.
By the end of March each year or as otherwise agreed with the Secretary, the Applicant shall
review the environmental performance of the development to the satisfaction of the Secretary. This
review must:
(a) describe the development (including any rehabilitation) that was carried out in the past calendar
year, and the development that is proposed to be carried out over the current calendar year;
(b) include a comprehensive review of the monitoring results and complaints records of the
development over the past calendar year, which includes a comparison of these results against the:
(i) relevant statutory requirements, limits or performance measures/criteria;
(ii) requirements of any plan or program required under this consent;
(iii) monitoring results of previous years; and
(c) relevant predictions in the EIS and associated modifications;
(d) identify any non-compliance over the past calendar year, and describe what actions were (or
are being) taken to ensure compliance;
(e) identify any trends in the monitoring data over the life of the development;
(f) identify any discrepancies between the predicted and actual impacts of the development, and
analyse the potential cause of any significant discrepancies; and
(g) describe what measures will be implemented over the current calendar year to improve the
environmental performance of the development.
Annual Environmental Management Report
Ginkgo’s AEMR will be submitted each year within 28 days of the reporting period lapsing. The
Ginkgo’s AEMR will be consistent with the current NSW Department of Primary Industries – Mineral
Resources Extract from edg03 mremp guide V3.doc (or later versions).
In addition to standard requirements set out in the abovementioned guide, Cristal will report on if
required the Trigger Action Response Plan activities in the AEMR.
9.1.1
Annual Environmental Management Report
Ginkgo’s AEMR will be submitted each year within 28 days of the reporting period lapsing. The
Ginkgo’s AEMR will be consistent with the current NSW Department of Primary Industries – Mineral
Resources Extract from edg03 mremp guide V3.doc (or later versions).
In addition to standard requirements set out in the abovementioned guide, Cristal will report on if
required the Trigger Action Response Plan activities in the AEMR.
9.1.2
Results of Trials
The program described in Section 8.2, will have its results summarised and reported in the
corresponding years AEMR. Upon successful completion of the program all findings will be
published in the relevant scientific journals.
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9.1.3
Environmental Incidents
All environmental incidents as defined in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997
(POEO Act) and the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation (2009) will be
reported as per Cristal’s Pollution Incident Response Management Plan.
All incidents will be reported in the AEMR.
9.1.4
Results of Rehabilitation Monitoring
All rehabilitation monitoring results are captured by an independent environmental consultancy and
reported in the AEMR as an appendix.
10 Plans
1A
Pre Mining Environment – Project Locality
1B
Pre Mining Environment – Natural Environment
1C
Pre Mining Environment – Built Environment
2
Mine Domains at Commencement of MOP - 85 Mtn Ore Mined
3A
Mining and Rehabilitation - 100 Mtn Ore Mined
3B
Mining and Rehabilitation - 115 Mtn Ore Mined
3C
Mining and Rehabilitation - 120 Mtn Ore Mined
4
Mining and Rehabilitation and Post-mining Land use at the end of Planning
Approval
10.1 Cross Sections
5A
Final Rehabilitation and Post-Mining Land use Sections (Ginkgo)
5B
Final Rehabilitation and Post-Mining Land use Sections (Ginkgo)
5C
Final Rehabilitation and Post-Mining Land use Sections (Ginkgo)
5D
Final Rehabilitation and Post-Mining Land use Sections (Crayfish)
5E
Final Rehabilitation and Post-Mining Land use Sections (Crayfish)
10.2 Review and Implementation of the MOP
10.2.1 Review of the MOP
Review of this MOP will be in accordance with DA 251-09-01 Schedule 5 Section 5.
REVISION OF STRATEGIES, PLANS AND PROGRAMS
Within 3 months of:
(a) submitting an annual review under condition 4;
(b) submitting an incident report under condition 6;
(c) submitting an audit report under condition 8; or
(d) any modification to the conditions of this consent;
The applicant shall review the strategies, plans, and programs required under this approval to the
satisfaction of the Secretary. Where this review leads to revisions in any such document, then
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within 2 months of the review the revised document must be submitted for the approval of the
secretary.
10.2.2 Implementation
It is the responsibility of the Environmental and Mine Planning Departments to monitor, review, and
implement this MOP. Final approval of the MOP, and any future modification approval, is the
responsibility of the Company Director.
11 References
Australia. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and the Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC), (2013) Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and
Improvement Strategy – Caring for our Country and the Biodiversity Fund
Cristal Mining Australia (2014), Annual Environmental Management Report Ginkgo Mineral Sands Mine,
Schweitzer, A. & Issacs, B.
CSIRO, (2004) Landscape function analysis: Procedures for monitoring and assessing landscapes – with
special reference to Mine sites and Rangeland, Tongway, D. and Hindley, N.
Department of Land and Water Conservation, (1988) System used to classify rural lands in New South Wales,
Cunningham, G. Higginson, F. Riddler, A. And Emery, E.
International Council on Mining & Metals, (2006) Good Practice Guidance for Mining and Biodiversity, London,
UK.
Loch, R. (2009), OB2 and DMU batter design, Letter to Michael Priest, 6 Mar 2009. [11 Dec 2013]
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries – Mineral Resources (2006), Environmental Management
rd
Guidelines for Industry, 3 Edition, McGlynn, J.
New South Wales, Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation (2009), [Online], Available:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/poteor2009601/ [16 Dec 2013]
New South Wales, Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997,
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/poteoa1997455/ [16 Dec 2013]
[Online],
Available:
NSW Agriculture, (2002) Agricultural Land Classification Agfact AC.25, Wagga Wagga: Hulme, T. Grosskopf,
T. Hindle, J.
Speight (1990), Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook (ASLSFH) – pages 4-57
12 APPENDIX
Appendix 1: Cristal’s Mines Flora and Fauna Environmental Management Plan
Appendix 2: Cristal’s Mines Erosion and Sediment Control Environmental Management Plan
Appendix 3: Cristal’s Air Quality Management Plan
Appendix 4: Cristal’s Cultural Heritage Management Plan
Appendix 5: Cristal’s Mines Bushfire Management Plan
Appendix 6: Bore field Impact Management Plan
Appendix 7: Cristal’s Community Consultation Plan
Appendix 8: Pollution Incident Response Management
Appendix 9: Cristal’s Landfill and Waste Management Plan
Appendix 10: Cristal’s Mines Noise Environmental Management Plan
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Appendix 11: Cristal’s Traffic Management Plan & Code of Conduct
Appendix 12: Cristal’s Mines Energy Management Plan.
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Ginkgo Mine/Crayfish Expansion MOP Period 2016 – 2021 CRISTAL MINING AUSTRALIA