Z20 SEIA Draft Scoping Report
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SEIA for Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit Page | i Röössissingng Uranium Uranium Limited Limited Rio Tinto Rössing Uranium Limited Private Bag 5005 Swakopmund Namibia SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT: PROPOSED MINING OF THE Z20 URANIUM DEPOSIT FINAL DRAFT SCOPING REPORT • Mining of the Z20 ore body including disposal of waste rock; • An infrastructure corridor across the Khan River; • Production of sulfuric acid at Rössing; • Processing plant modifications; • Changes to the present Tailings Storage Facility; and • Establishment of a new High Density Tailings Storage Facility on the Rössing Dome NOVEMBER 2012 FINAL DRAFT Aurecon Namibia (Pty) Ltd SLR Environmental Consulting Namibia (Pty) Ltd Aurecon Centre 6 Tobias Hainyeko Street 189 Newton Street Swakopmund Windhoek Namibia Namibia Tel: +264 64 402 317 Tel: +264 61 297 7000 Fax: +264 64 403 327 Fax: +264 61 297 7007 SEIA for Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit Page | ii PROJECT DETAILS TITLE Social and Environmental Impact Assessment for the Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit - Draft Scoping Report AUTHORS Andries van der Merwe: Aurecon South Africa (Pty) Ltd Stephan van den Berg: Aurecon South Africa (Pty) Ltd Karen de Bruyn: Aurecon South Africa (Pty) Ltd Werner Petrick: SLR Consulting Namibia (Pty) Ltd Robyn Christians: SLR Consulting Namibia (Pty) Ltd SUB-CONSULTANTS African Wilderness Restoration Airshed Planning Professionals (Pty) Ltd Biodata Burmeister & Partners (Pty) Ltd NECSA Ptersa Environmental Management Consultants Quaternary Research Services RPS Aquaterra Urban Dynamics Visual Resource Management Africa cc CLIENT Rio Tinto Rössing Uranium Limited REPORT STATUS Final Draft REPORT NUMBER 6583/108936 RELEASE DATE 16 November 2012 ANDRIES VAN DER MERWE PrEng Technical Director: Aurecon Environment and Advisory Services WERNER PETRICK Environmental Assessment Practitioner - Manager Namibia: SLR This report is to be referred to in bibliographies as: Aurecon and SLR. 2012. Social and Environmental Impact Assessment Draft Scoping Report: Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit. (Report No 6583/108936). Aurecon electronic pathway: P:\Projects\108936 SEIA for Z20 Mining Corridor\03 PRJ Del\6 REP\Scoping report Draft Scoping Report Aurecon and SLR (2012) No unauthorised reproduction, copy or adaptation, in whole or in part, may be made. SEIA for Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit Page | iii DISTRIBUTION CONTROL Purpose Authority DRAFT REPORT (Distributed November 2012) Arandis library Swakopmund library Public review Uranium Institute (Swakopmund) Windhoek library Rio Tinto Swakopmund Offices MME MHSS Rössing Uranium Ltd Department of Water Affairs NamPower Official submission for review / comments NamPort TransNamib Erongo Regional Council Arandis Town Council Swakopmund Town Council Walvis Bay Town Council Rössing Uranium Ltd Internet copies Aurecon Draft Scoping Report Aurecon and SLR (2012) No unauthorised reproduction, copy or adaptation, in whole or in part, may be made. SEIA for Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit Page | iv CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xiii Introduction xiii Project location and context xiii Proposed project xiii Alternatives assessed xiv Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) Process xv Public Participation Process xv Potential socio-economic and biophysical impacts xviii Assessment methodology xix Impact assessment xix Socio-economic conclusions xix Visual impact assessment conclusions xx Biodiversity impact assessment conclusions xx Archaeology impact assessment conclusions xxi Noise impact assessment conclusions xxi Surface Water impact assessment conclusions xxi Air Quality impact assessment conclusions xxii Radiation impact assessment conclusions xxii SEIA STATEMENT xxiii Way forward xxv 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.2 PROJECT BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION 2 1.2.1 Existing Environmental Approvals 2 1.3 MOTIVATION FOR THE PROJECT 3 1.4 SEIA PROCESS 4 1.4.1 Approach to SEIA 4 1.4.2 Activities to be undertaken in the SEIA 4 1.4.3 SEIA Team 5 2 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 7 2.1 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA 7 2.2 VISION 2030 7 2.3 APPLICABLE LAWS AND POLICIES, STANDARDS AND CONVENTIONS 7 2.3.1 Legislation relating to socio-economic issues 8 2.3.2 Namibia’s Environmental Assessment Policy of 1995 8 2.3.3 The Environmental Management Act 8 2.3.4 Namibia’s Minerals Act 10 2.3.5 The Water Act and Water Resource Management Act 10 2.3.6 Namibia Water Corporation Act 10 2.3.7 Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Ordinance 10 2.3.8 Nature Conservation Ordinance 10 2.3.9 Parks and Wildlife Management Bill 10 2.3.10 Namib Naukluft National Park Management and Tourism Development Plan 11 2.3.11 National Heritage Act 11 2.3.12 Inland Fisheries Resources 11 2.3.13 Forest Act 11 2.3.14 Pollution Control and Waste Management 11 2.3.15 Atomic Energy and Radiation Protection 11 2.3.16 Strategic Environmental Assessment for the central Namib Uranium Rush 12 2.3.17 Convention on Biological Diversity 14 2.3.18 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 14 2.3.19 Convention to Combat Desertification 14 2.3.20 Rössing Uranium/Rio Tinto’s Internal Standards 14 2.3.21 Other Legislation and Conventions 15 3 SCOPING METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 INFORMATION COLLECTION 16 Draft Scoping Report Aurecon and SLR (2012) No unauthorised reproduction, copy or adaptation, in whole or in part, may be made. SEIA for Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit Page | v 3.2 SCOPING REPORT 17 3.3 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS 18 3.3.1 Identification of Stakeholders 18 3.3.2 Phases in the PPP 19 3.3.3 Summary of Issues Raised 21 4 DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT 22 4.1 SITE LOCATION, EXTENT AND CONTEXT 22 4.2 EXISTING SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT 23 4.2.1 Rössing employees 23 4.2.2 Household water 24 4.2.3 Health services 24 4.2.4 Education services 24 4.2.5 Other services 24 4.3 EXISTING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 24 4.3.1 Minerals sector 25 4.3.2 Fishing and marine resources 25 4.3.3 Tourism 25 4.3.4 Agriculture 25 4.4 EXISTING BIOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES 26 4.4.1 Climate 26 4.4.2 Topography 30 4.4.3 Geology 32 4.4.4 Namib Naukluft National Park 34 4.4.5 Biodiversity 34 4.4.6 Water 48 4.4.7 Archaeology 51 4.5 AMBIENT BASELINE CONDITIONS 53 4.5.1 Radiological baseline 53 4.5.2 Air quality 53 4.5.3 Noise 54 4.5.4 Visual 57 4.5.5 Energy 58 5 DESCRIPTION OF THE EXISTING OPERATIONS AND PROPOSED PROJECT 60 5.1 EXISTING OPERATIONS 60 5.2 PROPOSED PROJECT 61 5.2.1 Mining of the Z20 Pit 63 5.2.2 Linear infrastructure corridor 63 5.2.3 Production of sulfuric acid 71 5.2.4 Processing plant modifications 72 5.2.5 Changes to Tailings Storage Facility and Establishment of New High Density Tailings Storage Facility 73 6 ALTERNATIVES 75 6.1 PRODUCT TRANSPORT 75 6.2 ACCESS ROAD 76 6.3 WATER SUPPLY PIPELINE 77 6.4 DIESEL SUPPLY 77 6.5 RÖSSING PLANT MODIFICATIONS 78 6.5.1 Coarse Ore Stockpile and Milling Circuit 78 6.6 Z20 MINING OPTIONS 78 6.7 WASTE ROCK DUMP SCENARIOS 78 6.8 TAILINGS DISPOSAL 79 6.9 NO-GO ALTERNATIVE 79 7 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY 81 7.1 SUBJECTIVITY IN ASSIGNING SIGNIFICANCE 83 7.2 CONSIDERATION OF CUMULATIVE IMPACTS 84 Draft Scoping Report Aurecon and SLR (2012) No unauthorised reproduction, copy or adaptation, in whole or in part, may be made. SEIA for Proposed Mining of the Z20 Uranium Deposit Page | vi 8 IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF POTENTIAL SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND IMPACTS 86 9 IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION MEASURES RELATING TO THE Z20 INFRASTRUCTURE CORRIDOR 98 9.1 SOCIO ECONOMIC 98 9.2 AIR QUALITY 99 9.2.1 PM10 Ground Level Concentrations 99 9.2.2 Dust fallout 104 9.2.3 Cumulative impacts 107 9.2.4 Mitigation measures 109 9.3 RADIATION 110 9.3.1 External exposure (direct radiation due to gamma rays) pathway 110 9.3.2 Dust inhalation 112 9.3.3 Radiation Doses from Radon Inhalation 115 9.3.4 Overall radiation 116 9.3.5 Dust inhalation, external exposure and radon inhalation 117 9.3.6 Mitigation measures 117 9.4 BIODIVERSITY 117 9.4.1 Impact of watercourse habitat loss due to road construction 118 9.4.2 Impact of road construction and operation on animal movement 119 9.4.3 Impact of road construction and operation on Husab Sand Lizard 120 9.4.4 Impact of aquatic habitat loss due to road construction 122 9.4.5 Impact of Hillslope habitat loss due to conveyor construction 123 9.4.6 Impact of conveyor and power line on bird populations due to bird collisions 124 9.4.7 Impact of road operation on susceptible vertebrate populations due to road kills 126 9.4.8 Impact of cumulative habitat loss on Khan Hillslope habitat range-restricted endemics 127 9.4.9 Impact of project on integrity of Namib Naukluft National Park 128 9.4.10 Further (generic) mitigation measures 129 9.5 ARCHAEOLOGY 130 9.5.1 Disturbance and/or destruction of sensitive archaeological sites 130 9.6 NOISE IMPACTS 132 9.6.1 Construction phase 132 9.6.2 Operational phase 136 9.6.3 Decommissioning Phase 142 9.6.4 Cumulative Impacts 142 9.6.5 Mitigation measures 142 9.7 SURFACE WATER 144 9.7.1 Aerial Conveyor 144 9.7.2 Road Bridge 145 9.7.3 Mitigation measures 145 9.8 VISUAL IMPACTS 146 9.8.1 Construction phase 146 9.8.2 Operational phase 150 9.8.3 Decommissioning phase 151 9.8.4 General mitigation measures 153 9.8.5 Cumulative impacts 153 9.9 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS 153 10 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS 154 10.1 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY 154 10.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE 154 10.2.1 Social 154 10.2.2 Visual 155 10.2.3 Biodiversity 155 10.2.4 Archaeology 156 10.2.5 Noise 156 10.2.6 Vibration impacts 157 10.2.7 Geohydrology 157 10.2.8 Surface Water 157 10.2.9 Air Quality 157 10.2.10 Radiation 158 10.2.11 Traffic 158 Draft Scoping Report Aurecon and SLR (2012) No unauthorised reproduction, copy or adaptation, in whole or in part, may be made.