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Cape Cross Salt Mining ENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES ON EXCLUSIVE PROSPECTING LICENCE EPL4185 AT WLOTZKASBAKEN January 2013 Prepared by: Gecko Namibia (Pty) Ltd Gecko House 8 Sinclair Road Windhoek, Namibia Reviewed by: Nam Enviro Management and Training Services cc Mutjinde Katjiua SUMMARY Gecko Namibia (Pty) Ltd, in the name of its subsidiary Gecko Salt (Pty) Ltd holds EPL4185 which covers 75,335 hectares of coastal desert plains from north of Swakopmund to just south of the Henties Bay peri-urban area. Gecko intends to establish the “Vision Industrial Park” and harbour within the area. The development will require a large amount of fine and coarse aggregate material as well as armour stone for the construction of a breakwater facility. Besides the envisaged VIP development, Gecko is in the process of exploring a number of high-grade marble occurrences on this EPL. As part of the EPL4185 falls within the Dorob National Park, Gecko is submitting this EIA together with Environmental Questionnaires and other prescribed documentation in application for an Environmental Clearance Certificate under the Environmental Management Act of 2007. The company has drawn up an Environmental Management Plan for the prospecting operations and is currently in the process of implementing those measures. Management and exterior control on the adherence of the proposed mitigation actions are considered important tools in preventing negative environmental impacts from the operations. Activities during the exploration phase include sampling, testing and exploratory drilling. The activities are temporary and are conducted at a small scale than those at the drilling/development, production, and decommissioning/reclamation phases. The impacts described for each resource would occur from typical exploration activities, such as vehicular traffic exploration drilling and bulk sampling. Potential impacts from these activities are presented in this study. Gecko Namibia (Pty) Ltd EIA for EPL4185 January2013 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 4 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT .................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 EXPLORATION ON EPL4185 .................................................................................................................. 4 2.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) ............................................ 5 3. ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 5 4. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................. 7 4.1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................... 7 4.1.1 Location and geography of the area ................................................................................................ 7 4.1.2 Land ownership and surface rights .................................................................................................. 8 4.1.3 Exploration Targets .......................................................................................................................... 9 4.1.4 Exploration conducted and activities undertaken to date ................................................................. 9 4.1.4.1 Solar salt ................................................................................................................................. 9 4.1.4.2 Marble Exploration carried out and activities undertaken to date .......................................... 10 4.1.4.3 Aggregates & armour stone raw material .............................................................................. 12 5. EXISTING DAMAGE ....................................................................................................................................... 13 6. INDUSTRIAL USES OF THE LICENSE AREA ............................................................................................... 14 6.1 SALT COMPANY ................................................................................................................................... 14 6.2 AREVA REVERSE OSMOSIS DESALINATION PLANT AT WLOTZKASBAKAN ................................. 14 7. ENVISAGED FUTURE EXPLORATION ......................................................................................................... 14 7.1 AGGREGATES FOR THE VIP DEVELOPMENT: SAND, CRUSHED ROCK, BOULDERS AND AMOUR STONE ................................................................................................................................................. 14 7.1.1 SwaCa calcite marbles .................................................................................................................. 14 7.1.2 Granitic pegmatites ........................................................................................................................ 15 7.1.3 General reconnaissance for industrial minerals mineralization within the EPL .............................. 15 7.1.4 Further work to explore the possibility of crystallizing salt within the area ..................................... 15 8. DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL IMPACT BY THE ENVISAGED EXPLORATION ................................................................................................................ 15 8.1 GEOLOGICAL SETTINGS ..................................................................................................................... 15 8.1.1 Regional Geology .......................................................................................................................... 15 8.1.2 Local Geology ................................................................................................................................ 16 8.2 CLIMATE ................................................................................................................................................ 17 8.2.1 Wind and Atmospheric Dispersion Potential .................................................................................. 17 8.2.2 Precipitation ................................................................................................................................... 19 8.2.3 Temperature .................................................................................................................................. 20 8.3 AIR QUALITY AND NOISE LEVELS ...................................................................................................... 21 8.3.1 Baseline Air Quality for the Region ................................................................................................ 21 8.3.2 Baseline Noise Levels ................................................................................................................... 24 Gecko Namibia (Pty) Ltd EIA for EPL4185 January2013 2 8.4 BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................. 24 8.4.1 Fauna ............................................................................................................................................ 24 8.4.1.1 Avifauna ................................................................................................................................ 25 8.4.2 Flora .............................................................................................................................................. 25 8.4.3 Lichens .......................................................................................................................................... 27 8.5 OTHER POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ................................................................................ 28 8.5.1 Archaeology and Cultural History .................................................................................................. 28 8.5.2 Health and Safety .......................................................................................................................... 28 8.5.3 Hazardous Materials and Waste Management .............................................................................. 28 8.5.4 Land Use ....................................................................................................................................... 29 8.5.5 Socio-economic Environment ........................................................................................................ 29 8.5.6 Visual impact ................................................................................................................................. 29 8.5.7 Water Resources (Surface Water and Groundwater) .................................................................... 29 8.5.8 Accommodation of Exploration Labour .......................................................................................... 30 8.5.9 Conduct of the Workers ................................................................................................................. 30 8.5.10 Tourism .......................................................................................................................................... 31 9. MANAGEMENT PLAN TO MITIGATE NEGATIVE IMPACTS .......................................................................
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