E2068 v8 MORUPULE COLLIERY EXPANSION PROJECT Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT Volume 1 Public Disclosure Authorized December 2008 Prepared by E cosurv Environmental Consultants Report Quality Verification Title: EIA of the Morupule Colliery Expansion Project Project Number: enquiry no: MOR Date of Report: October 2008 – E51030 : Prepared By Client: Debswana Diamond Company Ecosurv (Pty) Ltd. (Pty) Ltd and Morupule Colliery P.O. Box 201306 Gaborone Email: [email protected] Telephone:(+267) 3161533 Facsimile: (+267) 3161878 Commissioned by: Members of the Consulting Team: Contact Person: Client Contact I. Kgololo Project Manager & Env. Engineer I. Kgololo Person: D. Parry Team Leader, EIA Specialist and [email protected] Craig Robertson Wildlife Specialist/Ecologist Debswana M. Muzila Botanical Survey T. Phuthego Socio-economist Email: J. Hiley Hydrologist/Hydrogeologist (WSB) crobertson@deb A. Pheiffer Mine EIA Specialist (METAGO) swana.bw P. Modikwa Archaeology (ARMS) F.van Heerden Mine closure plan (METAGO M. Konopo GIS and Support Environmentalist Comments: The EIA addressed both phase 1 and 2 i.e. 4-12 Mtpa coal abstraction with emphasis on Phase 1, the 4 Mtpa abstraction Quality Verification: Within the context of the above comments, this report meets the agreed scope of work and quality standard. Name and Capacity Signature Date D. Parry (Director) 30th October 2008 Final EIS Volume 1: Morupule Colliery Expansion Project December 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) presents the results of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed Morupule Colliery Expansion Project at the Morupule Colliery in Palapye. The EIS will be submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) the EIA authority, for review and approval. The study was initiated by Morupule Colliery Limited (MCL), the owner of the colliery, and was conducted by Ecosurv (Pty) Ltd. The key objectives of the EIA are to: • examine the environmental and social character of the area that is likely to be affected by the project or development; • identify and evaluate the direct and indirect impacts resulting from the development; • identify and describe measures that will mitigate the identified negative impacts and enhance the positive ones; • develop an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and monitoring and auditing requirements; and • identify costs relating to closure of the colliery and the new infrastructure. Project Background MCL, a subsidiary of Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd has been operating a coal mine since 1973 and is currently producing approximately 1 million tonnes of coal per annum. The coalfield within the mining lease area is immense and contains good quality coal, with the estimated overall coal presence exceeding 5 billion tonnes. The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC), which operates a coal-fired power station nearby, has been the main consumer of the MCL coal. The colliery now proposes to expand its coal production from 1 million tonnes per annum to 4 million tonnes per annum in phase one and 12 Mtpa in phase two. The purpose of this expansion is to: • cater for an increase in power generating capacity at the BPC coal-fired power station site at Morupule. The power increase is expected to be 600 megawatts (MW) for Phase 1 and 600 MW for Phase 2, together with the current 132 MW of generating capacity. • produce beneficiated coal that has been processed through washing plants, for the local coal market and for export. • produce unbeneficiated coal of power station grade coal for supply to existing and new customers. The colliery has been given the authority by the BPC board to proceed with the planning and preparations aimed at ensuring adequate supply of coal to generate 600 MW for the Phase 1 expansion of the power station and the current 132 MW. Confirmation from BPC for the second phase is still pending. Proposed Activities Activities planned for the proposed expansion project (described in detailed in Section 3) include: Prepared by Ecosurv i Final EIS Volume 1: Morupule Colliery Expansion Project December 2008 • Phase 1: Four million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) mining from existing shaft, replacement of the surface screening and crushing facilities at the existing location, and construction of new workshops and offices and 20 housing units at Morupule Village; and • Phase 2: Twelve Mtpa mining from a new shaft some 4.5 km to the North of the existing shaft, and replacement of the coal wash plant. The pre-feasibility study for Phase 1 has been completed, while the study for Phase 2 is on- going. Construction of Phase 1 and Phase 2 will commence in 2011 and 2012 respectively and will each take three years. The operational life of each phase is twenty years. Existing environmental certification and archaeological studies are: • a situation analysis, EMP and closure plan have been prepared for the current mine shaft and its associated operations. No further EIA activity is envisaged for the existing operation. An archaeological impact assessment has been approved and salvage archaeology completed for the initial mine lease area and the first extension (to cover the surface area above the current mining area); • separate EIAs have been carried out for the proposed pipeline connection to the North- South Carrier (NSC) and for the existing coal wash plant. These have been approved by DEA. The colliery has applied for and received an extension to the lease area which covers the coal deposits as far as Serowe. The geographic scope of this EIA and AIA activity will be the surface area above the proposed expansion of coal abstraction activities. Within the proposed expansion area, there will be sections affected by clearing and excavation, access routes and utilities. The rest of the area will remain unchanged. Compensation and Resettlement A number of households reside within the colliery’s mining lease area. The colliery is planning to compensate and request all people who live within the 20-year mining lease area to move in the long-term. Compensation is required as the Land Board cannot give MCL the surface rights if the previous owners have not been compensated. This process is ongoing. Location The Morupule Colliery is located in the Central District of Botswana approximately 300 km north of the capital city, Gaborone, and some twelve kilometres north-west of Palapye towards Serowe. Approach and Methodology The process of assessing the impacts of the project encompasses the following: impact identification, impact prediction of their nature, magnitude, extent and duration, identification of mitigation measures that could be implemented to reduce the severity or significance of the impacts of the activity and evaluation of the significance of the impacts after mitigation measures have been implemented i.e. the significance of the residual impacts. The main areas of impacts were identified during the scoping phase through site visits, consultations and literature review. During the EIA study the impact were further investigated through specialists’ studies. The significance of the impact was determined as follows: Significance = Consequence (Extent x Intensity x Duration) x Probability. The result of the assessment of the significance of the residual impacts (Low, Medium, High) is linked to decision-making by authorities in the following manner: Prepared by Ecosurv ii Final EIS Volume 1: Morupule Colliery Expansion Project December 2008 • Low – will not have an influence on the decision to proceed with the proposed project, provided that recommended mitigation measures to mitigate impacts are implemented; • Medium – should not influence the decision to proceed with the proposed project, provided that recommended measures to mitigate impacts are implemented; and • High – would strongly influence the decision to proceed with the proposed project. Environmental Setting The project area experiences average annual temperatures between 30 °C and 14 °C. Mean annual precipitation is 371 mm with the majority of rainfall received between November and March. Potential evapotranspiration is in the order of 900 – 1,200 mm/year (WSB, 2007), which is two to three times the average annual rainfall. The dominant winds are north easterly with an average wind speed of 3 m/s. Air Quality Air quality around the colliery is affected by dust from coal screening, stockpiling and loading. The air quality is also influenced by emissions from the neighbouring Morupule Power Station in the form of ash, sulphur dioxide (SO2) and other particles. The results of the coal dust monitoring from samples taken above surface exceed the World Bank Group limits for ambient air quality. Monitoring of methane has shown zero gas content. The output may increase as the depth of the seam increases. Noise Noise levels in Palapye Village are high and are typical of an urban complex. The existing noise climate alongside the main roads in Palapye is degraded with regard to acceptable urban residential living standards (SANS 10103 noise impact criteria). In general the daytime conditions are acceptable (SANS 10103). The impact of the Morupule colliery on noise sensitive sites in the surrounding area is relatively minor. Noise levels from the colliery exceed 35 decibel adjusted (dBA), the maximum allowable night-time level for rural residential use, for up to a distance of about 2,600 m from the facility. Seven homesteads lie within this area of influence. The colliery village lies just outside this zone and is thus not impacted by the colliery noise. Topography The area is in general flat with the main landscape variation being that of the Tswapong hills which lie roughly 12 km south-east of the existing mining site. A number of small outcrops exist within the lease to the north. The Colliery village is situated between two of these outcrops. The Kalahari escarpment lies to the west of the lease area. The lease area is drained eastwards by the Morupule and the Lotsane rivers. Soils Soils in the area consist of an Aeolian layer of sand of between 2 and 9 m deep, averaging around 5.5 m, which overlays a band of ferrocrete/calcrete.