Mining Area C – Southern Flank:

Troglofauna Assessment

Prepared for: Prepared for:

BHP Billiton Iron Ore BHP Billiton Iron Ore

November 2016 Final Report

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Mining Area C – Southern Flank: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Mining Area C – Southern Flank: Troglofauna Assessment

Bennelongia Pty Ltd 5 Bishop Street Jolimont WA 6014

P: (08) 9285 8722 F: (08) 9285 8811 E: [email protected]

ACN: 124 110 167

Report Number: 275

Report Version Prepared by Reviewed by Submitted to Client

Method Date

Draft Renee Young Stuart Halse email 28 June 2016

Draft 2 Renee Young Stuart Halse email 26 August 2016

Stuart Halse Draft 3 email 20 September 2016 Michael Curran Stuart Halse Final email 19 October 2016 Michael Curran Stuart Halse Final 2 Michael Curran email 25 November 2016 Michael Curran K:\Projects\B_BHPBIO_70\Troglofauna report\Sent\Final\Final2\Final3\BEC_SF_Troglofauna_Assessment_final6ii17a.docx

This document has been prepared to the requirements of the Client and is for the use by the Client, its agents, and Bennelongia Environmental Consultants. Copyright and any other Intellectual Property associated with the document belongs to Bennelongia Environmental Consultants and may not be reproduced without written permission of the Client or Bennelongia. No liability or responsibility is accepted in respect of any use by a third party or for purposes other than for which the document was commissioned. Bennelongia has not attempted to verify the accuracy and completeness of information supplied by the Client. © Copyright 2017 Bennelongia Pty Ltd.

vi Mining Area C – Southern Flank: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Background BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd (BHP Billiton Iron Ore) proposes to develop and operate a new satellite iron ore deposit located immediately south of the existing Mining Area C Mine at Southern Flank which will become part of the Mining Area C Mine (the Proposal). The Proposal is located approximately 90 kilometres (km) north east of Newman in the Pilbara Region of Western . The additional ore sources are required to provide sufficient feed to sustain the current level of iron ore production from the BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pilbara mines. The Proposal will construct and utilise ore processing facilities, including ore handling plant, stockpiles and train load out facilities located at the existing Mining Area C Mine. Primary crushing and open pit mining activities will take place in the Southern Flank locality. This approach reflects BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s current approach of developing new orebodies which are able to utilise infrastructure around established mining hubs. This approach will also minimise the amount of clearing required for development of the new deposit. This report provides an assessment of potential impacts to troglofauna from proposed developments of satellite orebodies at Southern Flank (the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area). All troglofauna surveys in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope have been conducted in accordance with the recommendations of the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) Guidance Statement 54A and expectations of Environmental Assessment Guideline 12 and nearly 2750 troglofauna samples have been collected.

Altogether, 126 species belonging to 19 Orders were recorded within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope. Fifty-one species of 16 Orders were collected from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, with 21 of these species known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (or only there and within existing approved mining areas).

Reliable definition of the ranges of low abundance species requires extensive sampling but ranges may also be inferred from habitat profile information and geological mapping, combined with information about the ranges of related species. While recognising that there is some uncertainty associated with inferences about species’ ranges, detailed habitat characterisation and evaluation of the ranges of related species suggests that for the 21 species known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area:  Sixteen species are unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and implementation of the Proposal is considered unlikely to threaten their conservation.  Four species are possibly restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. These are the Prethopalpus julianneae and Prethopalpus sp. B15 (both at the western end of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area) and the isopods nr Andricophiloscia sp. B16 and Philosciidae sp. B03 (both in the south of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area towords the eastern side). Three species were collected from single drill holes as single and 17 specimens of Philosciidae sp. B03 were collected from a single drill hole.  One species cannot be assigned to a likelihood category because of lack of information. This is the dipluran Parajapygidae `DPL024`, which was collected as a singletoon in the south of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, towards the eastern side.

While the EPA’s objectives for populations and assemblages of subterranean fauna are likely to be met by the Proposal, there is uncertainty whether the EPA’s species objective will be met for the five troglofauna species in the ‘uncertain’ or ‘possibly restricted’ distribution categories. A conservative application of the precautionary principle suggests implementation of the Proposal may possibly threaten the persistence or alter the conservation status of these species.

vii Mining Area C – Southern Flank: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... VII 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1. OVERVIEW OF OPERATION ...... 1 1.2. APPROVALS HISTORY ...... 1 1.3. CURRENT PROPOSAL ...... 1 1.4. REPORT OBJECTIVES ...... 4 2. BACKGROUND ...... 4 2.1. TROGLOFAUNA ...... 4 2.1.1. Habitat Requirements ...... 4 2.1.2. Principal Impact of Mining on Troglofauna ...... 5 2.1.3. Secondary Impacts of Mining on Troglofauna ...... 5 2.2. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ...... 5 3. INDICATIVE ADDITIONAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AREA ...... 6 4. HABITAT REVIEW ...... 6 4.1. GEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW ...... 6 5. TROGLOFAUNA SURVEYS ...... 7 5.1. TROGLOFAUNA SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS AT MINING AREA C ...... 7 5.2. TROGLOFAUNA OCCURRENCE AND ABUNDANCE ...... 8 5.3. SPECIES IDENTIFICATION ISSUES ...... 11 5.4. SPECIES DISTRIBUTIONS ...... 11 6. IMPACT EVALUATION ...... 11 6.1. SPECIES WITH RESTRICTED KNOWN RANGES ...... 11 6.2. THREAT TO SPECIES ...... 17 7. CONCLUSION ...... 29 8. REFERENCES ...... 32 APPENDICES ...... 35 Appendix 1 - Summary of Timing of all Troglofauna Surveys Within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope ...... 36 Appendix 2 – Extract from Executive Summary from Bennelongia 2014a ...... 38 Appendix 3 - Troglofauna Field and Laboratory Methods ...... 38 Appendix 4 –Higher level identifications (immature or incomplete specimens) ...... 40

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. PROPOSED MINING AREA C DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE IN RELATION TO OTHER BHP BILLITON IRON ORE PROJECTS AND EXPLORATION LEASES...... 2 FIGURE 2. PROPOSED MINING AREA C DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE...... 3 FIGURE 3. SITES SAMPLED AND THOSE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE FOR TROGLOFAUNA...... 9 FIGURE 4. ABUNDANCE OF TROGLOFAUNA IN THE PROPOSED MINING AREA C DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE...... 10 FIGURE 5. COLLECTED ONLY FROM PIT AREAS...... 26 FIGURE 6. MYRIAPODS AND ISOPODS COLLECTED ONLY FROM PIT AREAS...... 27 FIGURE 7. HEXAPODS COLLECTED ONLY FROM PIT AREAS...... 28 FIGURE 8. POSSIBLY RESTRICTED AND UNCERTAIN STATUS TROGLOFAUNA...... 31

LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. NUMBERS OF SAMPLES COLLECTED WITHIN THE PROPOSED MINING AREA C DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE...... 8 TABLE 2. TROGLOFAUNA SPECIES RECORDED FROM THE PROPOSED MINING AREA C DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE...... 12 TABLE 3. LIKELIHOOD OF TROGLOFAUNA SPECIES BEING RESTRICTED TO THE INDICATIVE ADDITIONAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AREA...... 29

viii Mining Area C – Southern Flank: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Overview of Operation BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd (BHP Billiton Iron Ore) proposes to develop and operate a new satellite iron ore deposit located immediately south of the existing Mining Area C Mine at Southern Flank which will become part of the Mining Area C Mine (the Proposal). The Proposal is located approximately 90 kilometres (km) north east of Newman in the Pilbara Region of (Figure 1). The Yandi deposit is reaching the end of its economic life, with available ore reserves expected to be depleted by approximately 2020. Additional ore sources are required to provide sufficient feed in order to sustain the current level of iron ore production from the BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pilbara mines. The Proposal will construct and utilise ore processing facilities, including ore handling plant, stockpiles and train load out facilities located at the existing Mining Area C Mine. Primary crushing and open pit mining activities will take place in the Southern Flank locality. This approach reflects BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s current focus on developing new orebodies that utilise existing infrastructure around established mining hubs. This approach will also minimise the amount of clearing required for development of the new deposit. 1.2. Approvals History An environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Mining Area C was conducted in 1997 via the Public Environmental Review (PER) process. The PER presented BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s proposal to mine 14 iron ore deposits in the Northern Flank Valley at Mining Area C (i.e. deposits A, B, C, D, E, F, R, P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, and the Brockman Detrital Deposit). This area is referred to herein as the Current Approved Development Envelope (Figure 2). A Ministerial Statement of Approval (MS 491) was issued by the Minister for the Environment in December 1998 under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act). Expansion of mining activities beyond the two initially approved deposits has been undertaken via a revision of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). In 2015, all deposits within the Current Approved Development Envelope were assessed under a Life of Asset revision of the EMP (Revision 6). 1.3. Current Proposal BHP Billiton Iron Ore is seeking to add the satellite ore bodies at Southern Flank (Figure 2) and to formalise the disturbance that is additional to what has already been assessed as part of the approved EMP revision 6 assessment. New processing facilities will be constructed to support incremental increases in mining activity as follows:  Primary Crushing (PC) facilities located south of existing infrastructure;  Run of Mine (ROM) pads and topsoil storage areas;  Overland conveyors;  Coarse Ore Stockpile (COS);  Ore Handling Plant (OHP) within existing Mining Area C lease area;  Upgrade to the existing stockyards and outflow facilities;  Duplication of the existing rail loop and addition of a second Train Load Out (TLO);  Advanced mine de-watering to support mining at Southern Flank;  Installation of supporting non-processes infrastructure (eg power lines, access roads) to support new mining area: and  Expansion of existing non-processing infrastructure (NPI) and industrial facilities to support production.

1 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Figure 1. Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope in relation to other BHP Billiton Iron Ore projects and exploration leases.

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Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

1.4. Report Objectives This report provides information about the potential effects on troglofauna of the additional developments proposed in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope. Previous assessments have considered the impacts to troglofauna within this envelope at Deposits A, B, C, D, E, F, R, P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 and the Brockman Detrital. The addition of Southern Flank (Figure 2) may alter the impact to some troglofauna species. Troglofauna species that have been assessed under previous revisions of the Mining Area C EMP and for which no change to level of impact is expected are omitted from this report.

The objectives of this assessment were: (1) To identify the troglofauna species present in proposed pit areas in the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (Figure 2). (2) To assess the potential impacts on troglofauna species from implementation of the Proposal, and to consider cumulative impacts of previous approved projects where appropriate. This was done by: (3) Identifying troglofauna species for which the impact within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope may be different from that described in Revision 6 of the EMP. (4) Determining the future conservation status of the troglofauna species present in the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area.

2. BACKGROUND

2.1. Troglofauna Troglofauna are air-breathing subterranean animals that occur in small fissures, cavities and other spaces in the underground matrix. Most troglofauna species have limited dispersal capacity and, therefore, have highly localised distributions (Lamoreux 2004; Halse et al. 2014). As a result of having small ranges, troglofauna species are vulnerable to extinction through habitat loss, and their conservation significance has been recognised by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in the requirement for assessment and protection during developments that may affect their habitat (EPA 2013).

2.1.1. Habitat Requirements Troglofauna habitat is usually considered to be found in the vadose zone from the lower layers of soil a few metres below the ground surface to the interface with groundwater (Halse and Pearson 2014). Troglofauna occupy interstices, vugs, cavities and fissures within this realm and their occurrence is therefore closely linked to lithology. If no fissures or voids are present, no troglofauna will occur. When subterranean spaces are present, the pattern of spaces largely determines the abundance and distribution of troglofauna. Vertical connectivity with the surface is important for supplying carbon and nutrients to maintain populations of different species (e.g. plant roots are an important surface connection), while lateral connectivity of voids is crucial to underground dispersal. At present the understanding of factors controlling the distributions of individual troglofauna species in the Pilbara is poorly developed. There is strong biological evidence that mesas comprise isolated habitat for some (but not all) troglofauna species in the Robe Valley (Biota 2006; Harvey et al. 2008). Data on the degree to which species are isolated by other landscape elements, such as dykes and faulting, is limited. Valleys often appear to act as barriers but then, in apparently similar situations, may show no sign of doing so (Bennelongia unpublished data).

4 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Troglofauna occur widely in the mineralised iron formations of the Pilbara (Bennelongia 2008a, b, c; 2009a, b; Biota 2006). There is relatively little information about the occurrence of troglofauna outside mineralised habitats because mine developments have been the primary reason for most of the sampling programs and, consequently, are the areas where drill holes are concentrated. However, it has been shown that troglofauna occur in calcrete and alluvium in the Pilbara (Edward and Harvey 2008; Rio Tinto 2008), Yilgarn (Barranco and Harvey 2008; Platnick 2008; Bennelongia 2009c) and elsewhere in Western Australia (Biota 2005a, b).

2.1.2. Principal Impact of Mining on Troglofauna Only impacts causing direct habitat loss are likely to threaten the persistence of troglofauna species. Typically, the only mining activity leading to direct habitat loss for troglofauna is mine pit excavation.

2.1.3. Secondary Impacts of Mining on Troglofauna There has been little research into the impact of reduced habitat quality, rather than habitat removal, on troglofauna. Factors potentially reducing habitat quality include changed habitat structure, reduced energy sources, ingress of pollutants and reduced humidity. Overall, it is considered here that these factors are more likely to reduce densities than threaten species persistence. Possible consequences of some factors are summarised below: (1) Percussion from blasting. Blasting may have indirect effects on troglofauna through reducing or altering underground structure (usually via rock fragmentation and collapse of voids). It is also possible that blast impacts could detrimentally affect some troglofauna directly through concussion. However, both types of effects are likely to dissipate rapidly with distance from the pit and blasting is not considered here as a significant impacting activity beyond the pit boundary. (2) Overburden stockpiles and waste dumps. These artificial landforms may reduce inputs of nutrients and dissolved organic matter to subterranean habitats as a result of reduced organic matter on the surface and perhaps reduced rainfall recharge. Rainfall may sometimes run off stockpiles rather than infiltrating through them. While stockpiles and dumps may create a shadow of reduced energy and nutrient sources, this is likely only to reduce the quality of habitat. Tree roots, which may provide an important source of energy and nutrients to troglofauna, are removed by all forms of land clearing,. (3) Contamination of landforms by hydrocarbons. Any contamination is likely to be localised and minimised by engineering and management practices for the containment of hydrocarbon products. It is not considered here as a likely risk to troglofauna. (4) Lowering the watertable in the vicinity of the mine pits. Lower water tables are sometimes thought to have the potential to impact on troglofauna by altering humidity. The humidity requirements of troglofauna have rarely been studied. While it has been stated that some cave species may persist at humidity greater than about 80% (Humphreys 1990), species in the landscape matrix are more likely to require humidity of very close to 100% (Howarth 1980; Hadley et al. 1981; Howarth and Stone 1990). While pit excavation can cause drying of habitat through the walls of the pit, in most situations dewatering below an undisturbed surface probably has little effect on humidity at depth (see Bennelongia 2008d).

2.2. Legislative Framework Environmental Assessment Guideline (EAG) 12 (EPA 2013), which supersedes the framework provided in Guidance Statement No. 54 (EPA 2003), provides advice on assessment of troglofauna within Western Australia. The recommendations regarding sampling methods in Guidance Statement 54A (EPA 2007) remain in place. The Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope assessment was conducted according to the general principles laid out in these documents.

5 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Legislative protection of species and communities in Western Australia is provided at two levels. The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 (WC Act) operates at the state level, while the Environment Protection and Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) operates at the commonwealth level. No troglofauna communities or species listed under the EPBC Act occur within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope or nearby areas (Department of Environment and Energy 2016). Similarly, no troglofauna species listed under the WC Act occur within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope or in its vicinity (DPaW 2016). Communities are not listed under the WC Act but a list of threatened communities prepared by the Department of Parks and Wildlide (DPaW) is endorsed by the Minister for the Environment. No threatened troglofauna community occurs within or in the vicinity of the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope.

There is a further, informal process whereby priority species and priority ecological communities (PECs) are listed by DPaW. No troglofauna-based PECs occur within or in the vicinity of the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope, although two troglofauna-based PECs occur in the Pilbara approximately 300 km west of Mining Area C (Subterranean invertebrate communities of mesas in the Robe Valley region, and subterranean invertebrate community of pisolitic hills in the Pilbara).

3. INDICATIVE ADDITIONAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AREA The Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope covers part of two parallel ranges: the Packsaddle Range to the north and the Jirrpalpur Range on the south side of the Northern Flank valley (Figure 2). Both ranges typically occur as elevated and elongated ridgelines, with 14 recognised deposits identified along the ranges making up Mining Area C on the basis of higher grades of recoverable iron ore than the surrounding landscape. The Southern Flank deposit is located approximately 6 km south on the Jirrpalpur Range (Figure 2). The Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area comprises the proposed mine pit excavation at Southern Flank.

4. HABITAT REVIEW Reviews of the local geology at more northern parts of Mining Area C and at Southern Flank were undertaken by BHP Billiton Iron Ore in 2011 and 2016 and the results of those reviews are summarised below.

4.1. Geological Overview The more northern parts of Mining Area C consist of two parallel ranges of outcropping Banded Iron Formation (BIF). These are the northern Packsaddle Range made up of Brockman Iron Formation and the southern Jirrpalpur Range made up of Marra Mamba Iron Formation.

The valley which lies between the Jirrpalpur Range and Packsaddle Range is colloquially known as the Northern Flank valley, with the south side of the Jirrpalpur Range referred to as Southern Flank. Both areas are formed by preferential weathering and erosion of the relatively soft Wittenoom Formation. Dolomite, a member of the Wittenoom Formation, readily dissolves in water, leading to the creation of large pores, voids and cavities that are prospective for troglofauna (BHPBIO 2011).

In a simplified scheme, the geology of the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope comprises four habitat types relevant to troglofauna. These are ‘hardcap’, detritals, mineralised rock and host rock. The hardcap zone, formed from continued weathering of the surface of the deposits and surrounding landscape, constitutes a semi-continuous carapace across the ranges. The formation of hardcap is not limited to a particular rock type and has been observed on unconsolidated sediments, BIF and ore (Crowe 2012). This zone can be extremely variable in texture and is known to contain frequent voids and cavities. Cavities on a scale of metres are occasionally observed during drilling and mining. Hardcap

6 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore formation is usually strongest near the surface and often grades into semi-hardcap and then unaltered rock with depth. This stratum is considered to provide important habitat for troglofauna (Bennelongia 2015).

Detritals can be divided into recent quaternary detritals and three classes of tertiary detritals. Quaternary detritals usually comprise a mix of ore and shale in a silty matrix and are regarded by BHPBIO (2016) as suitable for troglofauna, although there is relatively little sampling evidence that this is the case. They can also comprise alluvium and colluvium, from which troglofauna are increasingly often being collected (Biota 2015). The deeper tertiary detritals consist of haematite conglomerate of silt and clay, with limited capacity to support troglofauna. The middle tertiary detrital layer consists of vuggy breccia, sand and calcrete that are suitable for troglofauna, together with lenses of clay that are not. The upper tertiary detrital layer consists of gravelly siltstone and siltstone that are likely to provide troglofauna habitat.

The mineralised rock is BIF that contains voids and cavities, as a result of weathering, and usually provides prospective troglofauna habitat. This mineralised BIF is a target for mining when iron ore levels within it are high, although it also provides suitable habitat for troglofauna when ore concentrations are below commercial grade (BHPBIO 2016).

The BIF host rock, precursor to iron ore, consists of finely bedded chert, iron oxides and silicates. The texture of this rock type is fine-grained and dense, with few to no voids and essentially no intergranular pore spaces. Inter-bedded within the iron formation are shales and cherts that can form bands up to 40 m thick. The shales and cherts are similarly non-porous. Thus, it is unusual for unaltered BIF to contain significant troglofauna habitat (BHPBIO 2016).

5. TROGLOFAUNA SURVEYS

5.1. Troglofauna Surveys and Assessments at Mining Area C Baseline troglofauna surveys at Mining Area C were commissioned by BHP Billiton Iron Ore between 2007 and 2016 and undertaken by Bennelongia and Subterranean Ecology (see Appendix 1 for timing of sampling). The surveys have been summarised in Bennelongia (2014a); an extract from the executive summary of this report relating to troglofauna is provided in Appendix 2. To date, 2,746.51 samples targeting troglofauna have been collected from drill holes within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope (Table 1, Figure 3). Of these samples, 742 were collected at Jirrpalpur Range, 988 at Packsaddle Range and 1016.5 from Southern Flank. This is a very high level of survey intensity and is considered to exceed the expectations laid out in Guidance Statement 54a and EAG 12.

Information on the distribution of widespread species collected from the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope were compiled from records collected outside the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope and from other parts of the Pilbara. Details of sampling methodology are provided in Appendix 3.

1 Half samples are the result of only scraping or only trapping a drill hole instead of using both techniques.

7 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Table 1. Numbers of samples collected within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope. S Trap = single trap, D Trap = double trap. *The number of samples collected was calculated as samples = (no. of scrape + no. of S trap or D trap)/2. Scrape S Trap D Trap Samples* Jirrpalpur Range Deposit A 117 87 32 118 Deposit B 180 129 49 179 Deposit C 40 30 11 40.5 Deposit D 98 74 24 98 Deposit E 79 60 19 79 Deposit F 105 76 30 105.5 Deposit R 130 85 29 122

P acksaddle Range

Packsaddle P1 234 186 24 222 Packsaddle P2 212 141 40 196.5 Packsaddle P3 142 127 18 143.5 Packsaddle P4 271 173 25 234.5 Packsaddle P5 91 97 1 94.5 Packsaddle P6 100 94 97

South ern Flank Southern Flank 1221 606 206 1016.5

TOTAL 3020 1965 508 2746.5

5.2. Troglofauna Occurrence and Abundance A total of 3,585 specimens of troglofauna have been collected in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope (Table 2, Appendix 4). These specimens represent at least 126 species from 19 Orders as follows:  five orders of (Pseudoscorpiones 12 species; Palpigradi 2 species; Schizomida 12 species; Araneae 18 species; Opiliones 2 species)  one order of crustaceans (Isopoda 11 species)  two orders of centipede (Geophilida 2 species; Scolopendrida 7 species),  three orders of millipede (Polydesmida 1 species; Polyxenida 1 species; Spirobolida 1 species),  one order of Pauropoda (Tetramerocerata 8 species)  one order of symphyla (Cephalostigmata 7 species) and  six orders of hexapods (Diplura 10 species, Thysanura 5 species, Blattodea 5 species, Hemiptera 5 species, Coleoptera 15 species; Diptera 2 species).

Hexapods were numerically dominant and more than 100 specimens of each of the following insect species were collected in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope: Sciaridae sp. B01, Meenoplidae sp. B02, Blattidae sp. B06/Blattidae sp. (assuming conspecificity) and Nocticola `BLA003` (Figure 4, Table 2, Appendix 4). Between 50 and 100 specimens were collected for each of the insect species Hemiptera sp. B02 (=Fulgoridae sp. S01), Nocticola `BLA001`, Nocticola `cockingi` ms, Curculionidae Genus 1 sp. B02 (=Curculionidae sp. S02), and Dodecastyla crypta. Schizomids were also relatively abundant, particularly Draculoides `SCH012` (61 specimens). However, most species occurred at very low abundance and 47 species were represented by only one specimen (referred to as a singleton) (Figure 4). Troglofauna have been present in all parts of the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope that have been sampled (Figure 3).

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Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Tyrannochthonius sp. S05 Tyrannochthonius sp. B14 Typhlozuphium sp. B03 Typhlozuphium longipenne Troglarmadillo sp. B57 Troglarmadillo sp. B36 Trigoniulidae sp. Symphyella sp. B03 Scolopendrida sp. B01 Sciaridae sp. B05 Rodwayia sp. B02 Pselaphinae sp. B12 Projapygidae sp. B05 Prethopalpus sp. B24 Prethopalpus sp. B15 Prethopalpus sp. B03 (ex / sp. B03) Prethopalpus sp. (Araneae sp. S07) Prethopalpus julianneae Polydesmida sp. B11 Philosciidae sp. B15 Pelicinus sp. B05 Pauropodidae sp. B16 Pauropodidae sp. B15 Pauropodidae sp. B13 Pauropodidae sp. B12 Parajapygidae sp. S03 Parajapygidae sp. B27 Parajapygidae sp. B25 Parajapygidae `DPL024` Opiliones sp. B02 nr Claviger sp. B01 nr Andricophiloscia sp. B16 Lagynochthonius sp. B19 Hanseniella sp. B36-DNA Hanseniella sp. B35 Hanseniella sp. B34 Gnaphosidae sp. S01 Gnaphosidae sp. B01 Cryptorhynchinae sp. S03 Cryptops sp. B39 Cryptops sp. B10 (=Scolopendrida sp. S05) Chilenophilidae sp. B07 Bembidiinae sp. B01 Atelurinae sp. B04 Anapistula sp. B02 Allopauropus sp. B11 `Gracilanillus ms` sp. B09 ?Theridiidae sp. B01 ?Gnaphosidae sp. B01 Prethopalpus sp. B06 Parajapygidae `DPL023` Japygidae `DPL005` Indohya sp. S02 Draculoides sp. B59-DNA Draculoides sp. B58 Cryptops sp. B15 Cormocephalus `CHI003` Coleoptera gen 1 sp. B06 Australoschendyla sp. B06 Troglarmadillo sp. B37 Prethopalpus pearsoni Pauropodidae sp. B04 Japygidae `DPL007` Draculoides sp. B46 Cryptops sp. B16 Bembidiinae sp. B08 Parajapygidae `DPL020` Lagynochthonius `PSE045` Draculoides sp. B32 Draculoides sp. B20 Armadillidae sp. B07 Troglarmadillo sp. B13 Trinemura sp. B02 (nr watsoni) Prethopalpus maini Pauropodidae sp. B14 Lagynochthonius sp. S03 Eukoenenia sp. S01 Draculoides sp. B16 Cryptops sp. B07 (=Scolopendrida sp. S02) Prethopalpus sp. B18 (=?Araneae sp. S05) Hanseniella sp. B08 Draculoides `SCH018` Typhlozuphium sp. B02 Typhlozuphium humicolum Trinemura sp. B09 Hanseniella sp. B07 Dampetrus sp. B01 (nr isolatus) Tyrannochthonius `PSE050` Scutigerella sp. B03 Pelicinus sp. B02 Meenoplidae sp. B04 (small eyes, faint pigment) Lagynochthonius `PSE046` Indohya `PSE005` Tyrannochthonius `PSE066` nr Encoptarthria sp. B01 Tyrannochthonius `PSE055` Troglarmadillo sp. B14 Pselaphinae sp. B01 Draculoides sp. B47 Atelurinae sp. B02 (=?Atelurodes sp. S02) Troglarmadillo sp. B03 Philosciidae sp. B03 Nocticola `quartermainei ` ms Palpigradi sp. B01 Meenoplidae sp. B13 Pauropodidae sp. B01 Japygidae `DPL002` Draculoides `SCH023` Draculoides `SCH022` Draculoides `SCH013` Troglarmadillo sp. B11 Meenoplidae sp. B03 (winged, remnant eyes) Lagynochthonius `PSE039` Linyphiidae sp. B03 (=Araneae sp. S05) Ptinella sp. B01 Nocticola `cockingi` ms Draculoides `SCH012` Curculionidae Genus 1 sp. B02 (=Curculionidae sp. S02) Dodecastyla crypta Hemiptera sp. B02 (=Fulgoridae sp. S01) Nocticola `BLA001` Blattidae sp. B06 Lophoturus madecassus Nocticola `BLA003` Meenoplidae sp. B02 (=Meenoplidae sp. S01) Sciaridae sp. B01

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Figure 4. Abundance of troglofauna in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope.

10 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, 405 specimens of troglofauna have been collected that represent 51 species belonging to 16 orders (Table 2).

5.3. Species Identification Issues In several cases troglofauna were collected that could not be identified to species level morphologically because the animals were damaged, juvenile or the wrong sex for species determination. In most cases where these animals were not critical to assessment, DNA analysis was not applied to improve identification and the animals are tabulated in the results as higher level identifications. Usually they are listed in Appendix 4 simply to provide a record of their occurrence but occasionally the higher level identifications obviously represent additional species and so are listed in Table 2 (the species table). For example, an animal identified only to family level, Trigoniulidae sp., is listed in Table 2 because no other member of the families was collected and it must represent an additional species in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope.

In some cases, species identifications were determined by DNA analysis, mostly using sequences of the CO1 gene. Since 2007, 254 animals from within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope have been sequenced to make, or confirm, identifications. Twenty-three animals were sequenced in August 2016 with the particular purpose of determining the ranges and taxonomic relationships of animals collected within, or in the vicinity of, the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area.

5.4. Species Distributions Fifteen of the 126 species collected in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope are very widespread in the Pilbara and are known from many locations beyond this area (Lagynochthonius `PSE039`, Palpigradi sp. B01, Cormocephalus `CHI003`, Lophoturus madecassus, Pauropodidae sp. B01, Pauropodidae sp. B04, Japygidae `DPL002`, Atelurinae sp. B02, Nocticola `BLA001`, Hemiptera sp. B02, Bembidiinae sp. B08, Curculionidae Genus 1 sp. B02 (=Curculionidae sp. S02), Pselaphinae sp. B01, Ptinella sp. B01, and Sciaridae sp. B01).

The remaining 111 species are considered likely to have ranges restricted to the Central Pilbara. Of these 111 species, 21 are known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (Table 2).

6. IMPACT EVALUATION Proposed mining may potentially threaten the persistence of species that have all, or most, of their ranges within the proposed mine pits. Through cumulative impact, species with wider ranges may also be threatened if all records of those species outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area occur in other areas of existing or approved disturbance.

6.1. Species with Restricted Known Ranges Apart from actually having highly restricted ranges, there are two processes likely to have led to 21 species being known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (Table 2). These are (i) that sampling may not have occurred across all of a species’ range; and (ii) that species may not have been collected from drill holes in areas where they occurred because of low species abundances and low collecting efficiency. These issues are discussed in more detail below.

Constrained Sampling Troglofauna sampling is likely to underestimate the true ranges of most troglofauna species because it is spatially constrained. Drill holes are usually available for sampling only within the tenements of the proponent company and only in areas considered to be prospective for mining. In many cases

11 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Table 2. Troglofauna species recorded from the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope. Grey shading indicates species only known from Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and/or Current Approved Impact Assessment Area. Number of animals of each species is shown. I, Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area; C, Current Approved Impact Assessment Area; R, Reference areas in Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope. Species I C R Distribution Arachnida Pseudoscorpiones Lagynochthonius `PSE039` 21 7 9 B Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, Southern Flank, Jinidi Lagynochthonius `PSE045` 3 1 P4 Deposit Pit, P4 Lagynochthonius `PSE046` 8 1 P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P2 Lagynochthonius sp. B19 1 P1 Lagynochthonius sp. S03 3 2 P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P2 Tyrannochthonius `PSE050` 6 2 P4 Deposit Pit, P4 Tyrannochthonius `PSE055` 12 A Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit Tyrannochthonius `PSE066` 4 4 2 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, R Deposit, P1, Weeli Wolli Tyrannochthonius sp. B14 1 Only record Tyrannochthonius sp. S05 1 P4 Deposit Pit Indohya `PSE005` 2 7 B Deposit Pit, C Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, Southern Flank Indohya sp. S02 2 P6 Deposit Pit Palpigradi Eukoenenia sp. S01 5 P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, Mudlark Palpigradi sp. B01 7 11 4 A Deposit Pit, D Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, Southern Flank, Packsaddle East, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Mindy, Orebody 19, Whaleback Schizomida Draculoides `SCH012` 58 3 P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P1 Draculoides `SCH013` 24 2 P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, P4 Draculoides `SCH018` 6 R Deposit Pit, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Draculoides `SCH022` 15 8 3 P6 Deposit Pit, Southern Flank, Packsaddle East, Jinidi, Weeli Wolli Draculoides `SCH023` 11 1 13 F Deposit Pit, R Deposit, Southern Flank Draculoides sp. B16 2 3 Southern Flank Draculoides sp. B20 4 Only records Draculoides sp. B32 4 Southern Flank Draculoides sp. B46 3 B Deposit Pit Draculoides sp. B47 13 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit Draculoides sp. B58 2 R Deposit Draculoides sp. B59-DNA 2* Only records Araneae

12 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Species I C R Distribution ?Gnaphosidae sp. B01 1 Southern Flank Gnaphosidae sp. B01 1 P2 Deposit Pit Gnaphosidae sp. S01 1 P1 Deposit Pit nr Encoptarthria sp. B01 9 2 B Deposit Pit, D Deposit Pit, Jinidi Linyphiidae sp. B03 (=Araneae sp. S05) 3 23 12 B Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P1, Juna Downs ?Theridiidae sp. B01 1 D Deposit Pit Prethopalpus julianneae 1 Only record Prethopalpus maini 5 Only records Prethopalpus pearsoni 3 P4 Deposit Pit Prethopalpus sp. (Araneae sp. S07) 1 P5 Deposit Pit Prethopalpus sp. B03 (ex Araneomorphae/ Oonopidae sp. B03) 1 D Deposit Pit Prethopalpus sp. B06 2 B Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit Prethopalpus sp. B15 1 Only record Prethopalpus sp. B18 (=?Araneae sp. S05) 3 3 P2 Deposit Pit, P4 Prethopalpus sp. B24 1 Only record Anapistula sp. B02 1 R Deposit Pit Pelicinus sp. B02 7 1 B Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Pelicinus sp. B05 1 Southern Flank Opiliones Dampetrus sp. B01 (nr isolatus) 7 B Deposit Pit, C Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, Packsaddle East Opiliones sp. B02 1 P2 Deposit Pit, Packsaddle East Crustacea Malacostraca Isopoda Armadillidae sp. B07 3 1 B Deposit Pit, B Deposit Troglarmadillo sp. B03 14 A Deposit Pit, D Deposit Pit, E Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit Troglarmadillo sp. B11 28 1 F Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P1 Troglarmadillo sp. B13 3 2 Southern Flank Troglarmadillo sp. B14 12 Only records Troglarmadillo sp. B36 1 Southern Flank Troglarmadillo sp. B37 3 Southern Flank Troglarmadillo sp. B57 1 P1 nr Andricophiloscia sp. B16 1 Only record Philosciidae sp. B03 17* Only record Philosciidae sp. B15 1 Only record Myriapoda Chilopoda

13 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Species I C R Distribution Geophilida Australoschendyla sp. B06 2 Only records Chilenophilidae sp. B07 1 Only record Scolopendrida Cryptops sp. B07 (=Scolopendrida sp. S02) 2 1 2 P5 Deposit Pit, P2, Jinidi Cryptops sp. B10 (=Scolopendrida sp. S05) 1 P1 Deposit Pit, Eastern Ridge Cryptops sp. B15 2 R Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, Juna Downs Cryptops sp. B16 2 1 Southern Flank Cryptops sp. B39 1 P2 Deposit Pit Cormocephalus `CHI003` 1 1 P2 Deposit Pit, P4, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Scolopendrida sp. B01 1 A Deposit Pit Diplopoda Polydesmida Polydesmida sp. B11 1 Southern Flank Polyxenida Lophoturus madecassus 33 91 29 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, A Deposit, B Deposit, R Deposit, P1, P2, Southern Flank, Packsaddle East, Eastern Ridge, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Juna Downs, Mindy, Mudlark, Orebody 19, Orebody 31, Orebody 39, Whaleback, Yandi, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Spirobolida Trigoniulidae sp. 1 R Deposit, Orebody 19, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Pauropoda Tetramerocerata Allopauropus sp. B11 1 Mudlark Pauropodidae sp. B01 1 23 B Deposit Pit, C Deposit Pit, E Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, Packsaddle East, Jimblebar, Orebody 31, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Pauropodidae sp. B04 3 R Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, Jimblebar, Whaleback, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Pauropodidae sp. B12 1 P3 Deposit Pit Pauropodidae sp. B13 1 P4 Deposit Pit Pauropodidae sp. B14 2 2 1 P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, Southern Flank Pauropodidae sp. B15 1 P4 Pauropodidae sp. B16 1 P3 Symphyla Cephalostigmata Hanseniella sp. B07 6 1 Only record Hanseniella sp. B08 6 P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit Hanseniella sp. B34 1 Only record

14 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Species I C R Distribution Hanseniella sp. B35 1 Southern Flank Hanseniella sp. B36-DNA 1 Southern Flank Scutigerella sp. B03 5 3 Southern Flank Symphyella sp. B03 1 R Deposit Pit Hexapoda Entognatha Diplura Japygidae `DPL002` 6 15 3 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit, E Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, P4, Southern Flank, Eastern Ridge, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Juna Downs, Mudlark, Orebody 18, Orebody 31, Whaleback, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Japygidae `DPL005` 2 Only records Japygidae `DPL007` 2 1 Deposit R, Southern Flank Projapygidae sp. B05 1 P4 Deposit Pit Parajapygidae `DPL020` 4 P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, Jinidi Parajapygidae `DPL023` 2 Only record Parajapygidae `DPL024` 1 Only record Parajapygidae sp. B25 1 Only record Parajapygidae sp. B27 1 P2 Deposit Pit Parajapygidae sp. S03 1 P6 Deposit Pit Insecta Thysanura Atelurinae sp. B02 (=?Atelurodes sp. S02) 13 P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, Eastern Ridge, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Juna Downs, Mudlark, Orebody 18, Orebody 31, Orebody 39, Whaleback, Yandi, Weeli Wolli, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Atelurinae sp. B04 1 B Deposit Pit Dodecastyla crypta 8 43 26 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit, C Deposit Pit, D Deposit Pit, E Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, R Deposit, P1, P3, P4, Southern Flank Trinemura sp. B02 (nr watsoni) 2 3 R Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, Jinidi Trinemura sp. B09 7 P3, Southern Flank Blattodea Blattidae sp. B06 27 35 32 B Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, B Deposit, R Deposit, P2, P4, Southern Flank, Jinidi Nocticola `BLA001` 85 A Deposit Pit, C Deposit Pit, D Deposit Pit, E Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, Packsaddle East, Eastern Ridge, Jinidi, Mudlark, Orebody 18, Orebody 19, Whaleback, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Nocticola `BLA003` 33 148 44 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, B Deposit, P1, P2, P3, P4, Southern Flank, Jinidi, Juna Downs, Yandi, Weeli Wolli Nocticola `cockingi` ms 19 22 11 R Deposit Pit, R Deposit, Southern Flank

15 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Species I C R Distribution Nocticola `quartermainei ` ms 5 11 4 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit, D Deposit Pit, E Deposit Pit, Southern Flank, Weeli Wolli Hemiptera Hemiptera sp. B02 (=Fulgoridae sp. S01) 29 46 3 B Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, P2, Eastern Ridge, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Orebody 19, Orebody 39, Whaleback, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Meenoplidae sp. B02 (=Meenoplidae sp. S01) 42 352 84 A Deposit Pit, B Deposit Pit, C Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P5 Deposit Pit, R Deposit, P4, Southern Flank, Packsaddle East, Jinidi Meenoplidae sp. B03 (winged, remnant eyes) 29 P1 Deposit Pit, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Mindy, Mudlark, Orebody 19, Orebody 21/22, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Meenoplidae sp. B04 (small eyes, faint pigment) 8 Whaleback, Weeli Wolli, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Meenoplidae sp. B13 22 Southern Flank Coleoptera `Gracilanillus ms` sp. B09 1 Southern Flank Bembidiinae sp. B01 1 D Deposit Pit Bembidiinae sp. B08 3 B Deposit Pit, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Typhlozuphium humicolum 6 1 A Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, P3, Jinidi Typhlozuphium longipenne 1 P2 Deposit Pit Typhlozuphium sp. B02 6 1 Southern Flank Typhlozuphium sp. B03 1 F Deposit Pit Cryptorhynchinae sp. S03 1 P4 Deposit Pit Curculionidae Genus 1 sp. B02 (=Curculionidae sp. S02) 21 33 14 B Deposit Pit, D Deposit Pit, F Deposit Pit, P1 Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, P6 Deposit Pit, B Deposit, R Deposit, P3, P4, Southern Flank, Juna Downs, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Ptinella sp. B01 49 P1, Southern Flank, Eastern Ridge, Juna Downs, Weeli Wolli, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Rodwayia sp. B02 1 Southern Flank Pselaphinae sp. B01 1 7 4 B Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, B Deposit, Southern Flank, Eastern Ridge, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Orebody 19, Orebody 31, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Pselaphinae sp. B12 1 Southern Flank nr Claviger sp. B01 1 Southern Flank Coleoptera gen 1 sp. B06 2 P2, Juna Downs Diptera Sciaridae sp. B01 11 346 162 B Deposit Pit, R Deposit Pit, P2 Deposit Pit, P3 Deposit Pit, P4 Deposit Pit, A Deposit, R Deposit, P1, P2, P4, Southern Flank, Eastern Ridge, Jimblebar, Jinidi, Juna Downs, Mindy, Mudlark, Orebody 31, Whaleback, Elsewhere in the Pilbara Sciaridae sp. B05 1 Southern Flank *Recorded from one hole only.

16 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

suitable habitat occurs in geology that is not prospective for mining (either in hardcap, lower grade BIF or perhaps detritals) (e.g. Bennelongia 2012a; 2013a).

Low Abundance Species Reliable definition of the ranges of low abundance species requires extensive sampling (Miller et al. 1989, Guisan et al. 2006). Despite a general trend for low abundance species to have smaller ranges than abundant species (Brown 1984), many low abundance species have widespread, patchy occurrence (Maurer 1990). Thus, few direct inferences can be drawn about the likely ranges of species collected in the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area from few samples, especially species collected as singletons. The likely ranges of these species are most accurately defined using the known ranges of related species and the potential continuity of the surrounding habitat (see EPA 2013).

Twelve of the 21 species currently known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area were singletons or were recorded from only one drill hole (Table 2).

Problems of Identifying Species from Other Projects The majority of species recorded within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope are undescribed and are only known from within it. A taxonomic database for undescribed troglofauna species in Western Australia, such as would be provided by WAMinals (http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/databases/waminals) is largely incomplete and if the same species is collected by different consultancies it is usually given different informal names. This adds to the difficulty of determining accurate species ranges, and a number of species may have larger ranges than described in this report. For example, Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s Baby Hope Downs project lies immediately adjacent to Southern Flank within the same ridge. It is likely that the Southern Flank troglofauna community extends into this area but none of the species recorded in the Baby Hope Downs area have the same nomenclature as species at the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope (Biota 2015). This may be due to the inconsistent application of and the lack of species descriptions for most troglofauna within the Pilbara. In fact, from photographs the dipluran Japygidae sp. at Baby Hope Downs appears to possibly be Japygidae `DPL002` collected widely in the central Pilbara and the schizomid Draculoides sp. BHD4 belongs to lineage within Draculoides that is represented by six species at Mining Area C. It is possible that Draculoides sp. BHD4 is recorded within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope under a different name.

6.2. Threat to Species During previous revisions of the Mining Area C EMP, 28 species found in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope were collected (and known) only from the Current Approved Impact Assessment Area. Evidence suggesting a wider distribution of these species was presented in the relevant revisions of the EMP and associated reports (Bennelongia 2008b, 2009a, 2011a, 2012b, 2013b, 2014b). These 28 species are not considered further in this report, other than Indohya `PSE005` and Hansienella sp. B07, for which additional specimens have been collected from within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area.

Including Indohya `PSE005` and Hansienella sp. B07, 21 species are only known from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, or from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment and Current Approved Impact Assessment Areas. The likely distributions of these species are inferred principally using two types of surrogate information, as recommended by EPA (2013). These surrogates are:  Range information for related species in the Pilbara, especially in the vicinity of Mining Area C; and  The results of habitat profiling and geological mapping by BHP Billiton Iron Ore (BHPBIO 2016).

17 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

The habitat profiling and mapping undertaken by BHPBIO (2016) at Southern Flank is one the most comprehensive assessments in the Pilbara of the potential for subterranean habitats to support troglofauna. When combined with troglofauna sampling results, this profiling suggests that troglofauna habitat within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area consists of hardcap, mineralised BIF and detrital deposits containing scree or alluvium and colluvium.

When inferring the ranges of individual species using habitat profiling and mapping, it is often necessary to make some assumptions about which of the potentially prospective geological units are actually used by that species. These assumptions will have varying accuracy, depending on factors such as the number of drill holes yielding the species, capture methods, and whether more than one geological unit was present within a hole. Other assumptions about the innate biological constraints on the maximum range of a species are also prone to error, depending on the variation in life history characteristics of related species. Thus, assignments to the categories of likelihood of a species being restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area should be seen as representing a best estimates based on available data. Three likelihood categories were used. They are:  Possibly. The available information suggests there is >40% probability that the species is restricted.  Unlikely. The available information suggests there is ≤40% probability that the species is restricted  Uncertain. There is insufficient information to estimate the probability of the species being restricted (e.g. the species may belong to a group that contains both troglophiles with an above-ground disperal phase and also tightly restricted troglobites). Given that the species is known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, it is treated as likely to be restricted.

Information on the ranges of the 21 species is discussed in detail in the following sections and mapped in Figures 5-7.

Pseudoscorpiones Pseudoscorpions are speciose within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope (Appendix 4a). Determining the range of pseudoscorpions is frequently difficult, owing to their low abundance, and the observed Pilbara ranges of pseudoscorpions in the families Chthoniidae and Hyidae are highly variable (Bennelongia unpublished data).

Indohya `PSE005` Indohya `PSE005` has been collected widely within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope (Figure 5). The species has a range of at least 21 km, although all known locations are within the Current Approved Impact Assessment and Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Areas.

Two of the holes yielding Indohya `PSE005` are within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (holes SF0288R and SF1684R, collected by scraping). At SF0288R a thin layer of colluvium overlies mineralised Mt Newman material. While the colluvium does not appear to be continuous to either the north or south, the Mt Newman Member is relatively continuous above water table to approximately 280 m north of the proposed pit extent (BHPBIO 2016). Drill hole SF1684R is located within the McLeod Member stratigraphy, with hardcap alteration to 35 m. Around this hole, the habitat is discontinuous to the north but continuous outside of the maximum pit extent to the south (BHPBIO 2016). More pertinently, it is clear from records of Indohya `PSE005` in the Current Approved Impact Assessment Area to the north (at both Packsaddle and North Flank) that suitable habitat occurs north of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Thus, Indohya `PSE005` appears to be a relatively mobile species, capable of inhabiting various lithologies. It is unclear whether this

18 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore mobility reflects good dispersal capacity or persistence in a relatively wide part of its original surface range since below ground colonisation.

Based on the wide documented range of the species across multiple geologies, it is considered unlikely that Indohya `PSE005` is restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment and Current Approved Impact Assessment Areas. It probably also occurs outside the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope and Indohya `PSE005` is unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Tyrannochthonius sp. B14 Tyrannochthonius sp. B14 is known from one specimen at Southern Flank. Tyrannochthonius species are nearly always collected as single animals, suggesting they occur at low abundance and that the ranges of some species represented by few records are likely to be under-estimated. However, linear ranges of >20 km are probably unusual.

Bennelongia has collected 25 troglofaunal species of the genus Tyrannochthonius in the Pilbara. Eleven species have been represented by single specimens, six species by two specimens (mean linear range 3.3 km±1.4 km SE), three species by three specimens (1.4±0.8 km) and five species by 5-12 specimens (16±7 km). While some Tyrannochthonius species appear likely to have small ranges (e.g. Tyrannochthonius `PSE050` with eight records and a linear range of 2.3 km), others are moderately widespread. These include Tyrannochthonius `PSE066` with 11 records and a linear range of 41 km (24 km with an outlying record excluded), Tyrannochthonius `PSE055` with 12 records and range of 20 km and Tyrannochthonius basme with two records and a range of 14 km. Tyrannochthonius basme was described from a single specimen by Edward and Harvey (2008), who considered it to be restricted to Mesa B in the Robe Valley (area 173 ha, Biota 2006). It was subsequently found to occur more widely (Bennelongia 2011b).

While some troglofaunal species of Tyrannochthonius or Lagynochthonius may use detritals (including the calcrete areas within them), most Pilbara species appear to occur in vuggy rock. Drill hole SF0934R passed through 9 m of gravelly siltstone above the Mt Newman Member of the Marra Mamba Formation. Based on the ecology of other species of Tyrannochthonius, it is considered likely that the specimen of Tyrannochthonius sp. B14 was collected from the Mt Newman Member. Mt Newman Member occurs to the south of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area from hole SF0934R (BHPBIO 2016) and 10 troglofauna species were collected in this area, although not Tyrannochthonius sp. B14.

Despite the lack of sampling evidence of wider range, it is considered unlikely that Tyrannochthonius sp. B14 is restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and its conservation status would not be affected significantly by the Proposal.

Schizomida Schizomids are probably the most studied troglofauna, in terms of distributions, in Western Australia and have variable ranges. Harvey et al. (2008) reported that six species of schizomid in the Robe Valley were each tightly restricted to single mesas (the largest only 989 ha), although Draculoides vinei in the Cape Range has a linear range of about 50 km. At least five of the 12 schizomid species collected in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope have ranges of 10 km or more: e.g. Draculoides `SCH012` 12 km, Draculoides `SCH013` 10 km, Draculoides `SCH022` 36 km, Draculoides `SCH023` 18 km and Draculoides sp. B20 10km.

Draculoides sp. B20 Draculoides sp. B20 has been recorded from four locations within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area with a linear range of at least 10 km (Figure 5). All records of Draculoides sp. B20 have been from drill holes in mapped Mt Newman or McLeod Member in both mineralised and

19 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore unmineralised stratigraphy (BHPBIO 2016). Three of the four records were based on trapping, with the traps all at depths correlating to interpretation of the Mt Newman member.

The presence of Draculoides sp. B20 within both the Mt Newman and McLeod Members indicate that this species is able to exist in, and therefore perhaps can move between, both BIF units. In addition to this, the species is seen to inhabit both mineralised and unmineralised stratigraphy (BHPBIO 2016). It appears reasonable to assume that suitable habitat for Draculoides sp. B20 extends outside of Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Therefore, Draculoides sp. B20 is unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely to be impacted by the current Proposal.

Draculoides sp. B59-DNA Draculoides sp. B59-DNA was collected as two specimens from drill hole SF3915R at the eastern end of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (Figure 5). Assessing the likely range of the species is difficult because, while five of the 12 Draculoides species at Mining Area C have known linear ranges ≥10 km, the other five with records from multiple holes have ranges varying from 0.2-4.4 km with a mean of only 1.8 km (±1.1 SE).

Detailed assessment of the likely habitat of Draculoides sp. B59-DNA has not yet been undertaken but the species is assumed to utilise weathered BIF. Whether this geology extends beyond the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area in the vicinity of hole SF3915R is unknown. However, given Draculoides sp. B59-DNA was recorded only 5 m from the boundary of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, it is considered likely that the species occurs also outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and that it will not be impacted by the current proposal.

Araneae Spiders are typically collected in low abundance and determining ranges can be difficult.

Prethopalpus julianneae Twenty-eight other species of Prethopalpus are known from the Pilbara and Cape Range (Baeher et al. 2012; Bennelongia unpublished data). Seventeen species are known from single records, four species are represented by two records (mean linear range 4.3±21.1 km SE), four by three records (2.4±1.2 km) and three by five records (8.2±4.7 km). Available information suggests that nearly all troglofaunal species of Prethopalpus are confined to BIF and related habitats, such as hardcap (Baeher et al. 2012, Bennelongia unpublished data).

Prethopalpus julianneae is known from only one specimen collected at the type locality (drill hole SF0569R) in the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (Figure 5). Prethopalpus julianneae is likely to have been occupying Mt Newman Member of the Marra Mamba Formation when collected. The only other possible habitat in hole SF0569R is a 3 m layer of surface scree (BHPBIO 2016), which is unlikely habitat because it is probably too dry and too close to the surface to be used extensively by troglofauna (Halse and Pearson 2014). The Mt Newman Member does not extend from hole SF0569R to the outside of the mine pit (BHPBIO 2016). MacLeod Member, a predominantly shale and chert upper layer of the Marra Mamba Formation, does occur more widely and may possibly also be suitable habitat although there is not strong evidence of Prethopalpus species using this geology.

Given that the Mt Newman Member does not continuously extend from the known location of Prethopalpus julianneae to outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and there is not strong evidence suggesting use of the MacLeod Member, combined with the probability that the species has a small range, it is considered that Prethopalpus julianneae may possibly be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Consequently, it may potentially be impacted by the Proposal.

20 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Prethopalpus maini According to the work of Baeher et al. 2012, Prethopalpus maini is known from five drill holes (SF0383R, SF0383R, SF0803RE, SF0140R and SF0147R) spread across the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area with a linear range of 18 km (Figure 5) and from one drill hole in the Packsaddle Range (PSD0137R) within the Current Approved Impact Assessment Area. It is possible that the Packsaddle specimen (for which Baeher et al. provide a Southern Flank code instead of the Packsadddle code matching the Museum registration number) belongs to Prethopalpus pearsoni, which was collected nearby in the Packsaddle Range, rather than to P. maini.

Of the drill holes in the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, hole SF0288R intersects the Mount Newman Member, which is modelled to be hardcapped down to approximately 20 m. Records from the other holes yielding Prethopalpus maini suggest the species occupies statigraphic units (principally Mount Newman Member and hardcap) that extend outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (BHPBIO 2016). Given the wide range of Prethopalpus maini and the continuous nature of hardcap, in particular, it is considered unlikely that the species is restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area irrespective of whether the species occurs in Packsaddle Range. Therefore, Prethopalpus maini is unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Prethopalpus sp. B15 The Prethopalpus sp. B15 was represented by one specimen that probably came from the West Angelas Member of the Marra Mamba Formation (BHPBIO 2016), although this specimen was collected as bycatch from stygofauna sampling and thus the geological unit in which it occurs is uncertain. The top 21 m of habitat was alluvium and colluvium, which extend continuously south of the mine pit but, based on existing knowledge of other Prethopalpus species, alluvium/colluvium is considered to be unlikely Prethopalpus habitat.

Another specimen of Prethopalpus that could not be identified beyond genus level was collected in Mt Newman Member approximately 750 m north-west of the Prethopalpus sp. B15 record and just within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Mt Newman Member extends northwards beyond the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, providing likely habitat for Prethopalpus sp. However, the species identity of the Prethopalpus sp. specimen, which was juvenile, remains unknown. It is most likely either Prethopalpus sp. B15 or Prethopalpus sp. B24. Legs of the specimen were sent to the South Australian and Western Australian Museums in 2010 and 2012, respectively, for DNA analysis but no sequence was obtained.

Given that Prethopalpus sp. 15 is likely to be restricted to the West Angelas Member, which does not extend outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area from the only known location of the species, it is considered that Prethopalpus sp. B15 may possibly be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and may potentially be impacted by the Proposal.

Prethopalpus sp. B24 Prethopalpus sp. B24 is represented by only one specimen from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Drill hole SF0363R is collared in mapped detritals, which overlie mineralised West Angelas and Mt Newman Member stratigraphy. Both the detrital unit and Mt Newman Member are continuous to the north of the proposed pit boundary (BHPBIO 2016). The depth of hardcap suggests that a suitable habitat is continuous from the known location of the species to outside the mine pit and, therefore, Prethopalpus sp. B24 is unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Accordingly, the species is unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

21 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Isopoda Troglofauna isopods in the Pilbara typically have very small ranges (Halse and Pearson 2014). Eleven isopod species are known from the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope, with four of these currently known only from within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. nr Andricophiloscia sp. B16 Bennelongia has collected 11 troglofaunal species of the genus nr Andricophiloscia in the Pilbara and all but one were collected from single drill holes and most were represented by single animals. It is difficult to determine whether the collection of nr Andricophiloscia species from single holes is principally a reflection of low abundance or very small ranges but the pattern of sampling results suggests that species of this genus do not have widespread distributions. Furthermore, based on the finding by Halse and Pearson (2014) that the median linear range of all troglofaunal isopod species collected in ≥3 holes was <2 km, it appears likely that most troglofaunal species of nr Andricophiloscia in the Pilbara have small ranges, although one species in the Yilgarn has a linear range of 11 km (Bennelongia unpublished data).

The habitats utilised by species of nr Andricophiloscia are uncertain. Although that many isopod species appear to utilise detritals, at least some nr Andricophiloscia species appear to use only BIF (Bennelongia unpublished data). The single known specimen of Andricophiloscia sp. B16 was collected in a troglofauna trap set at a depth of 40 m within the Mt Newman Member, which is discontinuous outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (BHPBIO 2016). There is not strong evidence that the thick sequence of alluvium and colluvium occurring above the Mt Newman Member is used by Andricophiloscia sp. B16 but these detritals do extend outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area.

Given its likely occurrence only in geology restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and its probable innately small range, nr Andricophiloscia sp. B16 may possibly be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and may potentially be impacted by the Proposal.

Philosciidae sp. B03 Philosciidae sp. B03 belongs to an undescribed genus in the family Philosciidae but there are no clear guidelines for delimiting this new genus. Eleven troglofaunal species of the family have been collected by Bennelongia from the Pilbara. Seven species are known from single holes and the four species represented by 2-4 records from different holes have linear ranges of 0.2-74 km (mean 24±17 km SE). The most widespread species occurs along the northern flank of Fortescue Marsh and probably has an atypical range. It is more likely species will have small ranges if they occur in BIF rather than detritals.

Despite being collected from a single hole, Philosciidae sp. B03 was found in larger numbers than any other philosciid species in the Pilbara (Benneloniga unpublished data.), being represented by 17 animals. Collections from only one hole reveal little about the range of a species but it may reasonably be inferred that species with wide ranges are likely to be known from only one hole when their abundance is low (so the probability of capture is low) or there has been limited sampling effort. The more likely explanation for abundant species being known from single holes is that they have have small ranges, with few holes sampled within that range.

Philosciidae sp. B03 was collected from a pair of traps at 20 and 48 m depth in Mt Newman Member of the Marra Mamba Formation and also in a scrape (which provides no indication of the part of the drill hole occupied by the animals). While a thin cover of detritals was present, it is appears likely the animals inhabit Mt Newman Member, which does not extend beyond the proposed mine pit (BHPBIO 2016).

22 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Given that Philosciidae sp. B03 appears to be an abundant species, it is considered probable that it has a small range and, therefore, may possibly be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Consequently, it may potentially be impacted by the Proposal.

Philosciidae sp. B15 One individual of Philosciidae sp. B15 was recorded within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area in hole SF0654R (trap), which intersects a thick (36 m) sequence of detritals that are interpreted to extend continuously to the outside of the proposed mine pit. The detrital units are the only lithology above water table in this drill hole (BHPBIO 2016). It appears unlikely that Philosciidae sp. B15 is restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and the species is unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Troglarmadillo sp. B14 Troglarmadillo is the genus to which troglofaunal isopods in the Pilbara most frequently belong. Troglarmadillo species are often quite abundant in drill holes and their ranges are expected to be under-estimated less than most species.

There are probably few species of Troglarmadillo with linear ranges >20 km. Bennelongia has collected 41 species of Troglarmadillo, of which only 16 were single records. Seven species were represented by two records (mean linear range 1.2 km±0.5 km SE), nine species by three records (5.9±2.0 km), four species by four records (3.3±1.6 km) and five species by 5-12 records (9.8±4.4 km). Two species (Troglarmadillo `ISO006` with three records and Troglarmadillo sp. B03 with six records) had ranges of 18.4 km, while Troglarmadillo sp. B42 with 12 records had a known linear range of only 1.1 km.

Troglarmadillo sp. B14 has been collected four times as 12 specimens from two drill holes at the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area at depths of 9 and 12 m in detritals, which extend continuously to the south of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (BHPBIO 2016). The range of these records is 11.2 km, and, despite occurring in detritals, the range data available from other Troglarmadillo species suggests that it is unlikely Troglarmadillo sp. B14 will have a much greater linear range than currently documented. While it is probably restricted to the vicinity of the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope, Troglarmadillo sp. B14 may occur in detritals south of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Therefore, on balance, the species is considered unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Myriapoda Australoschendyla sp. B06 Four species from the genus Australoschendyla have been collected from the Pilbara: Australoschendyla sp. B01 (3 records), Australoschendyla sp. B05 (1 record), Australoschendyla sp. B06 and Australoschendyla sp. B08 (2 records each). While the coastal Australoschendyla sp. B01 has a linear range of 280 km, owing to an outlying record at Cape Preston, the two species with multiple records in the Hamersley Ranges have linear ranges of 7 km and 2 km, respectively. Australoschendyla species are large for troglofauna and so they might be expected to occur at low abundance and to be collected infrequently, which is likely to lead to underestimates of their ranges. Nevertheless, existing information suggests it is likely that some Australoschendyla species have small ranges and Australoschendyla sp. B06 may be restricted to the vicinity of the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope.

Both specimens of Australoschendyla sp. B06 were collected from scrapes in detritals, which is typical habitat for species of the genus. Given that the area of detritals from which they were recorded extends outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (BHPBIO 2016), the range of

23 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Australoschendyla sp. B06 is also likely to do the same, especially in the vicinity of hole SF0139R. It is therefore considered unlikely that Australoschendyla sp. B06 is restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely it will be impacted by the Proposal.

Chilenophilidae sp. B07 Five species of Chilenophilida have been collected as troglofauna from the Pilbara by Bennelongia, with all species represented by single animals.

While the collection of all five Pilbara species as single animals suggests that the species occur at low abundance (which is unsurprising given their large size), the consistency of the pattern also suggests that species are not widespread. While there is doubt about the range of Chilenophilidae sp. B07 (collected from a scrape), it is probably restricted to the vicinity of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. As with Australoschendyla sp. B06, Chilenophilidae sp. B07 probably occurs in detritals with the deeper vuggy breccia being likely to be suitable habitat. Given that detritals extend outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (BHPBIO 2016), it is likely the range of Chilenophilidae sp. B07 does the same (at least for a short distance). It is therefore considered unlikely that the species will be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely it will be impacted by the Proposal.

Hanseniella sp. B07 To date, all species of the symphylan genus Hanseniella collected from subterranean samples have known ranges of <50 km and many have known linear ranges of <5 km (Bennelongia unpublished data). Hanseniella sp. B07 was recorded from four drill holes scattered through the proposed the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (SF0259R, SF0484R, GSR0001, SF0196R) and one in Deposit R in the Current Approved Impact Assessment Area (GRR067) with a current linear range of 24.1 km (Figure 6). Specimens were collected in scrapes and haul nets.

Interpretation of the occurrence of Hanseniella sp. B07 in relation to geology suggests its preferred habitat is detritals (alluvium and colluvium) (BHPBIO 2016), which provides continuous habitat from the known locations of the species to areas outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Thus, Hanseniella sp. B07 is unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Hanseniella sp. B34 Hanseniella sp. B34 is a singleton known only from the north-western boundary of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. It was collected in a scrape in detritals that extend north of the proposed mine pit (BHPBIO 2016). Owing to its occurrence on the boundary of the mine pit and the northwards continuation of colluvium, it is likely that suitable habitat extends beyond the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. Hanseniella sp. B34 is, therefore, considered unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Diplura Japygidae `DPL005` Japygidae `DPL005` has been recorded twice at Southern Flank over a linear range of 15 km. As with many other members of the family, it is quite likely that Japygidae `DPL005` is a troglophile with an above ground dispersal phase.

The record of Japydidae `DPL005` from drill hole SF0180R came from a trap set at approximately 45 m depth in the Mt Newman Member of the Marra Mamba Shale Formation. The specimen from drill hole SF0260R was collected in a haul net somewhere between the surface and 36 m depth, suggesting it occurred in siltstone of the upper detritals or, perhaps more likely, the West Angelas Member of the

24 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Marra Mamba Formation. The Mt Newman and West Angelas Members do not extend beyond the proposed mine pit, providing a contradictory indication of the likely species range from that based on the ranges of related species.

While there is some uncertainty about the range of Japydidae `DPL005`, the species is regarded as likely to be widespread on the basis that it probably has above-ground dispersal to account for its current range or has a distribution reflecting some of its original surface distribution prior to colonising subterranean habitats (neither of these mechanisms require continuous subterranean habitat). Thus, Japygidae `DPL005` is considered unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Japygidae `DPL007` Japygidae `DPL007`is known from one record within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and one record in in the Current Approved Impact Assessment Area, 5.7 km apart and both collected by haul nets. In both cases the species was recorded in colluvium and alluvium with the geology extending beyond the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (BHPBIO 2016). Thus, Japygidae `DPL007` is unlikely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and is unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Parajapygidae `DPL023` Bennelongia has collected 15 troglofaunal species of the dipluran family Parajapydiae in the Pilbara. Eight species were represented by single records and the other seven species were represented by 2- 11 records with linear ranges of 3-123 km (mean 37±16 km).

Parajapygidae `DPL023` is known from two holes (collected by a net haul and a scrape) within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area over a distance of 3.1 km (Figure 7). Both holes are at the western end of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and one of them (SF0259R) contained only deritals (colluvium and alluvium) above the watertable (BHPBIO 2016), showing that the species can utilise this habitat. Detritals extend south beyond the proposed pit extent and, therefore, it is considered unlikely that Parajapygidae `DPL023` is restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and unlikely it will be impacted by the Proposal.

Parajapygidae `DPL024` The fact that Parajapygidae `DPL024` is represented by a single animal makes it difficult to infer the species’ range. While it appears likely that a significant proportion of the parajapygid species with multiple records are troglophiles with an above ground dispersal phase that enables them to be moderately widespread, some of the species represented by single records are probably troglobites with restricted ranges.

Given that there was only 6 m of scree over extensive West Angelas and Mt Newman Members at drill hole SF0196R where Parajapygidae `DPL024` was collected from a net haul, geology provides no greater clarity about the likely range of Parajapygidae `DPL024` than do the ranges of related species. It is either a troglophile occupying surface scree and likely to extend outside the proposed mine pits or a troglobite in Marra Mamba Formation that is likely to be restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area because of the restricted extent of the West Angelas and Mt Newman Members (BHPBIO 2016). For the purposes of this assessment, the range of Parajapygidae `DPL024` is considered to be uncertain. Therefore, it is also uncertain whether the species will potentially be impacted by the Proposal.

Parajapygidae sp. B25 Similarly to Parajapygidae `DPL024`, Parajapygidae sp. B25 is represented as a single specimen (collected in a scrape). It was recorded from the drill hole SF0147R. This drill hole is located on the

25

Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore southern edge of the the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. The mapped geology in this area is a consolidated alluvium. The detrital sequence is interpreted to extend to approximately 39 m depth and is the only lithology intersected above the water table. Detritals extend beyond the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area to the south, providing habitat continuity for this species (BHPBIO 2016). It is therefore unlikely that Parajapygidae sp. B25 is restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. The species is unlikely to be impacted by the Proposal.

Table 3. Likelihood of troglofauna species being restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area.

Higher Group No. of No. of Holes Linear Restricted to Impact Species animals Present Range (km) Area? Arachnida

Pseudoscorpiones Indohya `PSE005` 9 9 21 Unlikely Tyrannochthonius sp. B14 1 1 - Unlikely Schizomida

Draculoides sp. B20 4 4 10.0 Unlikely Draculoides sp. B59-DNA 2 1 - Unlikely Araneae Prethopalpus julianneae 1 1 - Possibly Prethopalpus maini 5 5 17.8 Unlikely Prethopalpus sp. B15 1 1 - Possibly Prethopalpus sp. B24 1 1 - Unlikely Malacostraca Isopoda nr Andricophiloscia sp. B16 1 1 - Possibly Philosciidae sp. B03 17 1 - Possibly Philosciidae sp. B15 1 1 - Unlikely Troglarmadillo sp. B14 12 2 11.2 Unlikely Symphyla Cephalostigmata Australoschendyla sp. B06 2 2 6.6 Unlikely Chilenophilidae sp. B07 1 1 - Unlikely Hanseniella sp. B07 7 5 24.1 Unlikely Hanseniella sp. B34 1 1 - Unlikely Entognatha Diplura Japygidae `DPL005` 2 2 14.5 Unlikely Japygidae `DPL007` 3 2 5.7 Unlikely Parajapygidae `DPL023` 2 2 3.1 Unlikely Parajapygidae `DPL024` 1 1 - Uncertain Parajapygidae sp. B25 1 1 - Unlikely

7. CONCLUSION Troglofauna surveys in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope were conducted in accordance with the recommendations of EPA Guidance Statement 54A and are considered to meet the expectations of Environmental Assessment Guideline 12. Survey effort at the Mining Area C Development Envelope is very high, with multiple surveys over a number of years, and greatly exceeds the effort recommended for typical situations by the EPA.

Troglofauna surveys to date suggest that the broad extent of the Hamersley Range (including the Robe Valley to the west) contains the richest troglofauna habitats in the Pilbara, although this conclusion may have been influenced by the very uneven distribution and intensity of sampling in the region (Bennelongia 2015). Areas with rich fauna include the Robe Valley in the far west (Harvey et al.

29 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

2008), the Solomon and Blacksmith hubs west of Karajini National Park (Bennelongia 2011b, 2013c), and Mining Area C to the east of the Park (this report).

Richness appears to diminish to the east of Mining Area C, although there are few surveys with similar sampling effort in this area. While 126 troglofauna species of 19 Orders have been collected from the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope and 51 species have been collected in the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, only nine species of troglofauna were recorded from the Baby Hope Downs Project, immediately east of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (Biota 2015). Differences in sampling effort (72 drill holes sampled in a different way from the holes at Southern Flank), taxonomic resolution and the types of species are treated as troglofauna are likely to have contributed to some of the lower richness. While six species of schizomid were identified at Baby Hope Downs, only three of the other species collected were treated as troglofauna (a pseudoscorpion, a palpigradid and a dipluran), which represents a sufficiently unusual assemblage structure as to suggest parts of the subterranean community possibly remain undocumented. In contrast, with nearly 2750 samples collected within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope, where perhaps Environmental Assessment Guideline 12 implies approximately 500 samples are required, the troglofauna communities in the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope and the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area are unusuallly well documented. In particular, less abundant species in the troglofauna communities (the low abundance tail in Figure 4) were well sampled and this resulted in 47 species that were known from single records (i.e. they were singletons).

Currently, 21 troglofauna species are known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment or Current Approved Impact Assessment Areas. Twelve of the 21 species were recorded from single drill holes, including all six species with a distributional status that is uncertain or possibly restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area (Figure 8). There are a number of reasons why species may be known only from one hole, including that drilling is limited to areas thought to be geologically prospective, sampling is undertaken only within the tenements of the company proposing development even though the species range may extend into adjacent third party tenure, and the phrase names used to identify most species are inconsistent between different consultants (making it difficult to determine whether the same species has been collected in different assessments).

Collection of a species from a small number of holes, especially from a single hole, provides very little information about its range and so surrogate information was used to infer the likely ranges of apparently restricted species. Ranges were inferred in a precautionary way, based on the geologies apparently utilised by each species and information on the ranges of related subterranean species. The process is likely to under-estimate (and possibly mis-represent) the habitat preferences of a species collected from small numbers of holes and, especially, single holes. Thus, there is some uncertainty associated with the inferred ranges of all the species known only from the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area but this is particularly so for species collected from single drill holes.

The EPA’s objective for subterranean fauna is “to maintain representation, diversity, viability and ecological function at the species, population and assemblage level” (EPA2013). It is considered that the EPA’s objective will be met at the species level if it is likely that all species occur in undisturbed habitat outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. While recognising that there is some uncertainty associated with assessments, evaluation of the ranges of related species and detailed habitat characterisation suggest that for the 21 apparently restricted species:  Sixteen species are likely to be more widespread than the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and implementation of the Proposal is considered unlikely to threaten their conservation. Individual species were recorded in 1-9 drill holes and in animal numbers of 1- 12.

30

Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

 One species has an uncertain distributional status. It is the dipluran Parajapygidae `DPL024`, which was collected as a singleton in the south of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area, towards the eastern side (Figure 8).  Four species are possibly restricted to the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area. These are the spiders Prethopalpus julianneae and Prethopalpus sp. B15 (both at the western end of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area) and the isopods nr Andricophiloscia sp. B16 and Philosciidae sp. B03 (in the south of the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area towards the east) (Figure 8). All four species were collected from single drill holes but 17 specimens of Philosciidae sp. B03 were collected. The other species were represented by single animals.

Given that the criterion for meeting the EPA’s objective at species level is occurrence in undisturbed habitat and that four species possibly do not occur outside the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and the distributional status of another species is uncertain, there is some doubt about whether the EPA’s objective will be met at the species level.

The Proposal is likely to meet the EPA’s objective for subterranean fauna at the population and assemblage level. Troglofauna species mostly have very small ranges (Halse and Pearson 2014) and, while there is often genetic structuring within these populations because of the limited opportunities for dispersal in the subterranean matrix (Guzik et al. 2011; Bradford et al. 2013), it is uncommon for populations of a species to occur sufficiently far apart that removal of one population might result in the loss of unique environmental adaptations that are absent from other populations of the same species. This suggests that the EPA's objective for populations is likely to be met at the population level.

The small ranges of subterranean fauna species also mean that it is unusual to have a situation where a proposal causes loss of widespread troglofauna species from a biological assemblage, thus reducing diversity and ecological function within the troglofauna assemblage while having little impact on the conservation status of individual species. Thus, in most situations, the EPA’s assemblage level subterranean fauna objective will be met unless the species objective is not met. In fact, the assemblage level objective is likely to be met even where there is small species loss if there is redundancy in community structure and no keystone species is lost (Walker 1992). It is only when the composition of an assemblage is unusual, such as with Threatened Ecological Communities or PECs, that the assemblage-level implications of species loss adds significantly to the impact of the actual species loss (Coates and Atkins 2001). Given the richness of the troglofauna assemblages in the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area and larger Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope, and the lack of any formal identification of compositional uniqueness of these assemblages, it is considered that the EPA’s objective for assemblages will be met even if the Proposal may alter the conservation status of species within the Indicative Additional Impact Assessment Area.

8. REFERENCES Baeher, B.C., Harvey, M.S., Burger, M., and Thoma, M. (2012) The New Australasian goblin spider genus Prethopalpus (Araneae, Oonopidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 369, 1-113. Barranco, P. and Harvey, M.S. (2008) The first indigenous palpigrade from Australia: a new species of Eukoenenia (Palpigradi: Eukoeneniidae). Invertebrate Systematics 22, 227-233. Bennelongia (2008a) Troglofauna survey of the Orebody 18 Mine Modification. Report 2008/27. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 21 pp. Bennelongia (2008b) Troglofauna Survey: Area C Mine – E and F Deposits. Report 2008/39. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 35 pp.

32 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Bennelongia (2008c) Orebody 24/25 Upgrade Project: troglofauna assessment. Report 2008/40. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 25 pp. Bennelongia (2008d) Appendix D. Subterranean fauna sampling at Balmoral South Iron Ore Project and adjacent areas. In Balmoral South Public Environmental Review. GHD and Australasian Resources, Perth. Bennelongia (2009a) Area C Mining Operation Environmental Management Plan (Revision 4) A, D, P1 and P3 Deposits: troglofauna assessment. Report 2008/48. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 65 pp. Bennelongia (2009b) Jimblebar Iron Ore Project: troglofauna assessment. Report 2009/61. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 55 pp. Bennelongia (2009c) Yilgarn Iron Ore Project: Carina Deposit, subterranean fauna assessment. Report 2009/69. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 24 pp. Bennelongia (2011a) Area C mining operation B, R, P4, P5 and P6 deposits: troglofauna assessment. Report 2011/094. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 37 pp. Bennelongia (2011b) Pilbara Iron Ore Project: Blacksmith subterranean fauna surveys. Report 2011/137. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 63 pp. Bennelongia (2012b) Addendum: Pilbara Iron Ore Project, Blacksmith subterranean fauna surveys. Report 2012/137A. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 38 pp. Bennelongia (2012b) Revision 5 of the mining area C EMP, B and P4 deposits: troglofauna assessment. Report 2012/158. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 36 pp. Bennelongia (2013a) Solomon Iron Ore Project: Troglofauna Survey at Zion Deposit. Report 2013/171. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 26 pp. Bennelongia (2013b) Mining Area C: Troglofauna assessment for Extensions at P1E and P3 Deposits. Report 2013/200. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 34 pp. Bennelongia (2013c) Solomon Iron Ore Project: 30 month troglofauna report at Kings Mine. Report 2013/206. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 30 pp. Bennelongia (2014a) Mining Area C: baseline subterranean fauna report. Report 2014/216, Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 82 pp. Bennelongia (2014b) Mining Area C, Life of Project: troglofauna assessment. Report 2014/225. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 62 pp. Bennelongia (2015) Strategic Environmental Assessment: description of regional subterranean fauna. Report 2015/202. Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Jolimont, 58pp. BHPBIO (2011) Area C geological review. BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd, Perth, 11 pp. BHPBIO (2016) South Flank troglofauna habitat assessment. BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd, Perth, 82 pp. Biota (2005a) Barrow Island Gorgon gas development. Biota Environmental Sciences, North Perth, 34 pp. Biota (2005b) Ludlow Mineral Sands Project. Biota Environmental Sciences, Leederville, 14 pp. Biota (2006) Mesa A and Robe Valley mesas troglobitic fauna survey. Project No. 291. Biota Environmental Sciences, Leederville, 74 pp. Biota (2015) Baby Hope Downs troglofauna survey, phase 2. Biota Environmental Sciences, Job 1098. Leederville, 40pp. +appendices. Bradford, T.M., Adams, M., Guzik, M.T., Humphreys, W.F., Austin, A.D., and Cooper, S.J. (2013) Patterns of population genetic variation in sympatric chiltoniid amphipods within a calcrete aquifer reveal a dynamic subterranean environment. Heredity 111, 77-85. Brown, J.H. (1984) On the relationship between abundance and distribution of species. American Naturalist 124, 255-279. Coates, D.J., and Atkins, K.A. (2001) Priority setting and the conservation of Western Australia's diverse and highly endemic flora. Biological Conservation 97, 251-263. Crowe, M. (2012) Guidelines for geological interpretation in the Hamersley Province. Unpublished internal document for BHP Billiton Iron Ore. Department of Environment and Energy (2016) Accessed 20 June 2016, http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-tmp/publiclistchanges.5b8b5472ccb1e4b7be3e.html

33 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) (2016) Accessed 20 June 2016, http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/plants-and-animals/threatened-species-and-communities/wa-s- threatened-ecological-communities Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) (2016), Accessed 20 June 2016, http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened- species/Listings/2013_Fauna_Notice_Sept.pdf Edward, K.L. and Harvey, M.S. (2008) Short-range endemism in hypogean environments: the pseudoscorpion genera Tyrannochthonius and Lagynochthonius (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae) in the semiarid zone of Western Australia. Invertebrate Systematics 22, 259-293. EPA (2003) Guidance for the assessment of environmental factors: consideration of subterranean fauna in groundwater and caves during environmental impact assessment in Western Australia. Guidance Statement 54. Environmental Protection Authority, Perth, 12 pp. EPA (2007) Sampling methods and survey considerations for subterranean fauna in Western Australia (Technical Appendix to Guidance Statement No. 54). Guidance Statement 54A. Environmental Protection Authority, Perth, 32 pp. EPA (2013) Consideration of subterranean fauna in environmental impact assessment in WA. Environmental Assessment Guideline 12, Environmental Protection Authority, Perth, 20 pp. Guisan, A., Broennimann, O., Engler, R., Vust, M., Yoccoz, N.G., Lehmann, A. and Zimmermann, N.E. (2006) Using niche-based models to improve sampling of rare species. Conservation Biology, 20, 501-511. Guzik, M.T., Cooper, S.J.B., Humphreys, W.F., Ong, S., Kawakami, T., and Austin, A.D. (2011) Evidence for population fragmentation within a subterranean aquatic habitat in the Western Australian desert. Heredity 107, 215-230. Hadley, N.F., Ahearn, G.A. and Howarth, F.G. (1981) Water and metabolic relations of cave-adapted and epigean lycosid spiders in Hawaii. Journal of Arachnology 9, 215-222. Halse, S.A., Scanlon, M.D., Cocking, J.S., Barron, H.J., Richardson, J.B., and Eberhard, S.M. (2014) Pilbara stygofauna: deep groundwater of an arid landscape contains globally significant radiation of biodiversity. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 78, 443-483. Halse, S.A. and Pearson, G.B. (2014) Troglofauna in the vadose zone: comparison of scraping and trapping results and sampling adequacy. Journal of Subterranean Biology 13, 17-34. Harvey, M.S., Berry, O., Edward, K.L. and Humphreys, G. (2008) Molecular and morphological systematics of hypogean schizomids (Schizomida: Hubbardiidae) in semiarid Australia. Invertebrate Systematics 22, 167-194. Howarth, F.G. (1980) The zoogeography of specialized cave animals: a bioclimatic model. Evolution 34, 394-406. Humphreys, W.F. (1990) The biology of a troglobitic schizomid (Chelicerata: Schizomida) in the caves of Cape Range, Western Australia. Acta Zoologica Fennica 190, 181-186. Lamoreux, J. (2004) Stygobites are more wide-ranging than troglobites. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 66, 18-19. Maurer, B.A. (1990) The relationship between distribution and abundance in a patchy environment. Oikos 58, 181-189. Miller, R.I., Stuart, S.N. and Howell, K.M. (1989) A method for analysing rare species distribution patterns utilising GIS technology: the rare birds of Tanzania. Landscape Ecology, 2, 173-189. Platnick, N.I. (2008) A new subterranean ground spider genus from Western Australia (Araneae: Trochanteriidae). Invertebrate Systematics 22, 295-299. Rio Tinto (2008) Public environmental review, Marandoo mine phase 2. Rio Tinto, Perth, 235 pp. Walker, B.H. (1992) Biodiversity and ecological redundancy. Conservation Biology 6, 18-23.

34 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

APPENDICES

35 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Appendix 1 - Summary of Timing of all Troglofauna Surveys Within the Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope

Table 1. Sampling dates of baseline surveys undertaken at Mining Area C. Study Area Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 A Deposit 5 December 2007 - 4 February 11 March - 14 May 2008 2008 B Deposit 17 March - 14 May 2008 25 July - 22 September 2008 29 March - 5 June 2011 C Deposit 17 January - 12 March 2008 D Deposit 11 January - 13 March 2008 12 March - 14 May 2008 E Deposit 9 January - 14 March 2008 13 March - 14 May 2008 F Deposit 4 December 2007 - 5 February 5 February - 9 April 2008 2008 R Deposit 1 April - 3 June 2008 5 August - 2 October 2008 P1 Deposit 12 December 2007 - 11 February 4 February - 2 April 2008 25 February - 12 June 2009 6 June - 6 August 2012 6 August 2012 2008 P2 Deposit 12 December 2007 - 11 February 26 February - 6 June 2009 11 April - 24 June 2010 23 June - 24 June 2010 2008 P3 Deposit 13 December 2007 - 11 February 4 February - 13 April 2008 26 February - 6 June 2009 7 April - 24 June 2009 24 June - 28 June 2009 2008 P4 Deposit 17 March - 18 June 2008 13 October - 26 November 2008 8 April - 28 June 2009 26 June - 28 June 2009 P5 Deposit 9 April - 19 June 2008 13 October - 27 November 2008 P6 Deposit 18 April - 21 June 2008 8 October - 11 December 2008 10 December - 11 December 2008 Southern 18 March 2010 - 10 August 2010 17 April - 9 August 2012 Flank

36 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Table 2. Sampling dates of targeted surveys undertaken within at Mining Area C. Study Area Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Rounfd 6 A Deposit 6 March 2015 – 6 May 2015 B Deposit 6 March 2015 – 6 May 2015 15-24 Feb 2016 27 April- 03 May 2016 F Deposit 6 March 2015 – 5 May 2015 R Deposit 5 March 2015 – 6 May 2015 15-24 Feb 2016 27 April- 03 May 2016 P1 Packsaddle 29 March - 2 April 30 July 2009 6 November 2013 - 9 2008 January 2014; 17 February 2014 - April 2014 P2 Packsaddle 30 July 2009 8 November 2013 - 9 4 March 2015 – 5 May 2015 January 2014; 18 February 2014 - April 2014 P3 Packsaddle 30 July 2009 9 November 2013 - 9 January 2014; 19 February 2014 - April 2014 P4 Packsaddle 13 April- 23 April 22 July 2008 5 March 2015 – 5 May 2015 2008 P5 Packsaddle 22 April- 23 April 21 July 2008 5 March 2015 – 5 May 2015 2008 P6 Packsaddle 20 April- 24 April 2008 Southern Flank 5 March 2015 – 7 May 2015 15-24 Feb 2016 27 April- 03 May 2016

37 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Appendix 2 – Extract from Executive Summary from Bennelongia 2014a Mining Area C is located approximately 100 kilometres (km) north-east of Newman in the central Pilbara region of Western Australia. Mining Area C consists of 14 iron ore deposits (A, B, C, D, E, F, R, P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 and the Brockman Detrital Deposit).

In 1997 a Public Environmental Review (PER) was prepared for BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd’s (BHP Billiton Iron Ore) proposal to mine in the Northern Flank valley at Mining Area C. BHP Billiton Iron Ore received environmental approval under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 to mine at Mining Area C - Northern Flank deposits through Ministerial Statement of Approval No. 491 (MS 491). This approval allowed mining of C Deposit and the Brockman Detrital Deposit. The PER and Ministerial Statement specified that mining of additional deposits at Mining Area C would be contingent on review and revision of the Area C Life of Mine Environmental Management Plan (EMP). To date, there have been five revisions of the EMP to mine a further eight deposits: A, D, E, F, B, P1 P3 and P4. In accordance with the mine plan, any modification to current pit boundaries and access to the remaining deposits (R, P2, P5 and P6) will be described under future EMP revisions.

In this report, information from across Mining Area C (the Study Area), as well as other locations in the Pilbara, has been used to characterise subterranean fauna occurring at Mining Area C. A precautionary approach was adopted to identifying species’ ranges and the possible conservation significance of species.

The specific objectives of this report were: 1. To summarise existing information on the subterranean fauna communities present within Mining Area C; and 2. To outline the likely distributions of the subterranean fauna species present at Mining Area C and to identify any species potentially restricted to Mining Area C.

Troglofauna The troglofauna community in the Study Area is rich. Sampling yielded a total of 2221 troglofauna specimens, which represented 83 species belonging to 17 orders. Of these 83 species, 47 are known only from the Study Area and are potentially restricted to it. Six of the 47 species have been collected only from approved, currently operating mine pits and should be considered as conservation significant (species persistence possibly threatened by anthropogenic activity). Twenty-eight species that have at least some occurrences outside approved mine pits are nevertheless potentially conservation significant. These potentially conservation significant species include pseudoscorpions, schizomids, spiders and opiliones, isopods, centipedes, millipedes, pauropods, pseudocentipedes (symphylans), diplurans, thysanurans and beetles. The remaining 13 species are unlikely to be conservation significant despite being known only from the Study Area and in some cases having apparently very restricted distributions.

Appendix 3 - Troglofauna Field and Laboratory Methods Troglofauna samples were collected from vertical, uncased drill holes within the Study Area. In most cases, samples consisted of the results of two separate collecting techniques being applied in a borehole. These were trapping and scraping: (1) Trapping. Custom made cylindrical PVC traps (270 x 70 millimetres [mm], entrance holes side and top) were used for trapping. Traps were baited with moist leaf litter (sterilised by microwaving) and lowered on nylon cord to within several metres of the watertable or end of the bore. In every fourth bore, a second trap was set mid-way down the bore. Traps were retrieved eight weeks later and their contents (bait and captured fauna) were emptied into a zip-lock bag and road freighted to the laboratory in Perth. (2) Scraping. Scrapes were collected immediately prior to setting traps. A troglofauna net (weighted ring net, 150 micrometre (µm) screen, various apertures according to bore diameter) was lowered to the bottom of the bore, or to the watertable, and scraped back to

38 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore the surface along the bore walls. Each scrape comprised four sequences of lowering and retrieving with the aim of scraping all troglofauna present on the walls of the bore into the net. After each scrape, the contents of the net were transferred to a 125 millilitres (ml) vial and preserved in 100% ethanol. Scrape sampling usually yields more troglofauna than trapping.

Once returned to the laboratory, troglofauna were extracted from leaf litter bait used in traps by placing the bait in Tullgren® funnels under incandescent lamps. The light and heat drives the troglofauna and other invertebrates out of the litter into the base of the funnel containing 100% ethanol (preservative) (EPA 2007). After about 72 hours, the ethanol and its contents were removed and sorted under a dissecting microscope. Litter from each funnel was also examined under a microscope for any remaining live or dead animals. Preserved scrapes were elutriated in the laboratory to separate animals from heavier sediment and screened into size fractions (250, 90 and 53 µm) to remove debris and improve searching efficiency. Samples were then sorted under a dissecting microscope.

All fauna were picked from scrape samples or extracted from bait were examined for troglomorphic characteristics (lack of eyes and pigmentation, well developed sensory organs, slender appendages, vermiform body shape). Surface and soil-dwelling animals were identified only to Order level. Troglofauna were, as far as possible, identified to species or morphospecies level, unless damaged, juvenile or the wrong sex for identification. Identifications were made under dissecting and/or compound microscope and specimens were dissected as necessary.

In several cases troglofauna from the Project Area and Reference Area could not be identified to species level because they were damaged, juvenile or the wrong sex for species determination. These higher level (i.e. above species level) identifications were included in calculations of the number of species present only if the specimens could not belong to a species already recorded (e.g. Japygidae sp. was not included as an additional species because the family Japygidae was already represented by Japygidae `DPL002`).

Reference EPA (2007) Sampling methods and survey considerations for subterranean fauna in Western Australia (Technical Appendix to Guidance Statement No. 54). Guidance Statement 54A. Environmental Protection Authority, Perth, 32 pp.

39 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore

Appendix 4 –Higher level identifications (immature or incomplete specimens) I, Indicative Additional Impact AssessmentArea; C, Current Approved Impact Assessment Area; R, Reference ares in Proposed Mining Area C Development Envelope. Species I A R Likely Species Chelicerata Arachnida Pseudoscorpiones Chthoniidae sp. 3 1 Uncertain due to taxonomic resolution Lagynochthonius sp. 2 1 One of the five Lagynochthonius species in Table 2 Tyrannochthonius sp. 1 One of the five Tyrannochthonius species in Table 2 Indohya sp. 1 Indohya `PSE005` or Indohya sp. S02 Palpigradi Palpigradi sp. 2 4 Palpigradi sp. B01 or Eukoenenia sp. S01 Schizomida Draculoides sp. 14 42 14 The Draculoides species collected at each corresponding area Araneae Araneomorphae sp. 1 Uncertain due to taxonomic resolution Linyphiidae sp. 6 Linyphiidae sp. B03 (=Araneae sp. S05) Prethopalpus sp. 7 2 Prethopalpus sp. B06 for R Deposit, Prethopalpus sp. B18 for P2 deposit nr Encoptarthria sp. 1 1 nr Encoptarthria sp. B01 Oonopidae sp. 1 Uncertain due to taxonomic resolution Opiliones Opiliones sp. 1 Possibly Opiliones sp. B02 or Dampetrus sp. B01 (nr isolatus) Crustacea Malacostraca Isopoda Armadillidae sp. 2 Any of the armadillid isopod species in Table 2 Myriapoda Chilopoda Scolopendrida Cryptops sp. 2 1 Any of the Cryptops species in Table 2 Diplopoda Polyxenida Lophoproctidae sp. 3 3 Lophoturus madecassus Symphyla Cephalostigmata Symphyella sp. 1 Possibly Symphyella sp. B03 Hexapoda Entognatha Diplura 40 Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore Species I A R Likely Species Diplura sp. 1 Any of the diplurans in Table 2 Japygidae sp. 3 Japygidae `DPL002`, Japygidae `DPL005` or Japygidae `DPL007` Insecta Thysanura Atelurinae sp. 2 2 3 Dodecastyla crypta, Atelurinae sp. B02 (=?Atelurodes sp. S02) or Atelurinae sp. B04 Nicoletiidae sp. 2 Uncertain due to taxonomic resolution Thysanura sp. 1 Uncertain due to taxonomic resolution Trinemura sp. 1 2 Trinemura sp. B02 (nr watsoni) or Trinemura sp. B09 Blattodea Blattidae sp. 38 179 25 Blattidae sp. B06 Nocticola sp. 34 118 70 Nocticola `BLA001`, Nocticola `BLA003`, Nocticola `cockingi` ms or Nocticola `quartermainei` ms Hemiptera Hemiptera sp. 2 1 Any of the hemipterans in Table 2 Meenoplidae sp. 87 174 70 Any of the meenoplid species in Table 2 Coleoptera Coleoptera sp. 1 Uncertain due to taxonomic resolution Curculionidae Genus 1 sp. 2 1 3 Curculionidae Genus 1 sp. B02 Curculionidae sp. 1 Curculionidae Genus 1 sp. B02 Zuphiini sp. 2 9 3 Any of the Typhlozuphium species in Table 2 Diptera Sciaridae sp. 1 1 1 Sciaridae sp. B01 or Sciaridae sp. B05

41