ASSESSMENT REPORT 84 NOLANS PROJECT ARAFURA RESOURCES LTD December 2017 Assessment Report 84 Environmental Impact Assessment Process Timelines Date Process 03/2008 Receipt of Notice of Intent – Nolans Rare Earth Project Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage decision – 25/05/2008 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) required 10/12/2014 Receipt of clause 14A notification (amended NOI) – Nolans Project 23/12/2014 NT EPA decision on clause 14A notification – EIS required 29/05/2015 Terms of Reference issued to Proponent 27/05/2016 Draft EIS for the Project released for public comment 26/08/2016 NT EPA direction to prepare EIS Supplement issued 31/10/2017 EIS Supplement received 21/12/2017 Assessment Report issued Dr Paul Vogel Chairman 21 December 2017 Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority GPO Box 3675 Darwin Northern Territory 0801 © Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority 2017 Important Disclaimer This document has been prepared with all due diligence and care, based on the best available information at the time of publication. Any decisions made by other parties based on this document are solely the responsibility of those parties. The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority and Northern Territory of Australia do not warrant that this publication, or any part of it, is correct or complete. To the extent permitted by law, the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority and Northern Territory of Australia (including their employees and agents) exclude all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using, in part or in whole, any information or material contained in this publication. NORTHERN TERRITORY ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AUTHORITY Assessment Report 84 Contents Abbreviations and Glossary ...................................................................................... 2 Summary and Recommendations ............................................................................. 4 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 13 1.1 Purpose of this report ..................................................................................... 13 1.2 Scope of the assessment ............................................................................... 13 1.3 Approval and regulatory framework ................................................................ 13 2 The project .......................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Proponent ....................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Project description .......................................................................................... 15 3 Key environmental factors ................................................................................ 23 4 Environmental Impact Assessment .................................................................. 24 4.1 Hydrological processes ................................................................................... 25 4.2 Inland water environmental quality ................................................................. 37 4.3 Terrestrial flora and fauna ............................................................................... 46 4.4 Social, economic and cultural surroundings ................................................... 55 4.5 Human health ................................................................................................. 59 5 Whole of Project considerations ...................................................................... 61 5.1 Radiation protection ........................................................................................ 61 5.2 Process safety ................................................................................................ 61 5.3 Closure and rehabilitation ............................................................................... 63 6 Matters of national environmental significance .............................................. 66 6.1 Threatened species ........................................................................................ 66 6.2 Nuclear actions ............................................................................................... 67 7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 68 8 References .......................................................................................................... 70 Appendix 1 – Other environmental factors ............................................................ 73 Appendix 2 – Project area ........................................................................................ 76 NORTHERN TERRITORY ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AUTHORITY 1 Assessment Report 84 Abbreviations and Glossary Adaptive management A learning-oriented approach to making decisions on the management of natural resources in the presence of uncertainty. It involves iterations of decision making, monitoring, and assessment of system responses, leading to adapted decision-making (Williams & Johnson, 2017). Advisory bodies Agencies having administrative responsibilities in respect of the proposed action ADWG Australian Drinking Water Guidelines ALARA As low as reasonably achievable AMD Acid and metalliferous drainage ANCOLD Australian National Committee on Large Dams ARI Average recurrence interval; a measure of the rarity of rainfall events ASX Australian Securities Exchange BMP Biodiversity Management Plan Bq/g Becquerels per gram, a measure of radioactivity; one Becquerel is one disintegration per second Bowtie diagram In relation to Process Safety; illustrates linkages between potential causes of an incident, or risk, and the preventative and mitigating controls that could be put in place CLC Central Land Council Draft EIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources EA Act Environmental Assessment Act EAAP Environmental Assessment Administrative Procedures EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EIS Environmental Impact Statement Environment All aspects of the surroundings of man including the physical, biological, economic, cultural and social aspects (section 3 of the Environmental Assessment Act) ESCP Erosion and Sediment Control Plan EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 GDE Groundwater dependent ecosystem GL Gigalitre (a billion litres) ICE Independent Certifying Engineer MM Act Mining Management Act NORTHERN TERRITORY ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AUTHORITY 2 Assessment Report 84 MNES Matters of National Environmental Significance mS/yr Millisieverts per year, a measure of the dose equivalent (biological effect of ionising radiation) Mt Million tonnes NMD Neutral mine drainage NOI Notice of Intent NORM Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials NT EPA Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority NTG Northern Territory Government Operator The operator for a mining site referred to in section 9(1) of the Mining Management Act PAF Potentially acid forming PAPL Phosphoric acid pre-leach (proposed method of processing to produce a rare-earth concentrate) Process Safety A blend of engineering and management skills (exceeding workplace safety skills) focused on preventing catastrophic incidents and near misses, particularly where there is a loss of control of material with potential for high consequences (explosions, spills of hazardous waste, hydrocarbons and fire) Relevant regulator Responsible Minister or delegate or agency responsible for administering the relevant legislation for that action Responsible Minister Northern Territory Minister for Primary Industry and Resources RSF Residue Storage Facility The Minister Northern Territory Minister for Environment and Natural Resources The Australian Australian Government Minister for Environment and Energy Government Minister The Project Nolans Project The Proponent Arafura Resources Ltd SAPL Sulfuric acid pre-leach (previously proposed method of processing to produce a rare-earth concentrate) SIMP Social Impact Management Plan Supplement The Supplement to the draft EIS the/this Report This Assessment Report 84, for the Nolans Project TPWC Act Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act TSF Tailings Storage Facility WRD Waste Rock Dump NORTHERN TERRITORY ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AUTHORITY 3 Assessment Report 84 Summary and Recommendations Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a process for identifying the potential environmental impacts and risks of a proposed action, evaluating the significance of those impacts and risks and determining appropriate avoidance, minimisation/mitigation measures to reduce those impacts and risks to acceptable levels. This Assessment Report (the Report) examines the EIA of Nolans Project (the Project), proposed by Arafura Resources (the Proponent). This report marks the end of the assessment process by the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA). This report is provided to the Northern Territory Minister for Environment and Natural Resources (the Minister) and for the Minister for Primary Industry and Resources (the responsible Minister) for approvals that would be required for the Project. This Report is not intended to provide an environmental approval although it will guide the decision for