Tasmanian Advanced Minerals Pty Ltd Waste Silica Flour Waste Depots Environmental Effects Report

Prepared for: Tasmanian Advanced Minerals Pty Ltd

Date: August 2012 Rev 02

transport infrastructure | community infrastructure | industrial infrastructure | climate change

Table of Contents

1. Proponent Information ...... 1 1.1 Premises addresses ...... 1 1.2 Proponent background ...... 1 1.3 Project objectives ...... 2 1.4 Environmental effects report guidelines ...... 2 2. Report Format ...... 3 3. General Project Description ...... 4 3.1 Background ...... 4 3.2 Waste silica ...... 8 3.3 Timeframe ...... 11 3.4 Operating hours ...... 11 3.5 Production rates ...... 11 4. Calder Details ...... 12 4.1 Calder waste depot design ...... 12 4.2 Calder depot development ...... 12 4.3 Calder drainage detail ...... 14 4.4 Calder depot operations ...... 15 4.5 Groundwater - Calder ...... 19 5. Blackwater Details ...... 23 5.1 Blackwater waste depot design ...... 23 5.2 Blackwater depot development ...... 23 5.3 Blackwater drainage details ...... 23 5.4 Blackwater depot operations ...... 24 5.5 Groundwater - Blackwater ...... 27 6. Project Areas...... 28 6.1 General areas ...... 28 6.2 Project locations ...... 29 6.3 Current and historic use of the sites ...... 31 6.4 Land tenure ...... 31 6.5 Surrounding land use ...... 31 6.6 Calder soil and geology ...... 32 6.7 Blackwater soil and geology ...... 32 6.8 Climate ...... 34 6.9 Project boundaries ...... 37 6.10 Rationale and alternatives ...... 41 7. Potential Environmental Effects ...... 42 7.1 Flora and fauna ...... 43 7.2 Rivers, creeks, wetlands and estuaries ...... 43 7.3 Significant areas ...... 45 7.4 Coastal zone and marine areas ...... 45 7.5 Air emissions ...... 45 7.6 Liquid effluent ...... 48 7.7 Solid wastes ...... 51 7.8 Noise emissions ...... 51 7.9 Transport impacts and off-site effects ...... 53 7.10 Dangerous substances and chemicals ...... 54 7.11 Site contamination ...... 54 7.12 Sustainability and climate change ...... 54 7.13 Cultural heritage ...... 54 7.14 Sites of high public interest ...... 54 7.15 Rehabilitation ...... 55 8. Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004 ...... 59 8.1 Calder depot ...... 59 8.2 Blackwater depot ...... 60 9. Management Commitments ...... 62 10. Public Consultation ...... 63

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb

1. Proponent Information Tasmanian Advanced Minerals Pty Ltd Processing Plant address: 19 Stennings Road Wynyard 7325 Postal address: PO Box 378, Wynyard TAS 7325 Phone: (03) 6421 167; Fax: (03) 6442 2001 ABN 51122089221; ACN 122089221 Responsible person - Mr Chris Stuart - Managing Director Registered Business Address: 19 Stennings Road Wynyard 7325. 1.1 Premises addresses

Blackwater The Blackwater waste silica depot will be located on the existing Blackwater mine site on Blackwater Spur 1 Road off the Blackwater Road approximately 3 km west of the Kanunnah Bridge and 0.6 km south of the Arthur River. The location is approximately 33 km southwest of Smithton, 13 km southwest of Trowutta and 15 km southwest of Roger River in Tasmania.

The activity will be undertaken on Mining Lease 9M/2007 issued by the Crown in January 2008. The mining lease covers 214 ha. The mining lease authorises the extraction and handling of category 5 materials, namely industrial minerals and semi precious stone, with the principal product being silica.

Calder The Calder waste silica depot will be located on the existing Hanson Construction Materials mine site on Calder Road approximately 0.8 km east from the Inglis River. The location is approximately 10 km southwest of the intersection of Calder Road and the Bass Highway at Wynyard in Tasmania.

The activity will be undertaken on Mining Lease 68M/1980 issued by the Crown in February 1981. The mining lease covers 349 ha. The mining lease authorises the extraction and handling of category 3 construction minerals, with the principal product being gravel. 1.2 Proponent background The Tasmanian Advanced Minerals Pty Ltd (TAM) operates a silica processing plant at Wynyard in Tasmania. The processing plant is a level 2 activity regulated by the Environment Protection Authority, under permit DA 170/2005 – A (NELMS No. 7220).

The TAM silica processing plant is located at Stennings Road in Wynyard, 200 m west of the Bass Highway and Calder Road intersection. The process consists of the wet particle size segregation of the raw silica sands into different size fractions. The raw silica sand is extracted from TAM extractive pits located at Blackwater and Hawkes Creek on the northwest coast of Tasmania.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 1

During processing of the raw silica sand, the fine silica fraction contained in the raw material passes through the plant as a waste size fraction, and currently there is no commercial market for this material, however there may be in future. The waste silica flour is not created in the processing plant, but consists of an unsalable fines fraction that passes through the wet screening process. Although a ‘ball mill’ is used in the process, its purpose is for disaggregating lump material autogenously. There is no comminution of the material with a grinding medium.

TAM owns and operates three level 2 silica extractive pits, which supply the TAM processing plant in Wynyard. The processing plant currently produces approximately 20,000 m3/annum of waste silica flour containing approximately 10% to 20% free water.

TAM has been operating in Tasmania since 2007. In that time no environmental protection notices have been issued against TAM, regarding unacceptable environmental performance or for causing any environmental nuisance or harm.

TAM is continually pursuing alternative reuse and waste management options which will use the material in a more productive manner or which will conserve the mineral value of the fine size fraction for potential future benefit. To date realisation of the physical and mineral value of the waste has not been successful.

The current disposal practice to landfill: Is becoming cost prohibitive Has a limited life Takes up valuable landfill capacity May prevent the potential future reuse of a valuable resource. 1.3 Project objectives The objectives of the new waste depots are to: Implement a more sustainable waste management strategy Establish stable landforms at the designated rehabilitation sites Establish stable surface water drainage at designated rehabilitation sites Improve sediment and dust suppression and management at designated rehabilitation sites Improve the current transport requirements and reduce the current transport impacts. 1.4 Environmental effects report guidelines The EPA issued guidelines for the environmental effects report (EER) in December 2011, based on the project Notice of Intent submitted November 2011. The EER has been developed in accordance with the guideline requirements.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 2

2. Report Format This environmental effects report (EER) contains two separate Tasmanian Advanced Minerals proposals. One proposal is for a waste silica depot at the Hanson Construction Materials’ Calder extractive pit and the other proposal is for a waste silica depot at the Tasmanian Advanced Minerals’ Blackwater silica pit, using the existing mine site infrastructure.

Some sections of the EER deal solely with the separate proposals while other sections of the EER deal with the two proposals combined. The sections dealing with the separate proposals are summarised below.

Section 4 of the EER contains the Calder project details

Section 5 of the EER contains the Blackwater project details

Sections 6.6 and 6.7 for the separate soil and geological settings

Sections 6.8.1 and 6.8.2 for the separate climate information

Sections 6.9.1 and 6.9.2 for the separate premises boundaries

Section 7.15.1 and 7.15.2 for the separate rehabilitation plans

Section 8.1 compares the Calder project design with the acceptable standards of the Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004

Section 8.2 compares the Blackwater project design with the acceptable standards of the Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004

The combined impact assessment covering both activities is contained in Section 7.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 3

3. General Project Description 3.1 Background Tasmanian Advanced Minerals (TAM) is proposing to implement a new waste management strategy and plan for the waste silica flour arising from its high purity silica processing plant at Wynyard by developing new waste depots at specific extractive pit operations requiring rehabilitation.

The establishment of waste depots will result in the rehabilitation of an historically worked out area of a local Calder extractive pit as well as the rehabilitation of TAM’s own Blackwater extraction pit, when mine plans at these TAM pits allow. The waste silica flour will be used to reinstate stable landforms and to act as a medium for revegetation.

The Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd (Hanson) operates a gravel and sand extraction pit at Calder near Wynyard. The pit is located on Calder Road at Calder, Tasmania. The operating pit is a level 2 activity (permit 3387 and Mining Lease 68M/1980) regulated by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Mineral Resources Tasmania (MRT). It currently extracts approximately 22,000 m3 per annum of siliceous gravels and sands which are screened into marketable size fractions.

Hanson took over the mining lease and operation of the Calder Pit in 2004. It inherited many historic worked out areas on the mining lease which contained highly degraded areas requiring rehabilitation. Hanson has been undertaking ongoing rehabilitation of the operating areas as well as some of the historic areas. However some of these historic areas such as the Ponderosa area are difficult to rehabilitate.

In 2005, under the transfer conditions of ML 68M/1980, MRT requested that a rehabilitation plan be developed for the lease. John Miedecke and Partners prepared a rehabilitation plan for the Hanson Calder pit, which was submitted to MRT. The rehabilitation plan outlined an action plan for many of the lease areas but also identified the problems associated with areas such as the Ponderosa area.

In late 2010, TAM approached Hanson and MRT regarding the use of waste silica flour for the purposes of rehabilitating the worked out sections of the Ponderosa area at the Calder pit. MRT and Hanson have been receptive and supportive of the initiative, provided that the environmental management was acceptable to the EPA.

In accordance with the State governments waste management hierarchy, TAM has been pursuing waste minimisation and waste reuse options. It is not possible to reduce the waste as the waste amount is determined by the fines particle size fraction in the naturally occurring raw material. To date none of the waste reuse options have come to fruition. This includes use as a raw material in construction products such as Cement Australia cement, Hanson pavers and TEMCO silicon alloy products.

Cement Australia (CA) has advised that the waste would have to be dried for reuse which is prohibitive and would require approvals and significant capital expenditure for specialist equipment at both premises. Further to this, CA has a limited demand that would still require the disposal of the excess waste under the current proposal.

TEMCO has advised that the material was too small to be of use to TEMCO processes. TEMCO’s current supply of silica ore comes from a quarry which TEMCO owns and leases to a contractor who is able to supply quartzite at very low cost and there is no economic justification to take a by-product for further processing which may in fact introduce risk of efficiency losses to the process. The proposed storage of the waste silica flour in the new Calder waste depot and storage in the existing mine waste stockpile areas is the most promising option at the moment.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 4

An understanding has been reached between TAM and Hanson regarding the proposed waste depot development at the Ponderosa area. It is proposed that Tasmanian Advanced Minerals Pty Ltd will be the owner, operator, manager and the ‘responsible person’ for the waste depot in a designated Ponderosa area of the Calder pit.

When the project is approved, the designated project area on the Hanson Calder mining lease will be excised from that mining lease. TAM is in discussions with MRT regarding taking out a mining lease over the designated area once excised from the Hanson mining lease.

TAM also proposes to undertake waste silica depot activities at its Blackwater pit from which the material was originally sourced. TAM is already the responsible person for this level 2 operation.

In summary, the extractive pits being considered for the new waste depots are listed below. Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd (Hanson), Calder pit, designated Ponderosa area TAM’s Blackwater pit.

The Calder extractive pit is in the Waratah Wynyard Council municipality. The Blackwater extractive pit is in the Circular Head Council municipality.

The method of operation for the Calder waste depot is summarised below: Transport from the Wynyard plant to the waste depot (approximate distance 10 km) Trucks are designed to prevent spillage Disposal of the waste into dedicated cells Mobile equipment to develop, cover and finally encapsulate the cells Depot design and operations to ensure physical stability Ongoing management of the depot to minimise any ongoing risk to human health and the environment.

The waste management and rehabilitation issues are well understood by TAM as demonstrated by the current disposal activity and four existing level 2 activities (3 extractive pits and 1 processing plant). The management requirements are already in place under current permit requirements and operating conditions and practices.

The project will be titled ‘Tasmanian Advanced Minerals Pty Ltd – Waste Silica Flour - Waste Depots’. The locations of the proposed depots are described below: Hanson Construction Materials – Calder Pit – Ponderosa areas - Calder Road –10 km SW from the Bass Highway at Wynyard Tasmanian Advanced Minerals – Blackwater Pit – Blackwater Road – 3 km west of Kanunnah Bridge and 15 km SW of Roger River.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 5

3.1.1 Regulatory framework The regulatory information for each premises is summarised below: The Hanson Calder Pit is on ML 68M/1980 and is regulated under permit 3387 The Blackwater Pit is on mining lease ML 9M/2007 and is regulated under permit 7543.

The Director, Environment Protection Authority has ruled that due to the fine nature of the waste silica, the material is not classified as ‘clean fill’ material and therefore the proposed disposal of the waste silica will be assessed and regulated as a waste depot as prescribed in Schedule 2 – Level 2 Activities of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA).

The proposed waste depot on the Hanson pit site at Calder, near Wynyard, is located in an area zoned as Primary Industries under the Waratah Wynyard Planning Scheme 2000. The Waratah–Wynyard Council has determined that a new permit is required under their scheme for the waste depot activity. The depot development application and approval will be undertaken under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993.

The area of the TAM’s Blackwater pit, west of the Kanunnah Bridge, is zoned as Forest Resource under the Circular Head S.46 Planning Scheme No.1, 1995 – As Consolidated at 1st June 2006. The Circular Head Council has determined that the proposed waste depot activity at the Blackwater site does not require a new planning permit as the proposed activity is covered by the existing TAM permit.

The waste depot approvals do not require and are unlikely to require Commonwealth government approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, as there are no matters of national environmental significance. As such the proposal has not been referred and will not be referred to the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBCA) for determination on whether approval is required under the EPBC Act.

The different planning scheme requirements covering the proposed Calder waste depot and the proposed Blackwater waste depot means that the Calder proposal will be assessed under Section 25 of the EMPCA and the Blackwater proposal will be assessed under Section 27 of the EMPCA.

Following approval, the two waste depots will be regulated by the Environment Protection Authority, Mineral Resources Tasmania and council. It is predicted that the TAM waste depot operation at the Calder site will be regulated under conditions contained in a new land use permit. It is predicted that the waste depot operations at the TAM Blackwater site will be regulated under the conditions contained in an Environment Protection Notice for that site.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 6

3.1.2 Project strategy TAM is developing a new waste management strategy for the waste silica flour resulting from the screening of raw silica sand extracted from its extractive pits. The screening operation is located on the Bass Highway at Wynyard.

The strategy involves the establishment of a new waste depot at Calder and the use of the waste in the Blackwater extractive pit from where it originated.

The strategy will ensure that a viable and long lasting waste management plan is in place that will give certainty to the operations, to the satisfaction of the operator, the regulators and the community.

The Calder waste depot will be located on a designated worked out area on the mining lease known as the Ponderosa area. This area of the Calder pit is no longer in use and is exhausted of any resources that would be of future commercial interest to Hanson. Hanson, as the mining lease holder, has tenure over the designated area of land which is located on State Forest.

Hanson is supportive of the waste depot development as it presents a favourable opportunity to rehabilitate a problem area. Hanson, as the holder of a Crown mining lease over the area, has agreed to give permission for the proposed waste depot on the lease for the development application submission to the Waratah-Wynyard council.

The Calder waste depot site is characterised by some gully and rill erosion and limited vegetation. Appreciation of the Calder pit – Ponderosa area for rehabilitation can be gained from the photographs in Appendix A1.

The Blackwater waste depot areas are characterised by the existing mining, rehabilitation and waste storage operations. Appreciation of the Blackwater pit – mine rehabilitation area and waste silica storage areas can be gained from the photographs in Appendix A2.

The proposed Calder and Blackwater waste depot sites have readily available surface water for dust suppression and vehicle washing when required.

Given the benign nature of the material and its water content, it is considered that the waste depot will be classified as a Category A under the EPA Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004 for acceptance of solid inert material and that the Category A requirements of the guide will be applicable.

One of the benefits that will arise from the proposal is that the Ponderosa area of the Calder lease will be progressively rehabilitated by creating a more stable landform for improved rehabilitation and by creating an improved revegetation medium.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 7

3.2 Waste silica The typical contents of the waste silica flour are shown in Table 1 and Table 2.

Chemical Parts per million (ppm) dry mass basis Aluminium oxide 4,442 Iron oxide 337 Titanium oxide 1,201 Calcium oxide 681 Magnesium oxide 330 Copper 1 Chromium 6 Manganese 2 Nickel 2 Sodium oxide 31 Sulphur trioxide 38 Potassium oxide 161 Lithium oxide 1 Total 7,233

Table 1 - Typical waste silica analysis

Loss on ignition (LOI) temperature LOI percentage 550 C 0.19 1,000 C 0.28

Table 2 - Typical waste silica analysis

The loss on ignition to 550 C is most likely to be due to remnant vegetation impurities and water of crystallisation in the waste. The difference between the 550 C and the 1,000 C LOI is most likely due to carbonate decomposition at approximately 900 C.

The total amount of impurities from Table 1 is 7,233 ppm (0.7%) and the carbonate loss from Table 2 is 900 ppm (0.1%). The waste silica flour consists of approximately 99.2% silica dioxide as crystalline quartz.

The typical sizings of the waste silica flour are shown in Table 3.

Size fraction (microns) Percentage >75 um 5 >45 um 10 >25 um 35 <25 um 50

Table 3 - Typical sizing analysis

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 8

The waste material has particle sizings from 50% >25 microns (fine sand/coarse silt) and 50% <25 microns (medium silt/fine silt).

The PM10 inhalable fraction is approximately 20 - 25% and the <2.5 micron respirable fraction is approximately 5 to 10%. The waste silica flour is currently disposed of to the Heybridge landfill. The waste particle size analytical results are contained in Appendix B.

The materials handling, transport and disposal practices that have been successfully employed for the waste disposal at Heybridge landfill facility will be used for the Calder waste depot.

The waste silica is filtered on a belt filter at the processing plant and stored for disposal in a covered containment bay that drains to a recovery system. The trucks are loaded by a front end loader. The trucks have purpose built tip trays and tip trailers with sealed gates and with sealed load covers. The trucks are washed in the storage/loading/wash area of the plant before leaving.

The material is wet and contains approximately 20% moisture when loaded, trucked, delivered and unloaded at the depot. The trucks unload by tipping the jack-knifed trailer and tray at the edge of the open depot cell.

The wet waste silica has the potential to flow when vibrated or disturbed but it readily stabilises when allow to settle and drain. An appreciation of the material when stored, handled, loaded and transported can be gained from the photographs contained below.

The photographs show that the material has a manageable angle of natural repose when drained and stored. The material will be wet for the entire disposal operation through to covering in the depot.

Typical waste silica draining and stacking ability when stored before loading

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 9

Typical waste silica draining and stacking ability when discharging from belt filter

Typical truck loading and covering prior to washing and departure

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 10

The water contained in the waste silica (approximately 10% - 20% free water) has a typical pH of 6.7 and an electrical conductivity of 124 uS/cm. The water quality is very good due to the benign nature and high purity of the silica flour.

The only reagent used in the settling of the particles in the processing plant is a commonly used NALCO Core Shell 71303 cationic flocculant. The process reagent addition rate equates to approximate 130 ppm of reagent to the amount of raw silica sand processed.

The residual reagent level in the waste silica is expected to be significantly lower than this figure due to adsorption on the plant product, adsorption onto the waste and natural decomposition.

The reagent does not contain endocrine disrupters, acrylamide monomers and is not classified as a hazardous, dangerous or carcinogenic. The material safety data sheet for the reagent is contained Appendix C. 3.3 Timeframe The predicted Calder waste depot project life is approximately 5 - 10 years based on currently predicted throughput rates and waste fractions. The predicted Blackwater project life is expected to be approximately 10 years based on the predicted mine life. The Blackwater waste depot activity will be available until the mine closes and is rehabilitated under existing regulatory requirements. 3.4 Operating hours The waste depot hours of operation are specified below. Monday to Friday 0700 to 1900 hours Saturday 0800 to 1600 hours Sunday or gazetted public holidays 0800 to 1600 hours. 3.5 Production rates The proposed permitted amount of waste silica for disposal from the TAM processing plant will be 49,500 dry tonnes per year.

The majority of this maximum 49,500 waste tonnage will be disposed of at the Calder site. A fraction of this may be disposed of to the Blackwater depot site as a contingency option, when useful for the site rehabilitation and when mine plans allow.

The proposed permitted amount of waste that can be disposed of at the Calder waste depot will be a maximum of 49,500 dry tonnes per year.

The proposed permitted amount of waste silica that can be disposed of at the Blackwater waste depot will be less than 10,000 dry tonnes per year.

The current waste silica tonnage production for disposal is approximately 25,000 t/y dry mass basis (estimated from 20,000 m3).

The proposed higher permitted waste tonnage, compared to the current actual waste tonnage, allows for any future increased waste production should the processing plant throughput rate be increased or if the waste fraction increases in the raw material supplied to the Wynyard plant over time.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 11

4. Calder Details 4.1 Calder waste depot design The proposed boundaries of the proposed Calder depot are shown in section 6.9.

The proposed Calder waste depot area will be 6.7 ha. However the working area will be 3.2 ha. The waste depot will have a capacity of approximately 100,000 m3. The approximately dimensions of the depot will be 280 m wide x 120 m long x 3 m high.

It is envisaged that the site will operate for approximately 5 years based on current production rates (approximately 20,000 m3/y). A second bench may be developed at the site in future. This will increase the potential capacity to double the nominal capacity and therefore double the life of the facility. The second tier is not part of this current proposal and will be assessed under separate cover.

There is significant scope for the waste depot expansion into other Ponderosa areas requiring rehabilitation at the Calder site. A new Ponderosa site may be developed in future however any future development outside the currently designated area will require a separate proposal, assessment and approval.

The proposed waste depot will be designed to be self draining which will allow the free drainage of the depot and the waste via a drainage system. This depot design will prevent any potential liquefaction issues during operations and permanently enhance the stability of the depot and contained waste on closure. The free draining design is possible due to the high purity and quality of the waste and the entrained water.

The waste silica flour is chemically stable and will be the only waste material stored at the depot. No other wastes will be received by the depot. The proposed depot design and filling operations will ensure the emissions from the depot do not present a risk to human health or the environment.

The self draining design for the containment wall and the waste contents will require appropriate subsurface under drainage installed for the containment wall and the containment cells.

The waste storage development will be sequential. The proposed plan is to construct a containment wall approximately 3 m high in sections around the facility and to store the waste silica in dedicated cells constructed in rows up gradient from the western side to the eastern extent of the designated area.

The 3 m high single tiered facility will have a grade and profile that is similar to the current ground levels and on close out will be similar to the original natural ground.

The detailed design will be finalised by a qualified civil engineer prior to construction. 4.2 Calder depot development Site development will involve the following. A significant area of the site has already been scraped back to bedrock. However a significant amount of gravel resource is evident to the western side of the site This gravel will be extracted for construction purposes (access roads, access bench, cells) and will result in storage maximization when the facility reaches this area. Excavation is not expected to exceed 3 m in these gravel resource areas There will be an embankment wall constructed around the facility where required. In several sections the wall will be constructed into the natural ground and landform. The wall will also support an access road

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 12

The wall sections will be designed to be free draining and will not contain an impermeable clay core The wall will be constructed out of local earth fill from site clearing and from local extractive pits. The wall will be approximately 3 m high with a approximate 20 m wide footprint (based on 1:3 inner wall slope, 1:2.5 outer wall slope and a 3.5 m wide crest) This is a standard design for embankments and is based on the design tables contained in the Design of Small Dams (US Bureau of Reclamation). This design is considered conservative. Final design of the embankment will include a detailed embankment stability analysis using proprietary slip circle analysis software to establish an appropriate factor of safety The main wall will have one large or several smaller culvert drains installed underneath to ensure the facility and the wall is free draining. A perimeter drain will be installed around the facility and fall down to the front of the main containment wall The design of the containment walls, cells and waste material storage will be designed to be free draining with no clay core and no leachate containment measures required The main wall culvert drains passing under the wall and the outside perimeter drains will flow by gravity to a single sedimentation pond, designed to the engineering criteria of the Water Sensitive Urban Design – Engineering Procedures – Storm Water, Melbourne Water, CSIRO Publishing The sedimentation pond will be approximately 30 m long, 10 m wide and 1.5 m deep with a capacity of 450 kL, and designed to remove 90% of the micron sized solids during a 1:20 year storm event of 10 minutes in duration The sedimentation pond outlet will have an energy dissipation device and the natural drainage line will be rock lined for approximately 20 m to minimise erosion Internal transverse cut off drains will be constructed inside the depot directly up gradient of the containment wall and each cell row as constructed. Internal longitudinal drains will be installed between the transverse drains for depot drainage interconnection. The internal drains will follow existing fall lines The transverse drains will pass through the containment wall at strategic locations (final detailed design). The drains will initially act as storm water cut off drains until buried when they will act as permanent depot under drains The cell row footprint areas will be approximately 20 m wide with variable lengths up to 50 m. The width of the cells will be dependent on the excavator reach and the contents The initial design of the internal cell walls is 1:1.5, but the internal cell wall design will finalised by a qualified civil engineer The internal transverse cut off drain and longitudinal interconnecting drains (directly up gradient of each row of cells) will become buried below the next row of cells as the depot develops The buried drains may partly fill with waste over time but the waste is porous and permeable and will free drain with a minimal hydraulic head, which will allow for permanent drainage on close out and capping The internal drains will be progressively developed in sequence, along with the facility storage cells and rows. External and internal drains will be approximately 1 m deep and 2 m wide at ground level. The drains will be constructed in natural ground and filled with gravel or a similar engineered drain design. It is expected that the internal drains will be covered with a geo-fabric. The design will be finalised following approval. All the internal drains will be interconnected

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 13

The depot will be developed cell by cell. The cells will be approximately 3 m high, approximately 20 m wide and approximately 50 m long. The life of each cell will be approximately 2 months (based on 20,000 m3/y waste deposition) The waste silica is stable once drained and settled. The typical angle of repose for the drained material is evident in the storage photographs above The closed cells will be covered with locally sourced pavement gravel and sloped for drainage until final close out. The closed and covered cell rows will be used for access to the next cell row On final close out, the cell rows will have a permanent top layer installed and the final layer will be revegetated with a grass cover or alternative approved vegetation. 4.3 Calder drainage detail Storm water cut off drains will be constructed around the facility. These will consist of one main perimeter drain collecting and directing surface water to the front of the main containment wall.

Internal transverse cut off drains will be installed behind each row of cells and pass through the containment wall at strategic locations. These drains will be buried when the next row of cells is constructed, in sequence. Culvert drains will also be installed under the containment wall. The drains will be constructed in natural ground.

The internal drains will be filled with free draining gravel medium and will provide a preferential pathway, for draining the containment wall, the water content of the waste and incident rainfall infiltration, to the main outside drain to the sedimentation pond. It is expected that the drains will be covered with a geo-fabric material to allow water to drain while containing the waste silica. This detailed engineering design will be finalised prior to construction.

As mentioned earlier, the buried drains may partly fill with waste over time but the waste is porous and permeable and will continue to free drain on close out and capping. After completion of each cell row, it will be capped to allow access to the new cell row. Once the cell row is no longer required, the final landform and cover will be established, covered and revegetated with grass and the surface water will be discharged via surface drains and vertical rip rap drains from the top of the depot to the perimeter drains surrounding the facility. All the depot drainage will be directed to a purpose built sedimentation pond. The sedimentation pond overflow will be the designated aqueous discharge point for the facility. The sedimentation pond will be designed to the Water Sensitive Urban Design - Engineering Procedures – Storm water, Melbourne Water, CSIRO Publishing. The pond will be centrally positioned down gradient of the containment wall and the site drainage system will gravity feed to the pond.

The dimensions of the pond will be approximately 30 m long, 10 m wide and 1.5 m deep. The pond will be designed to remove 90% of the micron sized particles at a maximum design flow rate of 0.8 m3/second (cumecs). The 0.8 cumecs design flow rate of is derived from a 10 minutes 1:20 year storm event.

The 10 minute duration for determining the maximum design rainfall intensity is based on the predicted time of concentration for the rainfall flow to travel through the gravel filled internal geo-membrane covered drains, the time for the storm water to flow from the surrounding depot external drains and the relatively flat site.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 14

The rainfall intensity for the design storm event is 90 mm/hour (courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology). The design rainfall intensity is equivalent to 90 mm/3600 seconds or 0.025 mm/second. The 0.025 mm/second rainfall intensity over the depot catchment area of 3.2 ha, assuming the worst case runoff factor of 1.0, is 0.8 cumecs (0.025 mm/s x 32,000 m2 divided by 1,000 mm/m).

The following criteria were used for preliminary sedimentation pond design purposes. 90% reduction in micron sized particles loading at the maximum design flow Maximum design flow rate 0.8 cumecs Settling velocity for clay sized particles of 0.011 m/s Extended detention depth 0.3 m Depth of permanent pool 1.5 m Depth below permanent pool sufficient to retain particles 1.0 m Pond area of approximately 300 m2 (approx. 10m x 30 m) Pond shape factor of 0.3 Turbulence parameter 1.4.

Using a nominal sediment loading rate of 5 m3/ha/y or 33 m3/y for the depot area, the pond capacity will be reduced by 50% over 15 – 20 years, which is acceptable.

The sedimentation pond will be cleaned out every 5 years which should keep the sediment load in the pond below 20% and the minimum capacity above 80 %. The sediment will be disposed of into the open active waste cell.

The sediment removal will be undertaken during summer when the sediment in the pond has dried sufficiently for removal. An access track will be installed to the sedimentation pond for construction and maintenance purposes.

A preliminary Calder site layout and plan containing the depot drainage system is shown in Figure 1 on page 20. The preliminary Calder design plan and layout including sections and profiles of the waste depot are contained in Appendix D.

4.3.1 Calder depot leachate control/removal system It is considered that the waste depot will be classified as a Category A under the EPA Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004 for acceptance of solid inert material and that the Category A requirements of the guide will be applicable. However there will be no leachate system as specified for Category A landfills.

The design of the facility will be free draining, including the walls, cells and waste material. This is possible because the waste and entrained water is very clean. It is necessary to have a free draining facility as it prevents liquefaction during operations and gives permanent stability to the facility on close out. 4.4 Calder depot operations The Calder waste depot area will be divided into convenient operating rows containing the individual storage cells. The rows will vary in length from 100 m to 150 m and will be approximately 20 m wide, as shown in Figure 1 on page 20.

The individual cells will be constructed in sequence using on site materials from the site clearance or material sourced from the Hanson operation. The layout will conform to the existing site topography and drainage paths. The internal cell dividing walls will be buried as the depot develops from cell to cell and row to row.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 15

The access track to the open cell will be constructed on the previously filled cells and rows to an acceptable safety and stability standard, paved with road gravel for wear and dust suppression purposes and cambered to shed water. The track runoff will be directed to the site drainage system via vertical sloped rip rap drains.

Waste material will be stored progressively in the cells until full. An excavator will be used to distribute and tamp down the material in the cell as required. As the cells are filled they will be kept damp and tamped down to prevent dusting.

In the rare event that dusting is an issue, the cell contents will be sprayed with water from a spray truck or if necessary covered with gravel or mulch material. Due to the relatively small size of the depot cells, the 3 m cell wall height, the confining nature of the cell and regular tamping of the waste in the cell, the waste will be relatively solid and sheltered from very strong westerly winds

There will be no daily cell coverage as specified for Category A landfills. The design of the facility and the proposed tamping and watering will minimise dusting. Due to the nature of the material, daily cover is deemed unnecessary and the daily covering and removal of the cover material is likely to increase the risk of dusting, not minimise the risk.

The operations and the associated operating instructions will be relatively straight forward, as the depot operations will not require any waste segregation or separation. The typical equipment expected to be used for the depot operation are listed below. Bull-dozer Excavator Frontend loader Spray truck.

This equipment will be used for the following activities. Developing the individual cells and rows Levelling and tamping the waste in the cells Spraying the waste and roads in strong dry windy conditions Covering the cells and rows with pavement material when full Covering the cells and rows with permanent cover for close out Construction and relocation of access track Emptying the sedimentation pond.

The Calder site and TAM extractive pits have existing access roads and internal roads for the existing extractive activities. These existing roads will also be used for the waste depot activities.

During normal weather conditions, the depot roads and cells will not require any dust mitigation measures. In severe weather conditions, the roads and cells will be kept moist to reduce potential dusting using a water tanker. The Calder site has a reliable and available water supply.

As mentioned earlier, at the end of each day the active cell will be tamped down and watered if necessary. In severely dry and windy conditions, the cell will be watered and if necessary temporarily covered with local gravel or a proprietary cover material, to minimise the risk of dust emissions overnight. In extreme conditions the landfill will be closed.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 16

On permanent closure of each cell row, a permanent gravel/soil revegetation cover will be placed over the cell to a nominal depth of approximately 300 mm.

The waste silica flour and local gravels and sands are readily compactable without significant compaction effort. Mobile equipment operations on the material will result in a high level of compaction.

The following cell management procedures are proposed. The waste will be levelled and tamped in the cells on a daily basis No temporary cover will be applied over the waste at the end of each day In extreme weather conditions the cell waste will be watered and in certain situations a temporary overnight cover may be applied The final close out cover will consist of approximately 300 mm of appropriate cover material and revegetated with grass cover The final cover of the cells will be compacted to minimise dusting and to control water infiltration into the depot The depot will be free draining, including the walls, cells and waste, and as such any water infiltration will not jeopardize the depot’s integrity.

4.4.1 Water supply There will be no reticulated water supply. No water will be required for normal depot operations. The waste holds sufficient water for dust suppression and compaction.

Should water be required for dust suppression on the cells or the access roads, water will be sourced from the purpose built sedimentation ponds surrounding the site or from the depot sedimentation pond.

4.4.2 Traffic management The route that the waste trucks will utilise will involve the Bass Highway – Calder Road – York Street intersection and the existing private Calder pit site entrance and exit road.

Calder Road is owned and maintained by Waratah-Wynyard Council. The intersection of Bass Highway – Calder Road – York Street has been upgraded recently by the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER).

The intersection includes turning lanes on the Bass Highway allowing northbound and southbound vehicles to pass vehicles entering Calder Road.

Based on 2009 traffic volume data provided by Waratah-Wynyard Council, the existing Average Weekly Traffic (AWT) on Calder Road west of the Bass Highway is 1,670 vehicles per day (vpd).

It is estimated that the depot operation will increase heavy vehicle movements by approximately 5 to 10 truck load per day. The worst case scenario of 10 truck loads per day is based on a shutdown of the depot or the loss of the transport service for a day.

The worst case scenario of an additional 10 truck loads per day equates to an additional 20 trips per day. It is considered that this additional volume will not have an adverse impact on the existing operating conditions of Calder Road or the surrounding road network.

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The proposed operation will also result in a reduced network impact as the use of the Heybridge landfill site is reduced.

The transport route from Wynyard to the Calder depot is shown in Figure 2 on page 21 and highlighted in yellow. The entrance road details are shown in Figure 3 on page 22.

The traffic distance to the proposed Calder depot using Calder Road is approximately 10 km from the TAM processing plant at Wynyard. The current traffic route to the Heybridge landfill site is over 30 km using the Bass Highway and Minna Road.

4.4.3 Calder site security & staffing Vehicle access to the site will be from Calder Road through the existing Calder extractive pit security gate. Another boom gate will be installed on the internal access road at the depot boundary.

Tasmanian Advanced Minerals will be the responsible person for the development, operation and management of the depot and the storage of the waste silica on the Calder site. TAM will also be responsible for the depot security.

TAM will manage the site on a daily basis and this daily presence will minimise the risk of inappropriate access and use of the site. There will be at least one appropriately trained TAM staff member at the site during depot operating hours. The staff training will be supported by standard operating procedures for the premises.

During ongoing depot development, the number of TAM staff and contractors may increase to between three to five personnel.

4.4.4 Signage and safety Signage will be erected within the boundaries of the waste depot site. The following signs are proposed for the facility; Speed limit sign Private property and trespass warning Danger sign at the open working cell Safety contact details for emergency purposes.

The Calder waste depot will only received the designated waste silica flour from the TAM operations. As such there will be no public signage which advertises the presence of the waste depot.

The facility will not be operated as a public waste depot or be open to the public or other companies.

Communications on the waste depot site will be via UHF radio. It is proposed that the operating equipment will be fitted with UHF radios. A radio channel will be established and clearly displayed on the site.

The waste silica trucks will enter the site under the direct control of the depot operator using the UHF radios. The depot operator will direct the waste tipping operation. The trucking contractors will be inducted to the site’s operating procedures and safety requirements.

There will be a transportable site office for record keeping as well as lockers for clean clothes, overalls and protective equipment.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 18

The proposed level of signage, communication, staffing and safety is deemed acceptable based on the following points. Only one waste type will be involved Only one storage cell will be open at any given time The operation will not require any waste segregation or separation The operations and instructions will not be complicated Mobile phone coverage. 4.5 Groundwater - Calder The groundwater quality is expected to be high due to the porous and inert nature of the regional soil horizon. The groundwater flow path will follow the steep topography and hydraulic gradients in a westerly direction to an ephemeral drainage line and tributary of the Inglis River.

The waste material is inert silica quartz of geological age and the entrained water quality poses no threat to surface water or groundwater quality.

Coffee rock and hard pan material is evident in the area of the proposed Calder depot and this will act as a barrier to ingress of the clean depot drainage water into the deep aquifer.

The depot relative height is approximately 50 m above the relative height of the adjacent ephemeral drainage line approximately 100 m to the west and the groundwater table is predicted to be significantly lower than the 2 m separation depth required for Category A landfills.

The applicability of the 2 m Category A landfill groundwater depth criteria may not be relevant given the free draining nature of the depot, the low hydraulic head in the depot, the lack of high risk leachate and the clean nature of the drainage.

Due to the nature of the underlying rock, the high quality of the entrained water and the topography of the surrounding land, the depot will not affect the site groundwater level or quality. No groundwater monitoring is deemed necessary.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 19

Figure 1 - Preliminary depot layout and plan

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Figure 2 - Calder depot transport route (highlighted in yellow)

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Figure 3 - Entrance road details

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5. Blackwater Details 5.1 Blackwater waste depot design The designated Blackwater waste depot activities will be conducted on the existing mine rehabilitations areas and on the existing waste dump. The depot and boundaries are shown in section 6.9.2.

The designated depot area on the mine rehabilitation area is approximately 500 m x 200 m which equates to approximately 10 ha. The area of the existing waste dump is approximately 250 m x 120 m which equates to approximately 3 ha.

The Blackwater waste depot sites will not have a capacity limit as such but will be restricted by the following. Opportunistic reuse for landform reinstatement Opportunistic co-disposal in the waste dump Life of the mine and existing waste dump Annual disposal limit of <10,000 t/y.

It is envisaged that the depot activity will operate for the life of the mine which is currently estimated to be approximately 10 years.

The Blackwater waste depot will be designed to integrate with the current site waste silica disposal and reuse practices. The existing facilities are free draining and the proposed depot operations will also be self draining.

The waste silica flour is chemically stable and will be the only waste material stored at the depot. No other wastes will be received by the depot. The waste silica flour from the Wynyard processing plant is the finer fraction of the raw material that was sourced from Blackwater mine which is now being returned to where it was mined.

Integrating the proposed depot design and filling operations in with the same existing operations will ensure the emissions from the depot do not present a risk to human health or the environment. 5.2 Blackwater depot development The areas for the proposed depot activities have already been developed and approved under existing permit conditions and site management plans. 5.3 Blackwater drainage details The mine areas and waste dump have existing surface water drainage infrastructure and sedimentation controls. The existing mine site drainage infrastructure and management will also be used by the depot areas and will be controlled and regulated under existing management plans and regulatory requirements.

Some of the existing drainage system is permanent and some is temporary. The permanent drainage tends to peripheral while the temporary drainage tends to be internal and regularly relocated as the mine operations advance and as other areas are closed.

No changes to the existing drainage system will be required for the integration of the depot activities with the existing similar activities.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 23

5.3.1 Blackwater leachate control/removal system The waste depot will be classified as a Category A under the EPA Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004 for acceptance of solid inert material and that the Category A requirements of the guide will be applicable.

However the facility will be designed to be free draining and will integrate into the current site management system. There will be no leachate collection system as specified in the guide.

This is possible because the waste and entrained water is very clean. It is necessary to have a free draining facility as it prevents liquefaction during operations and gives permanent stability to the facility on close out. 5.4 Blackwater depot operations The depot operations can be summarised as follows. The mine and waste dump development has already occurred The waste silica flour from the Wynyard processing plant (which origianted from the Blackwater mine) will either be disposed of as a separate entity or mixed with current mine waste silica arisings In the mine depot area, the separate or mixed silica wastes will be placed in voids for reinstatement of mine landforms for future rehabilitation The waste will be buried as soon as possible with current mine waste silica arisings For the waste dump disposal, the separate or mixed wastes will be either end dumped or paddock dumped. The waste is most likely to be separately paddock dumped on top of the dump area and then surrounded, buried and compacted as soon as possible with paddock dumped current mine silica waste arisings In this manner the waste disposal of the processing plant waste will integrate with the mine waste disposal until mine and waste dump closure and rehabilitation On final close out, the mine areas and waste dump will have a permanent top layer installed and the final layer will be revegetated in accordance with the approved site closure and rehabilitation plan.

Unlike normal landfill operations, there will no active open cell. The waste will be tipped into voids in existing mine areas or onto the existing waste dump.

The mine currently has the capacity to extract and is permitted to extract up to 50,000 m3/year (up 100,000 tonne/year using a bulk density of 2.0 t/m3).

The mined material is free draining and contains approximately 20% moisture when mined. The waste content of the mined material is variable (20% - 50%) but is approximately 30% on average. This waste consists mainly of silica sand with some minor levels of clay and organics.

This equates on average to a maximum of 30,000 t/y of mine silica waste being disposed of or reused onsite. This also equates on average to approximately 70,000 t/y product transported to the processing plant. Of the potential 70,000 t/y of product trucked to the processing plant, approximately 30% - 40% is waste silica flour. This equates to approximate 21,000 t/y to 28,000 t/y.

This amount will not all returned to the Blackwater depot for disposal or reuse. The proposed permitted tonnage for the Blackwater depot is <10,000 t/y. This equates to approximately 10,000/(30,000 + 10,000) or 25% of the mixed mine/process wastes.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 24

In summary the raw mined silica contains approximately 30% of the waste silica flour. If the proposed <10,000 t/y of the processing plant waste silica flour is return to the Blackwater depot it will amount to approximately 25% of the mixed waste.

The access track to the mine and waste dump depot areas already exists with management practices and plans in place.

The mine equipment that is already on site will be used for the depot operations. This will be used as required to dump, distribute and tamp down and encapsulate the waste silica flour material.

There will be no daily covering of the waste as specified in the guide as such. This specification is deemed unnecessary and the existing operations and management will result in the waste being permanently buried as a matter of course.

The operations and operating instructions will be relatively straight forward, as the depot operations will not require any waste segregation or separation.

The equipment expected to be used for the depot operation are listed below. Bull-dozer Excavator Frontend loader Water truck.

This equipment will be used for the following activities. Mixing (if required) and distribution of waste Levelling and tamping the waste in situ Covering the waste with mine waste Construction and relocation of access track Watering tracks and dumps.

The TAM Blackwater extractive pit has existing access roads and internal roads for the existing extractive activities. These existing roads will also be used for the waste depot activities.

During normal weather conditions, the depot roads will not require any dust mitigation measures. In severe weather conditions, the roads and the depot areas will be kept moist using a water tanker to minimise dusting. The Blackwater site has a reliable and easily accessible water supply at Stephens Rivulet.

A comparison of the proposed operation with the Landfill Sustainability Guide is summarised as follows. No surface drainage required as it already exists No groundwater management is required as it is not necessary with the depot located on existing mining areas and waste dump No underdrainage is required as outlined above No leachate collection system is required as the facility is designed to free draining No temporary overnight or daily cover is deemed necessary No depot monitoring is required as the depot areas are integral with the current operations.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 25

On permanent closure of the depot operations, they will automatically be an integral component of the mine decommissioning and rehabilitation plan and closure plan. The waste silica flour and local gravels and sands are readily compactable without significant compaction effort. Mobile equipment operations on the material will result in a high level of compaction.

The material is free draining, inert and clean. Even in torrential rainfall conditions at the Blackwater mine, minimal surface ponding or runoff occurs. The current mining operations can be undertaken in all weather conditions and the same will apply to the waste silica depot operation.

No new site management measures, initiatives or plans are deemed necessary for the proposed depot operations at the Blackwater mine beyond those that already exist.

5.4.1 Water supply There will be no reticulated water supply. No water will be required for normal depot operations. The waste holds sufficient water for dust suppression and compaction.

Should water be required for dust suppression on the cells or the access roads, water will be sourced from Stephens Rivulet.

5.4.2 Traffic management The waste transport route for the waste silica flour is from the Wynyard processing plant to the Blackwater depot off Blackwater Road just west of Kanunnah Bridge.

The route details are shown below: Bass Highway Irishtown Road Grooms Cross Road Trowutta Road Roger River Road Blackwater Road Blackwater Spur 1.

The waste material will be back freighted by the trucks supplying the processing plant with raw silica resource from Blackwater.

As such no further traffic assessment or traffic management measures are deemed necessary above those that already exist.

5.4.3 Calder site security & staffing Vehicle access to the depot sites will be via the mine site access roads from Blackwater Road and Blackwater Spur 1. The existing mine security will serve the depot security requirements also.

Tasmanian Advanced Minerals will be the responsible person for the operation and management of the Blackwater waste depot. TAM will also be responsible for the depot security.

TAM will manage the site on a daily basis and this daily presence will minimise the risk of inappropriate access and use of the site.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 26

5.4.4 Signage and safety Mine site signs already exist. No extra signs are deemed necessary for the following reasons: The depot will not be operated as a public waste depot or be open to the public or other companies There will be no signage which advertises the presence of the waste depot The Blackwater waste depot will only received the designated waste silica flour from the TAM operations The depot activities are consistent with existing site activities.

Communications on the waste depot site will be via UHF radio as occurs for mining activities.

A site office for record keeping, water storage and lockers for clean clothes, overalls and protective equipment is already established at the site. There is no need for any extra depot infrastructure.

The proposed level of signage, communication, infrastructure and safety is deemed acceptable based on the following points. Only one waste type will be involved The operation will not require any waste segregation or separation The operations and instructions will not be complicated The depot activities are already occurring and being managed on the site. 5.5 Groundwater - Blackwater The groundwater quality is expected to be high due to the porous and inert nature of the regional soil horizon. The groundwater flow path will follow the topography and hydraulic gradients in a north easterly direction towards the Arthur River and Stephens Rivulet a tributary of the Arthur River.

The waste will be disposed of to the mine works and waste dump. The groundwater is predicted to be well below 2 m from the surface in these areas. This is supported by to the following. Permeable and porous nature of the depots and the surrounding country Elevated relative height (RL) of the mine and waste dump depot sites High hydraulic gradient between the depot activities and the adjacent surrounding environment.

Refer to the photographs in Appendix A2 for this support.

Given the above, the application of the Category A landfill 2 m groundwater depth criteria for this specific application, for these specific areas, and for this specific material is not deemed necessary.

As demonstrated above, no drainage or leachate collection system is warranted for the protection of groundwater or surrounding environment.

The site groundwater management is covered by the existing overlying mine permit conditions and approved management plans and no further management is required. No groundwater monitoring is deemed necessary.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 27

6. Project Areas 6.1 General areas The general settings and locations for the proposed waste depot activities are shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5 below.

The local site appreciation and layout information for the proposed depot sites, including mining lease areas and the designated waste depot areas, are contained in the following appendices: Appendix E for the Calder pit Appendix F for the Blackwater pit.

As previously outlined, the Calder depot site appreciation photographs are contained in Appendix A1 and the Blackwater site appreciation photographs are contained in Appendix A2.

The proposed sites are mined out areas, located on existing mining leases and covered by existing permit and mining lease requirements and conditions and regulated by the MRT and the EPA.

The depot sites can be characterised as follows: Have been cleared as part of the extractive activity on the site Are relatively level Have existing buffer zones from rivers, streams and residences Have good access roads Are already regulated as level 2 activities.

The relevant maps for the project areas are: TasMap, Wynyard sheet 3846, Tasmania 1:25,000 series – for the Wynyard processing plant TasMap, Calder sheet 3845, Tasmania 1:25000 series – for the Hanson Calder Pit on Calder Road TasMap, Sumac sheet 3244, Tasmania 1:25000 series – for the Blackwater mine off Blackwater Road.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 28

6.2 Project locations

Calder waste silica depot

Figure 4 - Calder Pit Waste Depot Location

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Blackwater waste silica depot

Figure 5 - Blackwater Waste Depot Location

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6.3 Current and historic use of the sites The Calder site has a long history of gravel extraction activity and there are numerous gravel pits located in the vicinity.

It appears that Brambles was an early mining lease holder and sands and gravels were quarried and processed mainly from the ‘Ponderosa’ area on the Calder site for the construction of the Hydro Electric Commission’s dams and power stations which were constructed in the 1970s on the Mersey and Forth Rivers.

Besser purchased the lease from Brambles and operated a wet and dry screening plant at the ‘Ponderosa’ site for many years before the resource was worked out in that area and the screening plant was relocated to its current site to the south.

The current Calder lease ML 68M/1980 covers an area of 360 ha of which approximately 43 ha is owned by Hanson. The balance is Crown land managed by Forestry Tasmania. Access to the site is via a private road off Calder Road.

The Blackwater site is located on the existing TAM mining lease located on State Forest. The Blackwater site was extensively logged in the 1980s. 6.4 Land tenure All the proposed waste depot sites will be located on existing mining leases on State Forest managed by Forestry Tasmania. Under a mining lease Mineral Resources Tasmania has the approval authority role on land managed by Forestry Tasmania.

The proposed Calder waste depot area will be located on the Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd mining lease - ML 68M/1980. The current operations are regulated under land use permit 3387.

Hanson has land tenure under a mining lease and is supportive of the project and will give approval as the lease holder for the development application to the Waratah - Wynyard council.

The proposed Blackwater waste depot will be located on an existing TAM mining lease and as such TAM has tenure for the proposed activities. 6.5 Surrounding land use The proposed waste depot sites are surrounded by State Forest. Forestry activities occur in and around the Blackwater location. Farming activities occur around the Calder site. There are no sensitive activities in the region of the depots.

An eagle’s nest exists to the northwest of the Blackwater mining lease. The existing mine operations comply with the eagle habitat management recommendations in the Tasmanian Threatened Species Handbook as well as the relevant environmental conditions and commitments of the mine permit and environmental management plan.

The nest is not within 1,200 m of the proposed waste depot site and as such the depot will also comply with the existing site regulatory requirements and permit conditions.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 31

6.6 Calder soil and geology

Calder site - geology The geology of the area has been mapped by Gee et al1. A Proterozoic sequence of chloritic schist with minor phyllite, dolomite and magnetite (the Arthur Metamorphic Complex), which occurs over an extensive area of north western Tasmania, outcrops over the western section of the site.

Tertiary sediments, dominantly non-marine sequences of gravel, sand, silt, clay and regolith, cover most of the site. These Tertiary sediments are presumed to directly overlie rocks of the Proterozoic metamorphic sequence at the site.

Calder site - land systems The site is located within the Gravel Pits land system, as mapped by Richley2.

583131 Gravel Pits: This Land System has developed on Tertiary deposits in an area with an annual rainfall of 1000 – 1250 mm. The landform typically consists of low hills. Uniform soils have developed on the crests and upper slopes. These soils are deep, gravelly, grey sand soils with a pale red iron B horizon. They have a sand surface texture, high permeability, an average depth >2.0 m and are subject to high sheet, rill and gully erosion. On the lower slopes the soils are gravelly, yellowish brown gradational soils with a gravelly clay loam surface texture, moderate permeability and an average depth of 0.7 m. These soils are subject to moderate sheet and gully erosion and low siltation.

Calder site - land capability Land Capability mapping of the area has been undertaken by Moreton3. The site is located on Land Capability Class E, Exclusion Areas (Land other than Private Freehold and Leased Crown Land, e.g. State Forests, State Reserves and Conservation Areas, etc.). 6.7 Blackwater soil and geology

Blackwater site geology The geology of the area consists of Precambrian rocks belonging to the Togari Group, Ahrberg Group and Correlates and Tertiary and Quaternary sediments. The Precambrian rocks in this area are comprised of shallow marine dolomite, chert, shale; diamictite and turbiditic mudstone, siltstone, lithicwacke and diamictite; and shallow marine dolomite and minor limestone.

Silica flour deposits, formed by post-depositional leaching of the dolomite in the Tertiary, were subsequently covered in the Tertiary by non-marine sequences of gravel, sand, silt, clay and regolith. Alluvial and lacustrine sands, gravels and muds accumulated along drainage lines and in low-lying areas during the Quaternary.

1 Gee, R.D., Gulline, A.B. and Bravo, A. P. 1967. Geological Atlas 1:63,360 Series, Sheet 28 (8015N) Burnie. Department of Mines, Tasmania 2 Richley, L.R. (undated). Land Systems of Tasmania Region 3. Tasmanian Department of Agriculture 3 Moreton, R.M. 1999. Land Capability Survey of Tasmania, Inglis Report. Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, Tasmania, Australia.

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Blackwater site soil - land systems The following land systems4 have been mapped in the lease area:

613121 Ekberg Creek: This land system, which covers the central and most of the eastern parts of the lease, has developed on Precambrian dolomite. Gravelly light grey uniform soils with a loamy sand surface texture, high permeability and an average depth greater than 1.8 m have developed on low rises. These soils are subject to high rill and gully erosion. On the flats mottled gradational soils with a loam surface texture, moderate permeability and an average depth of 1.6 m have developed. These soils are subject to low flooding and water logging.

624131 Olearia Road: This land system, which covers the western part of the lease, has developed on Cambrian greywacke turbidite sequences. Yellowish brown and brownish yellow gradational soils have developed on these sequences. They have a loam surface texture that becomes peaty in the steep valley slopes and drainage lines. Permeability ranges from moderate to high and average depth from greater than 1.8 m on the broad crests to 0.5 m in the drainage lines. Slopes are subject to sheet erosion and the drainage lines to moderate gully erosion.

Blackwater site soil – land capability Land capability has not been mapped, but the area is very unlikely to be considered prime agricultural land protected by the State Policy on Protection of Agricultural Land 2000.

Blackwater site – geo-conservation The LIST - Natural Values Atlas - database indicates that the Mining Lease will be situated in part of the Roger River – Ekberg Karst System as well as the Welcome Swamp/Salmon/Blackwater Karst Systems. The Oxbow Lakes are a recorded site of geoconservation significance but the lakes are situated off the Mining Lease at the northern boundary of the western end of the Lease.

Karst caves may exist around the Mining Lease, but they are considered unlikely to occur on the Mining Lease because the dolomite in the areas proposed for the waste depot is either buried under metres of Tertiary sediment or is too deeply weathered for cave formation. No evidence of karst systems has been identified over the periods of forestry activity in the area or over the period of exploration.

4 Richley L R (Not Stated) Land Systems of Tasmania – Region 3, Tasmania Department of Agriculture.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 33

6.8 Climate

6.8.1 Calder Long term rainfall data is available from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) site at the Wynyard airport. The airport is 10 km from the proposed Calder waste depot site and the data is deemed to be reasonably representative of the Calder depot site.

Rainfall has been recorded at the airport site since 1947 to the present time. The site rainfall has averaged 1002 mm per annum. The highest average monthly rainfall occurs in winter (approximately 120 mm/month). Late summer is the driest period on average (approximately 50 mm/month).

The BOM site has recorded temperature data from 1961 to the present. The highest average monthly temperatures occur in summer (approximately 21°C). Winter is the coldest period (approximately 13°C on average).

The BOM data for the Wynyard airport station can be summarised as follows: Mean annual rainfall 1002 mm/year (1947-2012) Mean annual maximum temperature 16.9°C (1961-2012) Mean annual minimum temperature 7.0°C (1961-2012) Summer mean temperature spread 11°C to 21°C (1961-2012) Winter mean temperature spread 3°C to 13°C (1961-2012).

The BOM has regional evaporation data. The average annual Class A Pan evaporation for the region is approximately 1,000 mm/year. The seasonal averages are 300 mm evaporation for spring, 400 mm evaporation for summer, 200 mm evaporation for autumn and 100 mm evaporation for winter.

The BOM mean monthly rainfall for the Wynyard station compared to the BOM regional mean monthly Class A Pan evaporation is outlined in Table 4.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Rainfall 44.5 49.1 47.4 73.9 96.8 110.2 131.6 113.7 95.3 97.7 76.3 64.3 Evaporation 150 125 100 60 40 30 30 30 60 80 125 150 Difference -105 -76 -53 +14 +57 +80 +102 +84 +35 +18 -49 -86

Table 4 - Mean monthly rainfall versus mean monthly Class A Pan evaporation

The annual rainfall of approximately 1,002 mm is similar to the annual Class A Pan evaporation of approximately 1,000 mm. The average monthly evaporation exceeds the average monthly rainfall by the maximum amount in January.

The weather conditions have a big bearing on fugitive dust emissions from waste depot facilities. The highest risk of dust emissions is therefore most likely during the high evaporation months of November to March.

The BOM has wind rose data for the Burnie area. Burnie is approximately 20 km away. It is considered that this data will give a reasonable appreciation of the strength and direction of the prevailing winds for the proposed Calder site.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 34

The wind rose for the 9:00 a.m. total observations (1965 - 2004) is shown in Figure 6 below. The wind rose for the 3:00 p.m. total observations (1965 - 2004) is shown in Figure 7 below. The wind roses indicate that the wind is generally from the west 50% – 60% of the time and from the east 30% - 40% of the time. This information can be of importance when assessing the potential noise and dust impacts on the nearest residences who are downwind of the prevailing westerly winds.

The roses indicate that the key prevailing west/northwest winds only exceed 30 km/h between 3% – 9% of the time. This means that although the prevailing winds are from the west, the winds are not of a significant strength for >90% of the time.

When the times of the strongest west/northwest wind are overlayed with the occurrence of high summer temperatures and low humidity, the times of potential dust emissions are reduced to approximately 1% - 3% of the time or 4 to 10 days a year.

This average frequency can be readily managed by the facility operators using the appropriate procedures and mitigation measures.

Figure 6 - BOM wind rose for Burnie, total observations 9:00 a.m. pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 35

Figure 7 - BOM wind rose for Burnie, total observations 3:00 p.m.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 36

6.8.2 Blackwater There is no weather station at the Blackwater site. The Bureau of Meteorology has weather stations at Marrawah 30 km to the northwest, Smithton 33 km to the north- northeast and Savage River 48 km to the southeast.

Although these reference sites have varying elevations and distances to the coast, indicative climate averages for the mine site can be estimated.

The climate at the site is temperate with a high annual rainfall. The weather is generally cool with westerly winds and a low average number of sunny days per year.

The following climate estimates for the site are based on the data from the three Bureau of Meteorology reference sites.

The mean rainfall is estimated to be approximately 1500 mm/year with highest monthly rainfall in July and August approximately 200 mm/month.

The mean temperature is expected to be approximately 16ºC with mean maximum temperatures of approximately 20ºC in February and mean minimum temperatures of approximately 4ºC in July month.

The mean number of rain days per year (>1 mm rainfall) is expected to be approximately of 200 days per year.

For the majority of the year the wind direction is from the west due to the roaring forties. The hot dry northerly winds that can occur occasionally in summertime may result in the material drying and dust liberation.

Based on the Savage River Pan A evaporation data, the period of potential dust nuisance will be restricted to those months when the mean monthly evaporation exceeds the mean monthly rainfall by any meaningful amount.

This mainly occurs on average in January (53 mm difference) and February (47 mm difference) of each year. 6.9 Project boundaries

6.9.1 Calder premises boundary The proposed Calder waste depot boundary plan is shown in Figure 8 below and the preliminary details are contained in Appendix E.

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Figure 8 - Calder Waste Depot

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6.9.2 Blackwater premises boundary The proposed Blackwater waste depot boundary plans are shown in Figure 9 below and preliminary details are contained in Appendix F.

Note: In Appendix F, the Blackwater mining lease application boundary (MLA) is now the mining lease ML 9M/2007 boundary and is also the mine land use permit boundary.

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Blackwater waste depot areas

Figure 9 - Blackwater Waste Depot Boundaries

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 40

6.10 Rationale and alternatives The key rationale for the proposal are summarised below: Waste silica flour is not produced – it is the unsalable size fraction in the raw resource. The waste silica flour is very clean, inert, weed and pathogen free The Heybridge landfill has a finite life. Exploring new waste management options shows responsible management and should result in a management plan that is sustainable, flexible and secure for the future TAM operations The new waste management proposal will be undertaken on existing level 2 premises The level 2 Calder and TAM premises are relatively remote, rehabilitation already occurs on the sites using similar materials, have good land forms and buffer distances from residential premises; good hydrology and surface water drainage; good vegetation buffer zones and good existing access roads for operations and management Underlying the worked out Ponderosa area at the Calder pit is bed rock and coffee rock (sterile brown hard pan). The placement of waste silica as a landform and revegetation media can assist with rehabilitation of the site Only the TAM waste silica material will be disposed of to the sites No other waste material such as putrescibles, low contaminated soil, contaminated soil or contaminated soil for remediation will be disposed of at the premises Rehabilitation is already undertaken at the Calder pit using fine siliceous materials from the existing wet screening and washing operation. The TAM pits already use waste silica containing the fine fraction for undertaking rehabilitation of the pits It may be possible to realise the mineral value of the waste if future technology and economics allows. Future recovery of the silica in a reasonably pure form will be more achievable from the proposed waste depots. The current landfill disposal jeopardises the potential future reuse due to access and contamination issues Once the silica is disposed of to the Heybridge landfill, the resource ownership may no longer reside with TAM It is expected that part of, or the entire current waste silica disposal to the Heybridge landfill will be replaced over time by this proposal.

At this time there are no alternatives to the current disposal practice and proposed new depots.

The proposal will not jeopardise the implementation of any future alternative strategy and will facilitate the recovery of the material in future when viable to do so.

The proposal will assist with the rehabilitation of a problematic area on an existing mining lease.

The proposal will not interfere with, or jeopardise, the future use of the sites by Forestry Tasmania.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 41

7. Potential Environmental Effects The following environmental effects report (EER) assessment is based on the EER guidelines issued by the EPA in December 2011 and acceptable standards of the EPA, Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004.

The two designated depot areas are mined out areas on existing mining lease. The Calder – Ponderosa area is currently showing slow revegetation and poor landform stability. Refer to the photographs in Appendix A1 for an appreciation of the designated Calder waste depot area.

The designated Blackwater waste depot areas are currently active mining, rehabilitation and waste storage areas. Refer to the photographs in Appendix A2 for an appreciation of the designated Blackwater waste depot areas.

The designated areas are relatively isolated and the traffic movements, impacts and risks as well as greenhouse gas emissions will be significantly lower to that which already exists. This will be due to the significantly shorter transport route to the Calder site and the potential back freighting to the TAM Blackwater extractive pit.

The trucks will enter and exit the areas using the existing approved access and internal roads. The Hanson Calder pit access will be via the existing roads owned by Hanson. A traffic impact assessment is not deemed necessary due to the relatively low additional traffic movements expected to be generated during normal operating hours.

There are no major rivers, streams or major natural drainage lines in the immediate vicinity of the designated waste depot areas.

There are no built up residential areas near the proposed waste depots. The nearest residence is at the Calder site, which is approximately 700 m to the southeast of the proposed depot. The nearest residence to the proposed Blackwater depot is approximately 3 kilometres away.

The Environment Division’s standard recommended attenuation distance of 300 m for mining activities where no blasting, crushing or vibratory screening is undertaken will be achieved.

The proposed waste depots will not be readily visible from roads and dwellings in the surrounding area.

The key potential environmental issues identified for the project are: Buffer zones from the proposed waste depots to the nearest residences OHS and public health Materials transport, storage and handling Surface water management Stable landform establishment Dust management.

The key potential health issues identified to date are: Dust emissions from of the waste placement areas at the waste depots Silicosis Increased heavy vehicle traffic on Calder Road in the order of 5 to 10 truck loads per day.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 42

The waste silica flour is highly inert. The moisture content of the waste represents no risk of impacting the water quality of the aqueous receiving environments.

The waste depot will be classified as a Category A under the EPA Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004 for acceptance of solid inert material and that the Category A requirements of the guide will be applicable.

The waste depots will be located on disturbed areas of existing surveyed and cleared mining areas so no further surveys are deemed necessary at any of the sites. There is readily accessible surface water available at all sites for the control of dust if and when required and for the washing of vehicles.

The project has the potential to reduce dust and sediment loss from the historic Ponderosa area at the Calder pit by improving the landscape, drainage and revegetation. There appears to be no economic or social downside to the project.

7.1 Flora and fauna No native vegetation or potential habitat for native fauna will be cleared or disturbed at the two proposed depot sites. The proposal is to establish waste depot activities on designated worked out areas of existing mining leases.

As previously mentioned, an eagle’s nest exists to the northwest of the Blackwater mining lease. The existing Blackwater operations comply with the eagle habitat management recommendations in the Tasmanian Threatened Species Handbook, and the relevant environmental conditions and commitments of the mine permit and environmental management plan. The nest is approximately 1,200 m from the proposed Blackwater waste depot areas and will comply also. 7.2 Rivers, creeks, wetlands and estuaries

7.2.1 Storm water Storm water drainage already exists around the proposed Calder and Blackwater depot sites. The storm water does not flow directly to any river, creek, wetlands or estuary.

The storm water at the proposed Calder site flows over natural vegetated ground feeding an ephemeral tributary of the Inglis River. The storm water at the proposed Blackwater site flows into ephemeral drainage lines and then naturally infiltrates into the surrounding sandy land.

The existing storm water drainage around the Calder and Blackwater sites will not be altered by the depot developments. The diverted storm water will continue to flow over natural vegetated ground to existing drainage lines or flow into the surrounding sand as currently occurs. There will be no filling or excavation of existing drainage lines, rivers, creeks, wetlands or estuaries. There will be no impoundment of existing drainage lines, rivers, creeks, wetlands or estuaries.

The storm water collected on the Calder depot footprint, along with the depot under drainage, will flow to a sedimentation pond. The overflow from the sedimentation pond will flow to existing storm water drainage line described above which is over 100 m from the project site and over 800 m from the Inglis River.

The proposed Blackwater waste depot site is already located on disturbed areas with existing mine storm water infrastructure, management plans and permit requirements in place. The existing Blackwater storm water management will not be jeopardised by the proposed depot.

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7.2.2 Surface water vicinity The proposed Calder depot site will be within 200 m of a natural vegetated ephemeral drainage line, which is a tributary of the Inglis River. Hoever there are no rivers, creeks, wetlands or estuaries within 200 m of the project area (200 m is an EER guidelines assessment criteria).

The proposed sedimentation pond discharge point and flow route to the Inglis River is shown in Figure 10 below.

Discharge path to Inglis River

Figure 10 - Surface water discharge path to the Inglis River

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The Blackwater depot site will not be within 200 m of a river, creek, wetlands or estuary. The existing mine drainage infrastructure and current management plan cover the proposed Blackwater depot areas. No designated aqueous discharge point applies for Blackwater as surface water dissipates into the surrounding sandy ground.

The key surface water quality parameter relevant to any potential impact from the proposed waste depot operations is turbidity or suspended solids. The Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2000 (known as the ANZECC guidelines) specify a default turbidity water quality objective of 6 – 50 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) for lowland rivers in southeast Australia, where no site specific data is available.

The sedimentation pond outfall will be monitored initially for turbidity during storm events to confirm achievement of the acceptable performance standard.

7.2.3 Vegetation clearing There will no vegetation clearing within 200 m of existing rivers, creeks, wetlands or estuaries (200 m is an EER assessment criteria).

7.3 Significant areas There are no reserved areas within or adjacent to the Calder site. A reserve area exists in the vicinity of the Blackwater site. The potential impact on the Blackwater reserve area and values is minimal and has already been assessed and approved under separate cover and is managed under the existing Blackwater mine site management plan and permit.

These existing Blackwater risk mitigation measures will also overlay the proposed waste depot activity.

7.4 Coastal zone and marine areas There is no coastal zone associated with the proposed project. The project will not be located within 300 m of the coast or within 1km of the coast as per the State Coastal Policy. The 300 m is an EER guideline assessment criteria.

The proposed project will not impact on sensitive marine areas, conservation areas, or areas used extensively for recreation or commercial fishing activities.

7.5 Air emissions There will be no designated or scheduled air emission points, vents or stacks. The potential fugitive air emission sources will be from the following: Fugitive dust from the depot development Stockpiling of cover material Placement of waste and covering of the cells Onsite transport and operating equipment exhausts Road dust from onsite transport and equipment operations following lengthy periods of hot, dry and windy weather.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 45

7.5.1 Existing conditions The proposed depot sites are cleared mining areas requiring rehabilitation. The Blackwater site also has an established waste silica dump. Forestry operations occur in and around the Blackwater region.

The nearest Calder residence is approximately 700 m from the proposed Calder waste silica depot. The closest residence to the proposed Blackwater depot is on Jaegers Road approximately 3.0 km to the northwest.

7.5.2 Performance requirements Air emissions from new waste depots must comply with the following: Tasmanian OHS requirements (Workplace Health and Safety Regulations 1998) National Environment Protection Measure (Air) (NEPM) – PM 10 and PM 2.5 limits at the boundary of the premises Tasmanian Environment Protection Policy (Air Quality) 2004 (EPP Air) Tasmanian Quarry Code of Practice 1999 Tasmanian Environmental Management and Pollution Control 1994 environmental nuisance provisions.

The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC – now SafeWork Australia) has set a national exposure standard for the three forms of respirable crystalline silica (quartz, cristobalite and tridymite) at 0.1 mg/m3 , time weighted average, 8 hours.

The Commonwealth Air NEPM specifies an ambient air particulate matter (PM), for 10 µm average aerodynamic diameter (PM10), of 50 µg/m3 for a one day averaging period. It also specifies an ambient level for PM2.5 of 25 µg/m3 for a one day averaging period and an ambient level of 8 µg/m3 for a one year averaging period.

The Tasmanian EPP Air specifies for PM10 ground level concentration a modelling design criteria of 0.15 mg/m3 24 hour averaging period.

7.5.3 Potential effects Environmental factors such as the weather conditions affect the nature of diffuse air pollution and dust emissions. The prevailing climatic conditions need to be considered when assessing potential risks and impacts to air quality.

Very fine silica powder can enter the deepest parts of the human lungs. Excessive exposure to silica dust can result in a build up in the lungs and cause scarring, leading to several lung diseases such as silicosis, acute silicosis (short exposure to high concentrations) and silicotuberculosis (high risk of tuberculosis). Exposure to silica dust can also cause chronic bronchitis, air obstruction and lung cancer.

Other dust types have the potential to cause an environmental nuisance if blown beyond the boundary of the proposed depot boundaries during construction and operating activities. It can cause respiratory annoyance or problems, reduce visual amenity and fall out onto land or surfaces in other ownership.

In addition to environmental nuisance and health risk to people, dust can also fall onto vegetation and in extreme cases retard plant growth by blocking photosynthesis.

Diesel exhaust fumes can cause an environmental nuisance and, like all fossil fuel exhausts, contribute to greenhouse gases and impacts.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 46

Development and operation of the new waste depots may result in the generation of the following air emissions: Dust generation during clearing of the site and stockpiling of construction materials and any top soil for rehabilitation Dust generation during operations from movement of vehicles and machinery and excavation, transportation and emplacement of waste silica Exhaust fumes from vehicles.

7.5.4 Avoidance and mitigation measures The following mitigation measures will be implemented to minimise the generation of air emissions during construction and operations: Roads will be watered as necessary during hot, dry and windy conditions The waste silica will be levelled and tamped down in the cell daily and watered in dry windy conditions If necessary the waste will be covered with gravel or alternative cover material to prevent dusting Reputable civil contractors using well maintained equipment will minimise exhaust emissions Where possible the existing trees, topography and embankments will be maintained for windbreaks to shield the depot working areas from prevailing winds Transport trucks will not be overloaded and will have the loads sealed and covered There will be an onsite speed limit of <25 km/h.

The following mitigation measures will be implemented to minimise operator occupational health and safety risks and to minimise any potential offsite health risks: Waste silica will be kept wet at all times until encapsulated at the waste depots Mobile equipment will have air conditioned cabins Operators will be educated on the risks of working with dry silica flour and trained on the appropriate risk minimisation measures Operators will wear protective equipment and clothing Operators will wash protective equipment and clothing regularly Operators will maintain high standards in housekeeping and personal hygiene practices to a high standard Mobile equipment cabins will be cleaned daily of waste material carried in on boots before it dries Operators will wear respirators and gloves when appropriate Operators will park their cars in a parking area remote to the active cell Operators will change from dirty overalls to clean clothes before travelling home Air monitoring will initially be undertaken on a yearly basis immediately downwind from the active depot cell to verify acceptable air quality and management performance.

7.5.5 Assessment of effects Air emissions will be negligible during normal weather conditions as the silica waste naturally retains water and remains damp even when allowed to free drain.

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Keeping the waste damp at all times, water spraying the roads and keeping the onsite transport speeds below 25 km/h will significantly reduce road dust generation especially following long periods of dry hot weather.

Implementing appropriate OHS measures will minimise any potential risk to operators and the general community. Compliance with the onsite SafeWork Australia OHS respirable silica requirements will ensure that the operation complies with the ambient Air NEPM and the EPP Air requirements.

Compliance with the OHS measures and ambient air requirements will ensure minimum risk to public health. The distance from the waste silica landfill activity to the nearest Calder residence is approximately 700 m and this buffer distance further mitigates the risk of any potential dust emissions.

The air emission risk mitigation and management measures outlined above have been proven to be successful at the company’s three mines and Wynyard processing plant.

No air monitoring extra to the proposed initial OHS monitoring is proposed.

Commitment 1: The waste silica in the active open cell will be levelled and tamped down daily and watered when necessary.

Commitment 2: Dust emissions will be minimised during severe weather conditions by watering roads, depot surfaces and the waste silica. In extreme conditions a gravel cover or a similarly effective cover may be place over the waste silica.

Commitment 3: Traffic speeds on the depot and access roads will be limited to <25 km/h. 7.6 Liquid effluent The waste depot operations will not require a reticulated water supply. There will be no water usage apart from the watering of roads and work areas as required.

There will be one scheduled storm water/drainage discharge point from the Calder depot. This will be the outfall from the sedimentation pond. There will be no toilet, washing or sewage treatment.

The existing mine drainage infrastructure and management plan cover the proposed Blackwater depot areas. No designated aqueous discharge point applies for Blackwater as surface waters dissipate into the surrounding naturally sandy ground.

A mobile fuel tanker will be used to refuel the Calder depot equipment such as the depot bulldozer, front end loader and excavator. The maximum volume of the mobile tanker will be approximately 1,000 L.

The key risks to surface water quality at both depot sites will be potential sediment loss and potential equipment fuel/oil spills.

7.6.1 Existing conditions There is currently no chemical or fuel storage conducted on the Mining Leases. Vegetation is relatively sparse in the project areas due to the current and historic mining activities.

Currently the storm water around the proposed Calder and Blackwater waste depot areas drain to natural ephemeral drainage lines and ultimately into the Inglis River and Arthur River respectively.

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7.6.2 Performance requirements For the Calder depot there will be one designated aqueous discharge point, which will be the sedimentation pond outfall. The emission from this point during construction and operations must comply with the requirements of the State Policy on Water Quality Management 1997.

The protected environmental values (PEV) for the Inglis River have been established under the State Policy on Water Quality Management 1997. They are outlined in the document entitled Environmental Management Goals for Tasmanian Surface Waters, Catchments within the Circular Head & Waratah/Wynyard Municipal Areas, January 2000.

The PEVs for the Inglis River are interpreted to be: A. Protection of Aquatic Ecosystems (ii) Protection of modified (not pristine) ecosystems a. From which edible fish are harvested having regard for Forestry Tasmania’s, Management Decision Classification System’ B. Recreational Water Quality & Aesthetics (i) Primary contact water quality (ii) Secondary contact water quality (iii) Aesthetic water quality.

That is, a minimum, water quality management strategies should seek to provide water of a physical and chemical nature to support a modified, but healthy aquatic ecosystem from which edible fish may be harvested; which will allow people to safely engage in recreation activities such as swimming, paddling or fishing in aesthetically pleasing waters.

The key surface water quality parameter relevant to potential impacts from the proposed waste depot operations will be turbidity or the suspended solids levels.

The Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2000 (known as the ANZECC guidelines) specify a default turbidity water quality objective of 6 – 50 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) for lowland rivers in southeast Australia, where no site specific data is available.

7.6.3 Potential effects The primary water quality issue for the proposed depots will be sediment loss to the receiving waters. This may occur if the collection of incident rainfall in the depot areas and the waste drainage is not properly controlled and managed.

Sediment loss to receiving waters has the potential to: Increase turbidity and reduce visibility for natural predation and sunlight for photosynthesis Displace aquatic animals from river bed habitat by filling up the spaces between the rocks and gravels on the river bed Affect fish gills and respiration under extreme sediment loads.

The Inglis River water quality is very good and should be of a standard similar to the ANZECC Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2000, protection of 95% of aquatic ecosystems.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 49

The silica waste storage and handling should not present any risk of chemical contamination of the receiving waters. This is based on the following: No observed chemical impact on the water quality from the exposed silica sands and gravels in the silica mining and processing activities in the local and regional areas The chemically inert and stable nature of the silica flour due to its highly weathered nature over geological timeframes The low sulphur content of the waste silica.

It is possible to lose diesel fuel or hydraulic oil from mobile equipment during operations and refuelling. Loss can occur from spillage, breakage or vandalism.

A fuel spill has the potential to impact on groundwater quality. However the silica flour has a very high absorption capacity. Any potential loss of fuels or oils will be absorbed by the waste silica flour.

Given the limit volume of fuel storage proposed at the sites, the limited number of operating personnel, the basic equipment involved and the high absorption capacity of the waste and surrounding naturally sandy ground, the risk of an impact on the environment and receiving waters from any potential fuel spill will be negligible.

7.6.4 Avoidance and mitigation measures The following avoidance measures are proposed: No waste disposal operations will be undertaken during torrential rainfall conditions to reduce the risk of sediment loss to the environment The existing surface water drainage depot at the proposed depots sites will be managed The Calder depot drainage will be directed to the sedimentation pond and then to existing natural vegetated ephemeral drainage lines The 450 kL sedimentation pond will be designed for a 10 minute duration 1:20 year storm event and will be approximately 30 m long, 10 m wide and 1.5 m deep The sedimentation pond will be inspected every summer for sludge build up. Any removed sludge will be disposed of to the open active waste cell The sedimentation pond outfall will be monitored initially for turbidity during storm events to confirm the acceptable performance standard Reputable and properly trained contractors will be employed using properly maintained equipment to reduce the risk of operator error and the risk of mechanical failure Fuel will be transported and dispensed from a mobile tanker with a maximum capacity of approximately 1,000 L. The fuel tanker will be parked in a secure area when on site. The tanker will carry fuel cleanup equipment in case a spill occurs Any oil or diesel contaminated soil will be removed immediately and taken to an authorised disposal site by an authorised waste transport contractor Any equipment maintenance undertaken on site will be in a secure area.

7.6.5 Assessment of effects The surface water drainage will not present a risk to the environment. The drainage will report to an appropriately designed sedimentation pond which will settle dense silica particles and direct the discharge to existing natural vegetated drainage lines.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 50

Maximum flows in the Inglis River at the Railway Bridge can reach 10 cumecs (m3/s) (data courtesy the Water Information System of Tasmania). The predicted Calder depot flow rate for a 10 minute 1:20 year event is 0.8 cumecs.

Given the sedimentation pond design criteria, the potential dilution and the distance to the Inglis River, the 6 – 50 NTU turbidity water quality objective should be readily achieved.

The 800 m drainage distance to the Inglis River will act as a mitigation measure also.

Restricting the mobile fuel tanker capacity to 1,000 L and having a fuel spill cleanup kit readily available will reduce the risk of impact from any hydrocarbon spill.

No ambient water monitoring is deemed necessary.

Commitment 4: Waste disposal activities will not be undertaken during torrential rainfall events.

Commitment 5: The depot surface water and depot drainage water will be contained and directed to a sedimentation pond before final runoff to the existing naturally vegetated drainage lines.

Commitment 6: The volume of fuel stored in any site mobile tanker will be restricted to approximately 1,000 L. The tanker will carry fuel cleanup equipment in case spills occur on site.

Commitment 7: The Director, Environment Protection Authority, will be notified as soon as possible but no later than 24 hours of any hydrocarbon spill.

Commitment 8: Any hydrocarbon contaminated soil will be removed immediately and taken to an appropriate authorised disposal facility by an authorised transport contractor. 7.7 Solid wastes There will be no solid wastes generated from the project. 7.8 Noise emissions The potential exists for noise emissions from the premises due to the diesel engines associated with the onsite mobile equipment and the offsite trucking and road noise.

7.8.1 Existing conditions The depot sites have been cleared and mined out. Forestry operations occur in and around the Blackwater region.

The sites are subject to variable background noise levels ranging from natural background levels to noise levels from local extractive operations, farming activities and forest harvesting and forestry transport activities.

The nearest Calder residence is approximately 700 m from the proposed Calder waste silica depot. The closest residence to the proposed Blackwater depot is on Jaegers Road approximately 3.0 km to the northwest.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 51

7.8.2 Performance requirements Noise emissions from proposed activities must comply with the following: Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 – environmental nuisance Environment Protection (Miscellaneous Noise) Regulation 2004.

7.8.3 Potential effects The project has the potential to generate noise emissions from the onsite earthmoving equipment and offsite transport activities. Noise emissions have the potential to cause a nuisance to neighbouring residences and high noise emissions can affect human health.

A bulldozer engine power of up to 162 kW has an indicative sound power level emission of approximately 105 dB(A). A large front end loader will have a similar sound power level.

The maximum sound power emission from simultaneous operations for these machines expressed as a point source emission will be the logarithmic addition of the emissions, which is a worst case of approximately 108 dB(A).

Assuming half-spherical sound propagation over flat ground, the typical reduction in sound pressure levels with distance from the source can be tabulated as shown in Table 5 below (assuming no vegetation screening or topography effects which will reduce the levels below those tabulated).

Distance from noise source (m) Sound pressure level (dB(A)) 100 62 500 48 630 45 1,000 42 2,000 36 7,000 25

Table 5 - Estimated sound pressure level with distance from source

As shown in Table 5, an acceptable 45 dB(A) level is achieved at the 630 m radius which is well inside the 700 m to the nearest residence at Calder and well inside the several kilometres to the nearest Blackwater residences.

7.8.4 Avoidance and mitigation measures The waste depot operations will be restricted to daylight hours as specified below. Monday to Friday 0700 to 1900 hours Saturday 0800 to 1600 hours Sunday and gazetted public holidays 0800 to 1600 hours.

Ambient noise levels will not be significantly altered by the activities above the variable levels that already occur during the proposed operating hours. The noise levels during these hours will not impacts adversely on terrestrial or aquatic wildlife as there are no livestock or water bodies in the vicinity of the proposed waste depots.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 52

Traffic noise in the vicinity of the waste depots should not be significantly altered by the proposal. The Calder depot will receive approximately 5 to 10 truck loads per day or 1 truck load every 1 to 2 hours. Given the average weekly traffic on Calder Road is 1,670 vehicle movements per day, the waste depot operations will not result in any impact or risk above those that already exists.

7.8.5 Assessment of effects Noise emissions from the equipment will meet the requirements of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control (Miscellaneous Noise) Regulations 2004. Noise emissions should not cause an environmental nuisance under the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994.

No noise monitoring is deemed necessary.

Commitment 9: The waste depot and waste transport operating hours will be restricted to between 0700 hours and 1900 hours on weekdays, 0800 to 1600 hours on Saturdays, Sundays and gazetted public holidays. 7.9 Transport impacts and off-site effects The project will involve the transport of the majority of the waste to the Calder site. There will be an increase in the truck movements on Calder Road of up to 10 truck loads per day. Traffic impacts will be nonexistent for the Blackwater site because the waste will be back freighted.

It is considered that there will be negligible adverse impact on the operating conditions of Calder Road or the surrounding road network due to the relatively low additional traffic movements expected to be generated by the waste depot operations.

No other potential off-site effects have been identified. No loss of amenity or impact on other sensitive uses has been identified.

7.9.1 Existing conditions The proposed waste depot sites have been cleared and mined out. Forestry operations occur in the Blackwater regions.

The sites are subject to variable traffic usage from local extractive operations, farming activities at Calder and forest harvesting and forestry transport activities. The depot sites are all well served by existing roads.

7.9.2 Potential effects The project has the potential to generate traffic impacts. Increased traffic movements can increase impact on the current network operations and the risk of accidents.

7.9.3 Avoidance and mitigation measures Traffic impact for the Blackwater site will not change to that which already exists as the waste will be back freighted to this site.

The increased traffic generated by the proposed Calder activity will have minimal impact on the surrounding road network and that the traffic operations of the surrounding road network will continue to operate at an acceptable level of service.

7.9.4 Assessment of effects The proposed waste depot at the Calder site will remove traffic from the Bass Highway between Wynyard and Heybridge and from Minna Road to the landfill site.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 53

The trucking on Calder Road will be increased by up to 10 truck loads per day. This equates to less than one truck load per hour and therefore is not expected to impact on the existing operating conditions of Calder Road or the surrounding road network.

7.10 Dangerous substances and chemicals No storage of dangerous substances will be undertaken on the proposed waste depot sites except for diesel fuel and some minor engine oil containers. A mobile fuel tanker with a maximum capacity of approximately 1,000 L will service the depot equipment.

7.11 Site contamination No activities have been undertaken on the proposed waste depot sites that may have caused soil or groundwater contamination.

7.12 Sustainability and climate change The proposal will result in a >70% reduction in transport fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions compared to the current waste management activity. The distance to Heybridge is 32 km and to Calder 10 km. The current diesel usage is 1.65 km/L. The Calder depot will use trucks with a 1.8 km/L fuel usage. The 2011 diesel factor is 2.7 kg CO2e/L. This equates to 105 kg CO2e emissions per round trip for the Heybridge site compared to 30 kg CO2e per round trip for the proposed Calder site.

The waste depot design will have the capacity to accommodate any potential increase in the number or intensity of storm events.

The waste depot will be located on existing operating areas and will ultimately be closed in accordance with an approved closure plan. The final landform and the revegetation will not contribute to an increase in fire risk even if the severity of fire weather conditions increase over time.

Sea level rise is not relevant to the project.

7.13 Cultural heritage The waste depot sites are all located on existing or historic mining areas that have been highly disturbed.

Aboriginal heritage surveys have been undertaken for the Blackwater site as part of the approval for the mining operations.

The Calder site has been mined out back to bed rock and the likelihood of any heritage values being present is non-existent.

The proposed sites are not on or near places listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register or the Australian Heritage Places Inventory.

7.14 Sites of high public interest The proposals are not located within or adjacent to a site of high public interest.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 54

7.15 Rehabilitation

7.15.1 Calder The project does not involve the disturbance of native vegetation. The project involves the development of a waste depot which will result in the re-establishment of stable landforms and reinstatement of sustainable vegetation.

The proposed Calder waste depot site will result in the rehabilitation of the designated Ponderosa area consistent with the regulatory expectations and rehabilitation plans.

The proposed Calder site is shown in Figure 11 below.

Figure 11 - Proposed Calder waste silica depot site looking west

Currently the waste silica stockpiles at the TAM Corinna and Blackwater mines are being rehabilitated. Land Management and Rehabilitation Services (LMRS) have been monitoring the success of the rehabilitation. LMRS report that the rehabilitation and revegetation have been very successful.

This successful land stabilisation with waste silica followed by successful germination and revegetation is also expected at the proposed depots on final close out. The success is shown in Figure 12 and Figure 13 below.

The photographs in the figures are courtesy of a Land Management and Rehabilitation Services rehabilitation report.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 55

Figure 12 - Typical revegetation on waste silica

Figure 13 - Typical revegetation on waste silica

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 56

7.15.2 Blackwater The project does not involve the disturbance of native vegetation. The waste depot activities will be undertaken on the footprint of the approved mine site waste silica rehabilitation areas and waste silica dump.

The rehabilitation of the mine areas and waste dump will be undertaken under the existing mine site rehabilitation plan. The plan is summarised below. As soon as practicable when it is known that an extractive area is no longer required, because all of the appropriate resource has been extracted, site rehabilitation will commence with backfilling of the extractive area The mine plan is usually to extract the resource from the top down, not the bottom up. This mine plan will facilitate the rehabilitation of the upper sections of the extraction area Backfilling with oversize flour and screenings, using bulldozer and trucks Re-profiling of the mine area using an excavator. Re-profiling will be relatively simple given that the mine profile and hence final closure landform will be more of a low carapace rather than an open-cut or pit Replacement of topsoil and vegetation, using trucks and excavators. The soil and vegetation from the storage area will be spread over the mine area in such a way as to reduce erosion of the hill Development of drainage by an excavator Removal of all infrastructure Fertilising Seeding with local seed varieties any areas where acceleration of revegetation is considered necessary. Seeding is generally not required because plants germinate quickly from seeds blowing into the site or dropping off from slashed vegetation laid on the rehabilitation area.

Rehabilitation on closure will be aided by several key factors: There are no tailings dams All structures and equipment are portable and easily removed The final Blackwater West and East landforms will remain as hills (rather than a deep pits), similar to the existing hills but with a lower profile. The final landform of the hill will reduce the profile of the existing hills by approximately 5 m - 20 m The landforms left after extraction activities (low slopes and low bench heights) will naturally be stable and safe The decomposed substrata underlying the silica flour supports vigorous regrowth The estimated area of disturbance is relatively small; Blackwater West maximum 17 ha; waste silica dump approximately 3 ha.

The final rehabilitation plan, landform and use for the site will require approval by the Director EPA and Forestry Tasmania, the manager of State Forest land in Tasmania.

An appreciation of the proposed waste silica depot disposal and rehabilitation on the Blackwater mine site can be gained from Figure 14 and Figure 15 below.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 57

Figure 14 - Blackwater mining foreground, backfilling centre, storage background, April 2011

Figure 15 - Blackwater main waste silica dump April 2011

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 58

8. Landfill Sustainability Guide 2004 8.1 Calder depot Calder landfill siting & Standard Comments planning Demand Consider demand for landfill Addressed section 3.1 Community liaison Conducted in open manner This EER fulfils requirement Locate on sound ground No karsts or unacceptable Geology Addressed sections 4.5 & 6.6 strata No fault lines No potable groundwater Above water table Hydrogeology No recharge in area Addressed section 4.5 No swamps >2 m depth to water table 50m to permanent water Addressed sections 7.2, 7.5 & Buffer distances 10,000 m to airfield 7.8 300 m to residences No sensitive water supplies Surface waters Not in 1:100 y floodplain Addressed sections 7.2 & 7.6 No wetlands Adequate road access, Addressed sections 4.3 & 7.9 Infrastructure water, sewerage, power & No water, leachate, leachate sewerage & power required No impact on threatened Not applicable - site already Flora/fauna species cleared Not applicable - site already Geo-conservation/geo-heritage No impact on geo-values cleared Not applicable - site already Historic/cultural heritage No impact cleared Ownership defined & Land ownership/use Completed with FT & MRT permitted Planning acceptance and Addressed sections 3.1 & Site selection alternatives in site selection 6.10 Calder design Preliminary design and Level 2 Category A landfill Confirmed with EPA category Leachate No pollution of water by Not applicable – section 4.2 containment/collection leachate & 4.3 Initial design addressed Surface water Separation from waste sections 4.1, 4.2 & 4.4 Appropriate final design and Addressed sections 4.1, 4.2 & Construction construction to appropriate 4.3 engineering standards Security Controlled site access Addressed section 4.4 Signage Sign required Addressed section 4.4 Minimal traffic hazard and Traffic Addressed sections 4.4 & 7.9 nuisance Minimise off-site impacts Off-site impact Addressed sections 7.5 & 7.8 from noise and dust Rehabilitation planning Design for final closure Addressed sections 4.2 & 4.3 Calder operation Accept only specified waste Waste handling Addressed section 4.4 Controlled placement Nuisance management Minimise dust Addressed section 7.5 & 7.8

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 59

Calder landfill siting & Standard Comments planning Staffing Adequately skilled staff Addressed section 4.4 Addressed sections 7.5, 7.6 & Water, air, noise, gas, Monitoring 7.8 No groundwater, noise, groundwater & leachate gas or leachate monitoring Comply with permit Not applicable – done by Documentation conditions factory Calder rehabilitation and Compatible with stakeholder Addressed section 7.15 closure expectations

8.2 Blackwater depot Blackwater landfill siting & Standard Comments planning Demand Consider demand for landfill Addressed section 3.1 Community liaison Conducted in open manner This EER fulfils requirement Locate on sound ground No karsts or unacceptable Geology Addressed sections 5.5 & 6.7 strata No fault lines No potable groundwater Above water table Hydrogeology No recharge in area Addressed section 5.5 No swamps >2 m depth to water table 50m to permanent water Addressed sections 7.2, 7.5 & Buffer distances 10,000 m to airfield 7.8 300 m to residences No sensitive water supplies Surface waters Not in 1:100 y floodplain Addressed sections 7.2 & 7.6 No wetlands Adequate road access, Addressed sections 5.3 & 7.9 Infrastructure water, sewerage, power & No water, leachate, leachate sewerage & power required No impact on threatened Not applicable - site already Flora/fauna species cleared Not applicable - site already Geo-conservation/geo-heritage No impact on geo-values cleared Not applicable - site already Historic/cultural heritage No impact cleared Ownership defined & Land ownership/use Completed with FT & MRT permitted Planning acceptance and Addressed sections 3.1 & Site selection alternatives in site selection 6.10 Blackwater design Preliminary design and Level 2 Category A landfill Confirmed with EPA category Leachate No pollution of water by Not applicable – section 5.2 containment/collection leachate & 5.3 Initial design addressed Surface water Separation from waste sections 5.1, 5.2 & 5.4 Appropriate final design and Addressed sections 5.1, 5.2 & Construction construction to appropriate 5.3 engineering standards Security Controlled site access Addressed section 5.4 Signage Sign required Addressed section 5.4

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 60

Blackwater landfill siting & Standard Comments planning Minimal traffic hazard and Traffic Addressed sections 5.4& 7.9 nuisance Minimise off-site impacts Off-site impact Addressed sections 7.5 & 7.8 from noise and dust Addressed sections 5.1, 5.4 & Rehabilitation planning Design for final closure 5.5 Blackwater operation Accept only specified waste Waste handling Addressed section 5.4 Controlled placement Nuisance management Minimise dust Addressed section 7.5 & 7.8 Staffing Adequately skilled staff Addressed section 5.4 Addressed sections 7.5, 7.6 & Water, air, noise, gas, Monitoring 7.8 No groundwater, noise, groundwater & leachate gas or leachate monitoring Comply with permit Not applicable – done by Documentation conditions factory Blackwater rehabilitation and Compatible with stakeholder Addressed section 7.15 closure expectations

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 61

9. Management Commitments

Responsible Report No. Commitments When person section Air Emissions The waste silica in the active open cell During depot Depot 1 will be levelled and tamped down daily 7.5 life operator and watered when necessary Dust emissions will be minimised during severe weather conditions by watering roads, depot surfaces and the waste During depot Depot 2 7.5 silica. In extreme conditions a gravel life operator cover or a similarly effective cover may be place over the waste silica Traffic speeds on the depot and access During depot Depot 3 7.5 roads will be limited to <25 km/h life operator Liquid Waste Waste disposal activities will not be During depot Depot 4 undertaken during torrential rainfall 7.6 life operator events The depot surface water and depot drainage water will be contained and During depot Depot 5 directed to a sedimentation pond before 7.6 life operator final runoff to the existing naturally vegetated drainage lines The volume of fuel stored in any site mobile tanker will be restricted to During depot Depot 6 approximately 1,000 L. The tanker will 7.6 life operator carry fuel cleanup equipment in case spills occur on site The Director, Environment Protection Authority, will be notified as soon as During depot Depot 7 7.6 possible but no later than 24 hours of any life operator hydrocarbon spill Any hydrocarbon contaminated soil will be removed immediately and taken to an During depot Depot 8 7.6 appropriate authorised disposal facility life operator by an authorised transport contractor Noise Emissions The waste depot and waste transport operating hours will be restricted to between 0700 hours and 1900 hours on During depot Depot 9 7.8 weekdays, 0800 to 1600 hours on life operator Saturdays, Sundays and gazetted public holidays

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 62

10. Public Consultation No community consultation has been undertaken. Given that the proposed waste depot locations are: Existing level 2 activities Covered under existing permits Are consistent with their current operations and requirements Will result in site rehabilitation The project will be publicly advertised as part of the assessment and approvals process.

No further consultation is deemed necessary at this time. The project will be advertised at which time the public can comment on any issues that have not been addressed by this document.

Extensive consultation has been undertaken with the following key stakeholders and regulatory authorities. Environment Protection Authority Mineral Resources Tasmania Forestry Tasmania Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd.

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 63

Appendix A1

Calder - Ponderosa Area Photographs

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 01. E end of Calder depot area looking W

02. E end of Calder depot area looking E 03. E end of Calder depot area looking NE

04. Settling pond SE end of Calder depot area looking SW 05. W end of Calder depot area looking W

06. W end of Calder depot area looking W 07. W end of Calder depot area looking E

08. Mid Calder depot area looking W 09. Mid Calder depot area looking E

10. Mid Calder depot area looking N 11. S side of Calder depot area looking SW

12. Existing drainage point S side of Calder depot area looking E 13. Settling pond S of Calder depot area looking SW

14. Settling pond S of Calder depot area looking SE

Appendix A2

Blackwater Mine Area Photographs

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb Backfilling as a component of landform re-creation April 2011 Blackwater extension in foreground, backfilling in centre and storage in background Blackwater main waste silica dump

Appendix B

Waste Particle Size Analysis

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb Mineral Resources Tasmania

Mineralogical/Petrology Report MPR2011/089

MINERALOGICAL ANALYSIS: SILICA FLOUR ANALYSIS

An unpublished Mineral Resources Tasmania report for Pitt & Sherry Holdings Pty Ltd

by R S Bottrill & R. N. Woolley

20 Sept. 2011 Appendix 1: Figures

SUMMARY

Mineralogical analysis indicates the sample is a fine grained, rather pure quartz sand and silt with only trace contaminants (kaolinite and organic matter). There is about 25 % quartz in the respirable size range (1-10 microns). No amorphous silica could be detected.

INTRODUCTION

One sample of silica flour mill waste from the above location was submitted by yourself for mineralogical analysis in regards to any amorphous silica contents, and the proportion of respirable silica.

The sample details are:

Table 1: Sample details

MRT No. Identification Location

G404127 EN1101849 (silica flour) TAS mill

A representative subsample of the material was examined by low power stereomicroscopy, polarised light microscopy (PLM) and analysed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) in the MRT laboratories, Rosny Park. Sizing was semiquantitative, by PLM.

MICROSCOPY

Under stereomicroscopy the sample appears to be a very fine white siliceous sand with no obvious contaminants. Under PLM the sample is confirmed to be a medium to very fine quartz sand and silt, with mostly highly angular grains, up to about 0.2mm in size. The coarser grains may be slightly rounded and may be contaminants from overburden in or around the deposit or perhaps during handling? Some grains show fine black spots of what may be organic matter. No other components could be detected.

XRD

XRD mineralogical analysis (appendix 1) confirms the material as being near pure quartz (crystalline silica), with only a small trace of kaolinite clay. No other forms of silica or amorphous components were found (~10% detection limit for amorphous silica).

MPR2011/089 2 of 7 Mineral Resources Tasmania

MICROSCOPIC SIZING

The sample was semi-quantitatively sized by point counting under high power PLM microscopy. This was done by point counting about 900 grains under the microscope and classifying them into size ranges. The raw counts were converted to numerical % and then to approximate volume by multiplication by the cube of the mean size of each size range. These were converted to a volume %, which should equate to the mass %, as the grains are all essentially pure quartz with little density variation, and these results shown in table 2 below.

Table 2: Microscopic size analyses

Size range <10 10-20 20-40 40-80 80-160 160-320 (microns) Grain 820 50 26 4 0 0 Numbers Num% 91.1 5.6 2.9 0.4 0.0 0.0

Vol% 5.6 9.2 38.2 47.0 0.0 0.0 (Mass %)

The results indicate that, despite the sample containing abundant fine silt to dust sized material (<60 microns), nearly half of the material, by weight or volume, is in the coarser fractions (fine to medium sand sized, 40-320 microns). It was calculated that there was nearly 6% of respirable dust (<10 microns in size). There were some grains seen that were up to about 0.2mm in size, but not represented in the counting zones, which would make a large difference to the sizings if they were included in these results. There are also some uncertainties as to the accuracy of this method when there is a lot of fine grains obscured by coarse grains, so grain size analysis was also conducted by sedimentation (see below).

SIZING BY SEDIMENTATION

The sample was also quantitatively sized by the sedimentation/pipette method, which consists of preparing a dispersed, homogenised (by vigorous stirring) suspension of the fine fraction, dilution with a 0.5% sodium hexametaphosphate solution to 500 ml, and allowing the particles to settle in a graduated glass cylinder (Royse, 1970; Folk, 1974). Subsamples of 10 ml aliquots are withdrawn from the suspension at 20 cm depth over standard intervals of time, based on calculations using Stoke's Law. The aliquots are dried and weighed, the weights are corrected for the added dispersal agent and recorded on an analysis form, and the size distribution is calculated from the weight of sediment. The results are shown in Appendix 2 and table 3 below.

MPR2011/089 Page 3 of 7 Mineral Resources Tasmania

Table 3: Size distribution (Pipette method)

Size range Vol % (microns) (Mass %) >500 0.00 250-500 0.10 180-250 1.30 125-180 1.00 90-125 1.90 62-90 4.30 43-62 4.40 27-43 8.50 16-27 23.50 11-16 23.50 8-16 13.00 <8.5 18.50

Fig. 1: Size distribution (data from Appendix 2)

Table 4: Calculated size distribution (from Table 3)

Size <10 <6 6-60 60-125 125-250 250-500 range (respirable) (Clay) (Silt) (very fine (fine (medium (microns) sand) sand) sand)

Approx. 25 10 81 6.2 2.4 0.1 wt. %

The results of this size analysis are quite different to that of the microscopic size analysis, indicating that the latter method may be unreliable for such samples, perhaps due to the large size range and possible clumping of grains.

MPR2011/089 Page 4 of 7 Mineral Resources Tasmania

The sedimentation results indicated that the sample contains some fine sand sized material (>63 microns), but the bulk of the material, by weight or volume, is in the silt size fraction. There is a trace of respirable dust (<10 microns in size).

CONCLUSIONS

Mineralogical (XRD and microscopic) analysis indicates the sample is a fine grained, rather pure, angular quartz sand and silt with only trace contaminants (kaolinite and probable organic matter). About 25% of the quartz is in the respirable size range; of concern for health reasons. No amorphous silica could be detected.

R. Bottrill R. Woolley

MINERALOGIST/PETROLOGIST TECHNICAL OFFICER

Disclaimers

While every care has been taken in the preparation of this report, no warranty is given as to the correctness of the information and no liability is accepted for any statement or opinion or for any error or omission. No reader should act or fail to act on the basis of any material contained herein. Readers should consult professional advisers. As a result the Crown in Right of the State of Tasmania and its employees, contractors and agents expressly disclaim all and any liability (including all liability from or attributable to any negligent or wrongful act or omission) to any persons whatsoever in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance whether in whole or in part upon any of the material in this report.

These analyses collected in the MRT laboratories, along with some other data on the samples submitted, may enter the MRT databases but every attempt will be made to ensure the data remains closed file and not be available externally, except at your request.

MPR2011/089 Page 5 of 7 Mineral Resources Tasmania

Appendix 1: XRD

Mineral Resources Tasmania Laboratory Report

Client: J Lockley, Pitt and Sherry Sample Location: TAS, Wynyard MRT Job Number: MPR2011/089 Analysis: Approximate Mineralogy Method: X-Ray Diffraction

Results (approx wt %)

Sample EN1101849

MRT Reg No. G404127

>80% Quartz

65%-80%

50%-65%

35%-50%

25%-35%

15%-25%

10%-15%

5%-10%

2%-5%

<2% Kaolinite

The likely detection limit for amorphous silica in this sample would be somewhere between 5% and 10% Crystalline minerals present in trace amounts may not be detected Peak overlap may interfere with identifications and quantitative calculations

Analyst: R.N. Woolley

Date: 31 August 2011

MPR2011/089 Page 6 of 7 Mineral Resources Tasmania

Appendix 2: Size analysis

Mineral Resources Tasmania Laboratory Report

Client: J Lockley, Pitt and Sherry Sample Location: TAS, Wynyard MRT Job Number: MPR2011/089 Sample Source: Silica Flour Mill Waste Analysis: Sizing Methods: Sieving and Sedimentation

EN1101849 Weight of Sample Used (Sieving): 26.25g Weight of Sample Used (sedimentation): 35.23g

Mass Retained Cumulative Mass Size (µm) Wt. % Passing (g) (g) 500 0.00 0.00 100.0 250 0.03 0.03 99.9 180 0.34 0.37 98.6 125 0.27 0.64 97.6 90 0.49 1.13 95.7 63 1.13 1.13 91.4 43 87.0 27 78.5 16.5 55.0 11.0 31.5 8.5 18.5

MPR2011/089 Page 7 of 7 EN1101849

False

CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS Work Order : EN1101849 Page : 1 of 3 Client : PITT & SHERRY Laboratory : Environmental Division Newcastle Contact : MR JIM LOCKLEY Contact : Peter Keyte Address : PO BOX 94 Address : 5 Rosegum Road Warabrook NSW Australia 2304 199 MACQUARIE ST HOBART TAS, AUSTRALIA 7001 E-mail : [email protected] E-mail : [email protected] Telephone : +61 62231800 Telephone : 61-2-4968-9433 Facsimile : +61 03 62231299 Facsimile : +61-2-4968 0349 Project : HB11206 WASTE SILICA MANAGEMENT PLAN QC Level : NEPM 1999 Schedule B(3) and ALS QCS3 requirement Order number : HBH3938 C-O-C number : ---- Date Samples Received : 22-JUL-2011 Sampler : JIM LOCKLEY Issue Date : 03-AUG-2011 Site : ---- No. of samples received : 1 Quote number : ME/279/10 BQ No. of samples analysed : 1 This report supersedes any previous report(s) with this reference. Results apply to the sample(s) as submitted. All pages of this report have been checked and approved for release. This Certificate of Analysis contains the following information: l General Comments l Analytical Results

NATA Accredited Laboratory 825 Signatories This document has been electronically signed by the authorized signatories indicated below. Electronic signing has been This document is issued in carried out in compliance with procedures specified in 21 CFR Part 11. accordance with NATA Signatories Position Accreditation Category accreditation requirements. Dianne Blane Laboratory Supervisor Newcastle

Accredited for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025.

Environmental Division Newcastle

5 Rosegum Road Warabrook NSW Australia 2304 Tel. +61-2-4968 9433 Fax. +61-2-4968 0349 www.alsglobal.com Page : 2 of 3 Work Order : EN1101849 Client : PITT & SHERRY Project : HB11206 WASTE SILICA MANAGEMENT PLAN General Comments

The analytical procedures used by the Environmental Division have been developed from established internationally recognized procedures such as those published by the USEPA, APHA, AS and NEPM. In house developed procedures are employed in the absence of documented standards or by client request. Where moisture determination has been performed, results are reported on a dry weight basis. Where a reported less than (<) result is higher than the LOR, this may be due to primary sample extract/digestate dilution and/or insuffient sample for analysis.

Where the LOR of a reported result differs from standard LOR, this may be due to high moisture content, insufficient sample (reduced weight employed) or matrix interference.

When sampling time information is not provided by the client, sampling dates are shown without a time component. In these instances, the time component has been assumed by the laboratory for processing purposes.

Key : CAS Number = CAS registry number from database maintained by Chemical Abstracts Services. The Chemical Abstracts Service is a division of the American Chemical Society. LOR = Limit of reporting ^ = This result is computed from individual analyte detections at or above the level of reporting Page : 3 of 3 Work Order : EN1101849 Client : PITT & SHERRY Project : HB11206 WASTE SILICA MANAGEMENT PLAN Analytical Results

Sub-Matrix: SOIL Client sample ID WASTE SILICA ------Client sampling date / time 18-JUL-2011 15:00 ------

Compound CAS Number LOR Unit EN1101849-001 ------EA150: Particle Sizing +75µm ---- 1 % 10 ------+150µm ---- 1 % 2 ------+300µm ---- 1 % <1 ------+425µm ---- 1 % <1 ------+600µm ---- 1 % <1 ------+1180µm ---- 1 % <1 ------+2.36mm ---- 1 % <1 ------+4.75mm ---- 1 % <1 ------+9.5mm ---- 1 % <1 ------+19.0mm ---- 1 % <1 ------+37.5mm ---- 1 % <1 ------+75.0mm ---- 1 % <1 ------EA150: Soil Classification based on Particle Size Clay (<2 µm) ---- 1 % 10 ------Silt (2-60 µm) ---- 1 % 72 ------Sand (0.06-2.00 mm) ---- 1 % 18 ------Gravel (>2mm) ---- 1 % <1 ------Cobbles (>6cm) ---- 1 % <1 ------Certificate of Analysis

ALS Laboratory Group Pty Ltd #REF! 5 Rosegum Road Warabrook, NSW 2304 ALS Environmental pH 02 4968 9433 fax 02 4968 0349 Newcastle, NSW [email protected]

CLIENT: Jim Lockley DATE REPORTED: 3-Aug-2011

COMPANY: Pitt & Sherry DATE RECEIVED: 22-Jul-2011

ADDRESS: PO Box 94 REPORT NO: EN1101849-001 / PSD 199 Macquarie St. Hobart, Tas, 7001 PROJECT: HB11206 Waste Silica SAMPLE ID: Waste Silica Management Plan Percent Particle Size Distribution Particle Size (mm) Passing 150 100% 100% 75 100% 90% 37.5 100% 19.0 100% 80% 9.5 100% 70% 4.75 100% 2.36 100% 60% 1.18 100% 50% 0.600 100% 0.425 100% 40% 0.300 100% 30% 0.150 98% 0.075 90% 20% Particle Size (microns) 49 79% 10% 36 70% 0% 19 38%

9.5 10 22% 1.18 2.36 4.75 19.0 37.5

0.001 0.002 0.005 0.010 0.019 0.036 0.049 0.075 0.150 0.300 0.425 0.600 5 14% Clay Fine Silt Medium Coarse Fine Medium Coarse Fine Medium Course 4 11% Silt Silt Sand Sand Sand Gravel Gravel Gravel 2 10%

Samples analysed as received.

Sample Comments: Analysed: 29-Jul-11

Loss on Pretreatment NA Limit of Reporting: 1%

Sample Description: Fine silty sand Dispersion Method Shaker

Test Method: AS1289.3.6.2/AS1289.3.6.3 Hydrometer Type ASTM E100 TRUE 3 Soil Particle Density 2.65 g/cm Assumed

NATA Accreditation: 825 Site: Newcastle This document is issued in accordance with NATA’s accreditation requirements. Accredited for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025. This document shall not be Dianne Blane reproduced, except in full. Laboratory Supervisor, Newcastle Authorised Signatory

Page 1 of 1

Appendix C

NALCO Core Shell 71303 Material Safety Data Sheet

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb

SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

1. CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME CORE SHELL® 71303 :

APPLICATION : CATIONIC FLOCCULANT

COMPANY IDENTIFICATION : Nalco Australia Pty Ltd 2 Anderson Street Botany N.S.W. 2019 Australia A.B.N. 41 000 424 788 TEL: +61 2 9392 3500 FAX: +61 2 9666 5292

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) : 1800 205 506 International: +65 6542 9595 Free call: +800 2537 8747

Date issued : 11.07.2011 Version Number : 1.4

2. HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

HAZARD CLASSIFICATION :

Not classified as hazardous according to the Australian Safety & Compensation Council (ASCC). This product is not classified as a dangerous good according to national or international regulations.

SAFETY PHRASES S24/25 - Avoid contact with skin and eyes. S37/39 - Wear suitable gloves and eye/face protection.

3. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS

CHEMICAL NAME CAS NO % (w/w) Ingredients determined not to be hazardous 100

4. FIRST AID MEASURES

EYE CONTACT : Wipe or blot away excess material with clean cloth or paper towel. Wash affected areas thoroughly with water. Get medical attention.

SKIN CONTACT : Wipe or blot away excess material with clean cloth or paper towel. Wash affected areas thoroughly with water. If symptoms develop, seek medical advice.

Nalco Australia Pty Ltd 2 Anderson Street • Botany N.S.W. 2019, Australia TEL: +61 2 9392 3500 FAX: +61 2 9666 5292 1 / 9

SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

INGESTION : Get medical attention. Do not induce vomiting without medical advice. If conscious, washout mouth and give water to drink. If reflexive vomiting occurs, rinse mouth and repeat administration of water.

INHALATION : Remove to fresh air, treat symptomatically. If symptoms develop, seek medical advice.

NOTE TO PHYSICIAN : Based on the individual reactions of the patient, the physician's judgement should be used to control symptoms and clinical condition.

5. FIRE FIGHTING MEASURES

FLASH POINT : Not flammable

EXTINGUISHING MEDIA : Foam, Carbon dioxide, Dry powder, Other extinguishing agent suitable for Class B fires, For large fires, use water spray or fog, thoroughly drenching the burning material. Water mist may be used to cool closed containers.

UNSUITABLE EXTINGUISHING MEDIA : Do not use water unless flooding amounts are available.

FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARD : Phase separation of the product may occur after prolonged storage. The top phase will be combustible hydrocarbon solvent. May evolve oxides of carbon (COx) under fire conditions. May evolve oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and sulfur (SOx) under fire conditions.

SPECIAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR FIRE FIGHTING : In case of fire, wear a full face positive-pressure self contained breathing apparatus and protective suit.

SENSITIVITY TO STATIC DISCHARGE : Not expected to be sensitive to static discharge.

6. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURES

PERSONAL PRECAUTIONS : Restrict access to area as appropriate until clean-up operations are complete. Use personal protective equipment recommended in Section 8 (Exposure Controls/Personal Protection). Stop or reduce any leaks if it is safe to do so. Ventilate spill area if possible. Spill may be slippery.

METHODS FOR CLEANING UP : Water in contact with the product will create a voluminous, slippery gel. Soak up as thoroughly as possible with inert absorbent material or sawdust. Do NOT hose down area until all possible traces of polymer are removed. SMALL SPILLS: Soak up spill with absorbent material. Place residues in a suitable, covered, properly labeled container. Wash affected area. LARGE SPILLS: Contain liquid using absorbent material, by digging trenches or by diking. Reclaim into recovery or salvage drums or tank truck for proper disposal. Clean contaminated surfaces with water or aqueous cleaning agents. Contact an approved waste hauler for disposal of contaminated recovered material. Dispose of material in compliance with regulations indicated in Section 13 (Disposal Considerations).

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SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

ENVIRONMENTAL PRECAUTIONS : Do not contaminate surface water.

7. HANDLING AND STORAGE

HANDLING : Do not get in eyes, on skin, on clothing. Do not take internally. Use with adequate ventilation. Do not breathe vapors/gases/dust. Keep the containers closed when not in use. Have emergency equipment (for fires, spills, leaks, etc.) readily available. Ensure all containers are labeled. Stir well prior to use.

STORAGE CONDITIONS : Protect product from freezing. Store in suitable labeled containers. Store the containers tightly closed. Store separately from oxidizers.

SUITABLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL : Polyurethane, CPVC (rigid), Plasite 7122, Plasite 4300, Polyethylene (rigid), Buna-N, Fluoroelastomer

UNSUITABLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL : Stainless Steel 304, Brass, Neoprene, EPDM, Polypropylene (rigid), Chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber

8. EXPOSURE CONTROLS/PERSONAL PROTECTION

OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMITS

None of the components have been assigned an exposure standard by ASCC (Australia) or OSH (New Zealand).

ENGINEERING MEASURES : General ventilation is recommended. Use local exhaust ventilation if necessary to control airborne mist and vapor.

PERSONAL PROTECTION

RESPIRATORY PROTECTION : Respiratory protection is not normally needed. If significant mists, vapours or aerosols are generated an approved respirator is recommended, selected and used in accordance with AS/NZS 1715 and AS/NZS 1716. An organic vapor cartridge with dust/mist prefilter or supplied air may be used. If respiratory protection is required, institute a complete respiratory protection program including selection, fit testing, training, maintenance and inspection.

HAND PROTECTION : When handling this product, the use of chemical gloves is recommended. The choice of work glove depends on work conditions and what chemicals are handled, but we have positive experience under light handling conditions using gloves made from PVC Gloves should be replaced immediately if signs of degradation are observed. Breakthrough time not determined as preparation, consult PPE manufacturers.

SKIN PROTECTION : Wear standard protective clothing.

EYE PROTECTION : Wear safety glasses with side-shields.

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SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

HYGIENE RECOMMENDATIONS : Use good work and personal hygiene practices to avoid exposure. Consider the provision in the work area of a safety shower and eyewash. Always wash thoroughly after handling chemicals. When handling this product never eat, drink or smoke.

ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE CONTROL PRECAUTIONS : Consider the provision of containment around storage vessels.

9. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

PHYSICAL STATE Emulsion APPEARANCE Opaque Off-white Light brown ODOR Hydrocarbon pH (100 %) 3.5 - 5.0 VAPOR PRESSURE No data available. VAPOR DENSITY No data available. SPECIFIC GRAVITY 0.995 - 1.090 (25 °C) DENSITY No data available. SOLUBILITY IN WATER Partially miscible, Emulsifiable VISCOSITY 500 - 1,900 cps (25 °C) MELTING POINT No data available. BOILING POINT No data available. FLASH POINT Not flammable LOWER EXPLOSION LIMIT No data available. UPPER EXPLOSION LIMIT No data available. AUTOIGNITION TEMPERATURE No data available. Note: These physical properties are typical values for this product and are subject to change.

10. STABILITY AND REACTIVITY

STABILITY : Stable under normal conditions.

CONDITIONS TO AVOID : Freezing temperatures. Avoid temperatures below 0 and above 93 degrees C which will cause polymer to precipitate.

INCOMPATIBLE MATERIALS : Addition of water results in gelling. Contact with strong oxidizers (e.g. chlorine, peroxides, chromates, nitric acid, perchlorate, concentrated oxygen, permanganate) may generate heat, fires, explosions and/or toxic vapors.

HAZARDOUS DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS : Under fire conditions: Oxides of carbon, Oxides of nitrogen, Oxides of sulfur

HAZARDOUS REACTIONS : Hazardous polymerization will not occur.

11. TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION

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SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

OVERVIEW OF HEALTH HAZARDS

ACUTE HAZARDS - EYE CONTACT Can cause mild irritation.

ACUTE HAZARDS - SKIN CONTACT Frequent or prolonged contact with product may defat and dry the skin, leading to discomfort and dermatitis.

ACUTE HAZARDS - INGESTION Not a likely route of exposure. If swallowed a jelly mass may form which in digestion may cause blockage. Can cause chemical pneumonia if aspirated into lungs following ingestion.

ACUTE HAZARDS - INHALATION Not a likely route of exposure. Product mist or vapors may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, stupor or unconsciousness.

CHRONIC HAZARDS : Repeated or prolonged exposure may cause skin irritation and rash (dermatitis).

SUMMARY OF TOXICITY INFORMATION

ACUTE TOXICITY DATA : No toxicity studies have been conducted on this product.

SENSITIZATION : This product is not expected to be a sensitizer.

CARCINOGENICITY : None of the substances in this product are listed as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the National Toxicology Program (NTP) or the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).

For additional information on the hazard of the preparation, please consult section 2 and 12.

HUMAN HAZARD CHARACTERIZATION Based on our hazard characterization, the potential human hazard is: Low

12. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION

ECOTOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS :

The tests for (products or similar products) were performed in clean water as set forth by USEPA (EPA/600/4-90/027). In order to evaluate the potential toxicity mitigation, the tests for (representative polymers) were performed in environmentally relevant water with dissolved organic carbon (DOC: 4.5 mg/l). The toxicity of this product is due to an external mode of action, e.g., suffocation or immobilization. In the presence of suspended material, e.g., DOC, the polymers are bound to suspended material and the bioavailability is substantially reduced. As a result, the toxicity is expected to be lower. Under normal use and discharge conditions, the LC50 values of the representative polymers tested in the presence of DOC are expected to apply to this product. However, for large spills, the clean water data is more applicable.

Nalco Australia Pty Ltd 2 Anderson Street • Botany N.S.W. 2019, Australia TEL: +61 2 9392 3500 FAX: +61 2 9666 5292 5 / 9

SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

ACUTE FISH RESULTS : Species Exposure LC50 Test Descriptor Inland Silverside 96 hrs 95.8 mg/l Product Fathead Minnow 96 hrs 3.62 mg/l Product tested in clean water

ACUTE INVERTEBRATE RESULTS : Species Exposure LC50 EC50 Test Descriptor Mysid Shrimp (Mysidopsis 96 hrs 34.5 mg/l Product bahia) Ceriodaphnia dubia 48 hrs 1.07 mg/l Product tested in clean water

ADDITIONAL ECOLOGICAL DATA NOEC on earthworm: > 1000 mg/l (representative polymer) AOX information: Product contains no organic halogens.

MOBILITY AND BIOACCUMULATION POTENTIAL :

The environmental fate was estimated using a level III fugacity model embedded in the EPI (estimation program interface) Suite TM, provided by the US EPA. The model assumes a steady state condition between the total input and output. The level III model does not require equilibrium between the defined media. The information provided is intended to give the user a general estimate of the environmental fate of this product under the defined conditions of the models. If released into the environment this material is expected to distribute to the air, water and soil/sediment in the approximate respective percentages;

Air Water Soil/Sediment <5% 10 - 30% 50 - 70%

The product is eliminated via abiotic process (adsorption on activated sludge) to a large amount from the aqueous phase.

Elimination from the aqueous phase via precipitation or flocculation is possible. No bioaccumulation will occur. The large size of the polymer is incompatible with transport across the cellular membranes.

PERSISTENCY AND DEGRADATION :

Abiotic degradation: Hydrolysis > 70 % 28 d at pH 6-8, which is equivalent to ready biodegradability according to DSD 67/548 Annex VI. Method EU C7, OECD 111

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD AND EXPOSURE CHARACTERIZATION Based on our hazard characterization, the potential environmental hazard is: High

OTHER INFORMATION The hazard characterization is based on the tests or potential hazard in the clean water.

13. DISPOSAL CONSIDERATIONS

Dispose of in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations. Dispose of wastes in an approved incinerator or waste treatment/disposal site, in accordance with all applicable regulations. Do not dispose of wastes in local sewer or with normal garbage.

Nalco Australia Pty Ltd 2 Anderson Street • Botany N.S.W. 2019, Australia TEL: +61 2 9392 3500 FAX: +61 2 9666 5292 6 / 9

SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

Empty drums should be taken for recycling, recovery, or disposal through a suitably qualified or licensed contractor.

SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS FOR LANDFILL OR INCINERATION : No additional special precautions have been identified.

14. TRANSPORT INFORMATION

The information in this section is for reference only and should not take the place of a shipping paper (bill of lading) specific to an order. Please note that the proper Shipping Name / Hazard Class may vary by packaging, properties, and mode of transportation. Typical Proper Shipping Names for this product are as follows.

LAND TRANSPORT Proper Shipping Name : PRODUCT IS NOT REGULATED DURING TRANSPORTATION

AIR TRANSPORT (ICAO/IATA) Proper Shipping Name : PRODUCT IS NOT REGULATED DURING TRANSPORTATION

MARINE TRANSPORT (IMDG/IMO) Proper Shipping Name : PRODUCT IS NOT REGULATED DURING TRANSPORTATION

15. REGULATORY INFORMATION

AUSTRALIA :

NICNAS All substances in this product comply with the National Industrial Chemicals Notification & Assessment Scheme (NICNAS).

SUSDP SCHEDULE : Not Listed

INTERNATIONAL CHEMICAL CONTROL LAWS

UNITED STATES : The substances in this preparation are included on or exempted from the TSCA 8(b) Inventory (40 CFR 710)

CANADA : The substance(s) in this preparation are included in or exempted from the Domestic Substance List (DSL).

EUROPE The substance(s) in this preparation are included in or exempted from the EINECS or ELINCS inventories

JAPAN All substances in this product comply with the Law Regulating the Manufacture and Importation Of Chemical Substances and are listed on the Existing and New Chemical Substances list (ENCS).

Nalco Australia Pty Ltd 2 Anderson Street • Botany N.S.W. 2019, Australia TEL: +61 2 9392 3500 FAX: +61 2 9666 5292 7 / 9

SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

CHINA All substances in this product comply with the Provisions on the Environmental Administration of New Chemical Substances and are listed on the Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances China (IECSC).

KOREA All substances in this product comply with the Toxic Chemical Control Law (TCCL) and are listed on the Existing Chemicals List (ECL)

NEW ZEALAND All substances in this product comply with the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996,and are listed on or are exempt from the New Zealand Inventory of Chemicals.

PHILIPPINES All substances in this product comply with the Republic Act 6969 (RA 6969) and are listed on the Philippines Inventory of Chemicals & Chemical Substances (PICCS).

16. OTHER INFORMATION

This product material safety data sheet provides health and safety information. The product is to be used in applications consistent with our product literature. Individuals handling this product should be informed of the recommended safety precautions and should have access to this information. For any other uses, exposures should be evaluated so that appropriate handling practices and training programs can be established to insure safe workplace operations. Please consult your local sales representative for any further information.

REFERENCES

Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, OH., (Ariel Insight™ CD-ROM Version), Ariel Research Corp., Bethesda, MD.

Hazardous Substances Data Bank, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland (TOMES CPS™ CD-ROM Version), Micromedex, Inc., Englewood, CO.

IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man, Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Integrated Risk Information System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. (TOMES CPS™ CD-ROM Version), Micromedex, Inc., Englewood, CO.

Annual Report on Carcinogens, National Toxicology Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1910, Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), (Ariel Insight™ CD-ROM Version), Ariel Research Corp., Bethesda, MD.

Nalco Australia Pty Ltd 2 Anderson Street • Botany N.S.W. 2019, Australia TEL: +61 2 9392 3500 FAX: +61 2 9666 5292 8 / 9

SAFETY DATA SHEET

PRODUCT

CORE SHELL® 71303

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) 1800 205 506

Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH, (TOMES CPS™ CD-ROM Version), Micromedex, Inc., Englewood, CO.

Ariel Insight™ (An integrated guide to industrial chemicals covered under major regulatory and advisory programs), North American Module, Western European Module, Chemical Inventories Module and the Generics Module (Ariel Insight™ CD-ROM Version), Ariel Research Corp., Bethesda, MD.

The Teratogen Information System, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (TOMES CPS™ CD-ROM Version), Micromedex, Inc., Englewood, CO.

REVISED INFORMATION: Significant changes to regulatory or health information for this revision is indicated by a bar in the left-hand margin of the SDS.

Prepared By: Nalco Asia Pacific, Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Specialist, (02) 9392 3566

Nalco Australia Pty Ltd 2 Anderson Street • Botany N.S.W. 2019, Australia TEL: +61 2 9392 3500 FAX: +61 2 9666 5292 9 / 9

Appendix D

Calder Depot Site Layout and Plans

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb

Appendix E

Calder Depot Site Details

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb

1 # 2 #

6 5 4 # # 3 # # 191m

307m

537m

PointId Easting Northing 1 384555 5456661 2 384888 5456589 712m 3 384887 5456418 4 384784 5456435 5 384741 5456437 6 384532 5456426

Data sources: 0 100 200 300 Base image by TASMAP (C) State of Tasmania Metres ´ Legend Base data from theLIST (C) State of Tasmania TASMANIAN ADVANCED MINERALS Contour data from Google Earth Pro (C) Google Forestry Roads Other Roads Proposed waste depot (6.7 ha) Cadastre Scale: 1:10,000 Map Projection: GDA 1994 MGA Zone 55 WASTE SILICA MANAGEMENT PLAN Map produced by pitt&sherry Date: 7/06/2012 Hanson Roads # Rehabilitation area coordinates Map ref: HB11206_H008_PropWasteDepot_10k_12P_RevA Mine Lease Area (68M/1980) PROPOSED WASTE DEPOT 1 #

2 #

5 4 6 # # # 3 #

PointId Easting Northing 1 384555 5456661 2 384888 5456589 3 384887 5456418 4 384784 5456435 5 384741 5456437 6 384532 5456426

Data sources: 0 50 100 Base image by TASMAP (C) State of Tasmania Metres ´ Legend Base data from theLIST (C) State of Tasmania TASMANIAN ADVANCED MINERALS Contour data from Google Earth Pro (C) Google Forestry Roads Other Roads Rehabilitation area coordinates # WASTE SILICA MANAGEMENT PLAN Map produced by pitt&sherry Date: 7/06/2012 Scale: 1:2,500 Map Projection: GDA 1994 MGA Zone 55 Hanson Roads Proposed waste depot (6.7 ha) Map ref: HB11206_H011_PropWasteDepot_2500_12P_RevA Mine Lease Area (68M/1980) PROPOSED WASTE DEPOT

Appendix F

Blackwater Depot Site Details

(Note: the MLA boundary is now the Blackwater ML 9M/2007 mining lease boundary)

pitt&sherry ref: HB11206H001 EER Report 31P Rev 02/JL/bb 5448000 mN 5445000 mN 5446000 mN 5447000 mN

326000 mE 326000 mE Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Eagle Nest Eagle Nest -

327000 mE 327000 mE MLA BOUNDARY BLACKWATER WEST RESOURCE

328000 mE 328000 mE AMG 66 Zone55 Site Site Site Screening Screening Screening Site Site Site Screening Screening Screening Site Site Site Screening Screening Screening Amenities Amenities Amenities Office and Office and Office and Amenities Amenities Amenities Office and Office and Office and Amenities Amenities Amenities Office and Office and Office and DATUM BLACKWATER EAST

329000SCALE :1:20,000 mE 329000 mE RESOURCE BLACKWATER AREA LOCATION PLAN Newnham Explorationand MiningServices RESOURCE C OMINE X 200 0 Adustment Adustment Adustment Road Junction Road Junction Road Junction Adustment Adustment Adustment Road Junction Road Junction Road Junction Adustment Adustment Adustment Road Junction Road Junction Road Junction 400

330000 mE 330000 mE 800 m Smithton To Datum: AMG66 Zone55 File: BWResourceLoc 20k.wor Revisions: Drawn: G.MBennett Date: 07/03/2007 Compiled: L.Newnham 5448000 mN 5447000 mN 5446000 mN 5445000 mN Figure No. 2 E E E E E e n A o r Z th u r r 328 500m 328 500mE 329 000m 329 500m 328 000m 329 000mE 329 500mE e 327 500m 327 500mE 328 000mE ff u B A rt m RE hur er 0 Riv 0 SE R 5 R iv VE e t r es N gle Ea E ERV RES

MINE OUTLINE

5 447 000mN 5 447 000mN

s Close and Rehabilitate Acces Ro ad (Gravel) Existing Road Section

Mine Re-route Blackwater Road Junction

t R le R oa u o s d iv a ces d Pit Ac R ne Zo r ffe u s B n e 00m h 10 p T e t o st r S e S N Office and Ablutions e u e Screening and t m l a Eag Containers a w c Loading Site R Waste k c oa

a Soil and Silica l d Vegetation B Stockpile

5 446 500mN 5 446 500mN

BLACKWATER PROJECT

Newnham Exploration and Mining Services

Compiled : L. Newnham BLACKWATER WEST Date : April 2007 Drawn : G.M.Bennett

Revisions : SILICA FLOUR Datum : AMG 66 Zone 55 OPERATION DATUM File : BW Sil-Flour Mine 5 AMG 66 Zone 55 0 100 200 Figure No SCALE : 1:5000 329 000mE 328 500mE 328 000mE 327 500mE 327 000mE m S N

G-G1 F-F1 E-E1 D-D1 C-C1 B-B1 A-A1 5 447 000mN 5 446 500mN

200mSL 200mSL

Test Pit

AAH13 AAH14 North Road AAH65 AAH68 AAH29 AAH69 AAH29 100mSL 105 AAH12 100mSL AAH52 AAH22 AAH27 AAH23 AAH70 95 95 90 ? South 85 85 Road 80 75 75

00mSL 00mSL 5 446 500mN 5 447 000mN

LEGEND Newnham Exploration and Mining Services

85 Proposed Pit Outline Compiled : L. Newnham BLACKWATER WEST Date : April 2007 ATP22 SILICA FLOUR OPERATION Drawn : G.M.Bennett Drillhole Revisions : SECTION Datum : AMG 66 Zone 55 Silica Flour Deposit 327 500mE

LOOKING WEST File : Mine Sec 327500 2k 0 40 80 Figure No. SCALE : 1:2000 m 150mSL 150mSL

Ridge Road

East Road

100mSL AAH56 AAH29 100mSL AAH20 AAH60 AAH9 75 75 75

327 500mE SECTION C-C1 00mSL 00mSL

150mSL 150mSL

Ridge Road East Road

100mSL 100mSL AAH55 AAH21 AAH12 AAH54 80 AAH64

80 75

327 500mE SECTION B-B1 00mSL 00mSL

150mSL 150mSL

North Access Road

AAH27 100mSL 100mSL ATP22 90 AAH61 AAH26

85 85 80

327 500mE SECTION A-A1 00mSL 00mSL

LEGEND Newnham Exploration and Mining Services

Compiled : L. Newnham 85 Proposed Pit Outline BLACKWATER WEST Date : April 2007 SILICA FLOUR OPERATION Drawn : G.M.Bennett ATP22 Revisions : Drillhole SECTIONS Datum : AMG 66 Zone 55 1 1 1 Silica Flour Deposit A-A , B-B and C-C LOOKING NORTH File : Mine Sections A-C 2k 0 40 80 Figure No. SCALE : 1:2000 m

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Brisbane Launceston 2nd Floor 4th Floor 276 Edward Street 113 – 115 Cimitiere Street Brisbane QLD 4000 PO Box 1409 T: (07) 3221 0080 Launceston TAS 7250 F: (07) 3221 0083 T: (03) 6323 1900 F: (03) 6334 4651 Incorporating Canberra 1st Floor Melbourne 20 Franklin Street Level 1, HWT Tower PO Box 4442 40 City Road, Southbank VIC 3006 Manuka ACT 2603 PO Box 259 T: (02) 6295 2100 South Melbourne VIC 3205 F: (02) 6260 6555 T: (03) 9682 5290 E: [email protected] F: (03) 9682 5292 www.pittsh.com.au

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