ENVIPERT00599AA OZ Minerals Golden Grove Fauna Assessment 001 St V1 11 December 2008 CONTENTS
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RECORD OF DISTRIBUTION No. of Report File Name Report Date Prepared for: Initials copies Status ENVIPERT00599AA_Fauna 1 V1 06 December 2008 OZ Minerals Golden Grove ST Assessment_001_st_V1 ENVIPERT00599AA_Fauna 1 V1 06 December 2008 Coffey Environments Pty Ltd ST Assessment_001_st_V1 Coffey Environments ENVIPERT00599AA_OZ Minerals Golden Grove Fauna Assessment_001_st_V1 11 December 2008 CONTENTS LIST OF ATTACHMENTS III 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 Background 2 1.2 Scope of Works 2 2 METHODOLOGY 3 2.1 Database search and literature review 3 2.2 Reconnaissance and Targeted Species Search 4 2.3 Limitations 4 3 RESULTS 6 3.1 Fauna Habitat in the Project Area 6 3.2 Climate 6 3.3 Fauna Potentially Found in the Project Area 7 3.4 Significant Fauna Species Recorded or Predicted to Occur in the Project Area 7 4 BIODIVERSITY VALUES 13 5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND RISK ASSESSMENT 14 5.1 Adequacy of the Available Data to Assess Potential Impacts of the Proposed Development on Fauna in the Area. 14 5.2 Environmental Impacts 14 5.2.1 Significant Habitat for Fauna Indigenous to Western Australia 14 5.2.2 Threatened Ecological Fauna Communities 14 5.2.3 Loss or Degradation of Fauna Habitat 14 5.2.4 Feral Fauna 15 5.2.5 Altered Fauna Assemblages 15 5.3 Risk Assessment 15 6 MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO MINIMISE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 20 Coffey Environments ENVIPERT00599AA_OZ Minerals Golden Grove Fauna Assessment_001_st_V1 11 December 2008 CONTENTS 6.1 Habitat Fragmentation 20 6.2 Management of Tailings Facility 20 7 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 22 7.1 Summary 22 7.2 Conclusions 22 7.3 Recommendations 23 8 REFERENCES 24 Coffey Environments ENVIPERT00599AA_OZ Minerals Golden Grove Fauna Assessment_001_st_V1 11 December 2008 LIST OF ATTACHMENTS Figures Figure 1: Regional Location Figure 2: Site Layout and Location of Malleefowl Mounds Appendices Appendix A: Threatened and Priority Fauna Database Search Appendix B: List of Fauna Potentially Occurring in the Area Coffey Environments ENVIPERT00599AA_OZ Minerals Golden Grove Fauna Assessment_001_st_V1 11 December 2008 I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Coffey Environments was commissioned to undertake a Level 1 terrestrial fauna risk assessment for the proposed expansion of the tailings storage facilities (TSF3) at OZ Minerals Golden Grove mine site. Two ‘project areas’ were assessed, with the combined area being approximately 150ha. One project area is located to the north-west of the existing TSF2, while the other project area is located to the north of TSF1. A search of the Western Australian Museum on-line database ( FaunaBase ), the Department of Environment and Conservation’s Threatened and Priority Species database and the Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts’ Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 on-line database were use to determine the conservation significant species potentially found in the TSF3 project areas. This data was supported by information from other fauna surveys in the Yalgoo/Murchison/Midwest bioregions and a survey of the TSF3 project areas to examine fauna habitats, grid search the area for active Malleefowl mounds and to look for trees containing hollows that might be suitable nesting sites for Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo. The proposed development of TSF3 in the project area will result in the loss of some already disturbed vegetation. However, the available habitat type is replicated many times in adjacent areas, and although any loss of any vegetation should be minimised, clearing of the proposed TSF3 project area is unlikely to significantly impact on fauna within the general area and region. There were no active Malleefowl mounds, nor trees that contained hollows that could be used as potential nesting sites for Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo in the proposed TSF3 project areas. The proposed TSF3 project areas are unlikely to contain Western Spiny-tailed or Gilled Slender Blue-tongue skinks. Any conservation significant avian species that may infrequently use the area will move to adjacent areas once vegetation clearing commences and are unlikely to be significantly impacted on by the proposed development. Coffey Environments’ assessment is that the proposed development has a low risk of causing any significant loss of a fauna or a fauna assemblage of conservation significance and that clearing of vegetation in the proposed project area for the TSF3 is unlikely to have a significant impact on the terrestrial fauna or an important terrestrial fauna ecosystem. Coffey Environments’ assessment of clearing small parcels of vegetation within the proposed TSF3 project area will have a low risk of significantly impacting on: • terrestrial fauna in a regional context; • species of conservation significance; • an ecosystem of high functional value; and • an ecosystem that is important in a regional context. Clearing of vegetation may result in the loss of individuals and species at a local scale. Coffey Environments recommends that: • where possible, the location of the TSF3 should be adjacent to or contain habitat that is of low quality or already disturbed; • where there is a choice in areas to be cleared, preference should be given to those areas that do not fragment existing fauna habitat types; and • continue to follow the principles of environmental management contained within the Cyanide Code of Practice to minimise the impact of toxin bearing tailings on wildlife, and in particular on avian fauna. Coffey Environments ENVIPERT00599AA_OZ Minerals Golden Grove Fauna Assessment_001_st_V1 11 December 2008 1 Tailing Storage Facilities - Golden Grove 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Coffey Environments was commissioned to undertake a Level 1 terrestrial fauna risk assessment for the proposed construction of a third Tailings Storage Facility (TSF3) at OZ Minerals Golden Grove mine site. Two ‘project areas’ were assessed (Figure 2), with the total area being approximately 150ha. One project area is located to the north-west of the existing TSF2, while the other project area is located to the north of TSF. OZ Minerals intends to select one of the two project areas for the location of the TSF3. The Golden Grove mine is located approximately 370km north-east of Perth and approximately 50km south of Yalgoo (Figure 1), in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The project areas are situated on Mining Leases M59/03, M59/90 and M59/227, which lie over the Muralgarra and Badja Pastoral Leases. Both pastoral leases have recently been destocked, however goats remain prevalent. There is evidence that the project areas have been extensively explored for minerals over many years (exploration tracks and drill holes). Yilgarn Traders (2008a) reported 12 different vegetation associations within the project area located to the north-west of the existing TSF2. Seventy nine plant species were identified during the summer-autumn period, and the vegetation associations encompassed heath, shrubland and woodland communities. Many of the vegetation associations were linked to the topography and soil type. 1.2 Scope of Works This Level 1 fauna assessment includes. • A review of the Western Australian Museum ( FaunaBase ) and Terrestrial Ecosystems fauna databases to identify potential vertebrate fauna in the area; • A search of the Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts’ on-line database to identify fauna species of conservation significance occurring in the area; • A review of the DECs Threatened and Priority species database for species of conservation significance likely to be in the area; • A review of published and unpublished literature that Coffey Environments could access to provide a list of fauna that have potential to occur in the region; • A search of the project area for Malleefowl mounds and tree hollows that could potentially be used as nesting hollows by Cockatoos; • Bat echolocation recordings and opportunistic observations; • Discussion of the potential impacts of the development on fauna and fauna habitat; and • Management recommendations to minimise potential impacts of the development on the fauna. Coffey Environments 2 ENVIPERT00599AA_OZ Minerals Golden Grove Fauna Assessment_001_st_V1 11 December 2008 Tailing Storage Facilities - Golden Grove 2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 Database search and literature review A recent search of the Western Australian Museum on-line database ( FaunaBase ) undertaken by ENV (2008), combined with data from Terrestrial Ecosystems’ fauna database were used to develop a list of potential birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians occurring in the project area. Coffey Environments also conducted a search of the Department of Environment and Conservation’s (DEC) Threatened and Priority Species database and searched the Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 on-line database (search area -28.26 - -28.91 oN latitude and 116.55 - 117.30 oE longitude) for species of conservation significance that are likely to be found in the area. The Golden Grove mine site has not had a comprehensive terrestrial fauna survey undertaken since the work by Ninox Wildlife Consulting in 1997. In order to develop an appreciation of the potential terrestrial fauna assemblage in the area, other surveys undertaken within the region have been collated and reviewed. These include: • Alan Tingay and Assoc (1996) Vertebrate Fauna Koolanooka Mine Site Morawa . Unpublished report for Kingstream resources, NL. • ATA Environmental (2004)