Clearing Permit Decision Report 1. Application details 1.1. Permit application details Permit application No.: 6545/1 Permit type: Purpose Permit 1.2. Proponent details Proponent’s name: Robe River Limited 1.3. Property details Property: Iron Ore (Robe River) Agreement Act 1964 , Mineral Lease 248SA (AML 70/248) General Purpose Lease 47/1235 General Purpose Lease 47/1236 Local Government Area: Shire of East Pilbara Colloquial name: West Angelas Project 1.4. Application Clearing Area (ha) No. Trees Method of Clearing For the purpose of: 500 Mechanical Removal Mineral Exploration, Hydrogeological and Geotechnical Investigations and Associated Activities 1.5. Decision on application Decision on Permit Application: Grant Decision Date: 11 June 2015 2. Site Information 2.1. Existing environment and information 2.1.1. Description of the native vegetation under application Vegetation Beard vegetation associations have been mapped for the whole of Western Australia. Four Beard vegetation associations are Description located within the application area (GIS Database): Beard vegetation association 18 : Low woodland; mulga ( Acacia aneura ); Beard vegetation association 29: Sparse low woodland; mulga, discontinuous in scattered groups; Beard vegetation association 82 : Hummock grasslands, low tree steppe; snappy gum over Triodia wiseana; and Beard vegetation association 169: Shrublands; mulga & minnieritchie scrub Multiple flora surveys have been conducted within the clearing application area and a total of 250 vegetation units have been mapped. The main landform types within the application area are: plains, including Mulga woodlands and cracking clays; hills; gorges and gullies; and major and minor drainage lines (Rio Tinto, 2015). Clearing West Angelas Project. Description Robe River Limited proposes to clear up to 500 hectares of native vegetation within a total boundary of approximately 29,761 hectares, for the purpose of mineral exploration, hydrogeological and geotechnical investigations and associated activities. The project is located approximately 100 kilometres north west of Newman in the Shire of East Pilbara. Vegetation The majority of the vegetation in the application area appears to be in a “Very Good” to “Excellent” condition. An operational Condition mine site is located within the application area boundary and historic clearing has occurred throughout the area, therefore parts of the vegetation have been highly disturbed or completely cleared. Degraded: Structure severely disturbed; regeneration to good condition requires intensive management (Keighery, 1994). To: Excellent: Vegetation structure intact; disturbance affecting individual species, weeds non-aggressive (Keighery, 1994) Comment The vegetation condition was derived from available aerial imagery, previous clearing permit assessments and information obtained from past surveys within the area (GIS Database; Rio Tinto, 2015). Page 1 3. Assessment of application against Clearing Principles (a) Native vegetation should not be cleared if it comprises a high level of biological diversity. Comments Proposal is at variance to this Principle The application area is located within the Hamersley subregion of the Pilbara Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregion (GIS Database). At a broad scale, vegetation of the Hamersley subregion can be described as Mulga low woodlands over bunch grasses on fine textured soils in valley floors and Eucalyptus leucophloia over Triodia brizoides on skeletal soils of the ranges (CALM, 2002). The objective of this application is to consolidate at least 11 existing clearing permits held by Robe River Limited. Existing live permits are to be surrendered and future clearing is to be conducted under CPS 6545/1. Based on reported annual clearing for existing live permits within the application area (of approximately 29,761 hectares), a total of 455.41 hectares of native vegetation have been cleared out of a possible 1771.2 hectares approved to be cleared. While this does not take into consideration areas cleared under Part IV approvals, the current application to clear up to 500 hectares will result in a reduction in the amount of native vegetation proposed to be cleared within the local area. The western section of the application area borders the Karijini National Park, while the eastern end of the application area is at a distance of more than 30 kilometres (GIS Database). Given the application areas proximity to a National Park and that sixteen introduced (weed) species are known from the application area (Rio Tinto, 2015), the introduction and/or spread of weeds should be managed. Weeds have the potential to alter the biodiversity of an area, competing with native vegetation for available resources and making areas more fire prone. This can in turn lead to greater rates of infestation and further loss of biodiversity if the area is subjected to repeated fires. Potential impacts to biodiversity as a result of the proposed clearing may be minimised by the implementation of a weed management condition. The majority of the vegetation units known from the application area are considered to be well represented both locally and throughout the Hamersley subregion (Rio Tinto, 2015). However there are at least two vegetation units within the application area that have been identified as significant such as Mulga ( Acacia aneura) on flats and lower slopes including grove / inter grove mulga and Ground water Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs). The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) lists a number of ecosystems within each IBRA subregion that are deemed to be other ‘Ecosystems at Risk’ and mulga ( Acacia aneura ) on flats and lower slopes including grove / inter grove mulga, eastern Hamersley Range may in future be deemed threatened should these be subject to ongoing threatening processes (DPaW, 2015a). GDEs are commonly known to rely on the availability of groundwater in order to maintain their structure and function. Areas of significant vegetation will be avoided where possible (Rio Tinto, 2015). Multiple flora surveys have been conducted within the application area and a total of 250 vegetation units have been mapped (Rio Tinto, 2015). Previous surveys of the application area have recorded between 262 and 976 flora taxa. Based on available aerial imagery, previous clearing permit assessments and information obtained from past surveys within the area, the condition of the vegetation varies, but appears to be in a predominantly ‘Very Good’ to ‘Excellent’ condition. However, disturbance has occurred within parts of the application area due to the presence of an operational mine and previous mineral exploration activities. Twenty six Priority flora species have been recorded within the application area, this includes six Priority 1, five Priority 2, thirteen Priority 3 and two Priority 4 species. Of these, potential impacts to the following eight Priority flora species are considered to be of greatest significance (DPaW, 2015a): • Eremophila sp. West Angelas (S. van Leeuwen 4068) (P1) • Hibiscus sp. Mt Brockman (E. Thoma ET 1354) (P1) • Sida sp. Hamersley Range (K. Newbey 10692) (P1) • Josephinia sp. Marandoo (M.E. Trudgen 1554) (P1) • Aristida lazaridis (P2) • Eremophila forrestii subsp. Pingandy (M.E. Trudgen 2662) (P2) • Euphorbia clementii (P2) • Oxalis sp. Pilbara (M.E. Trudgen 12725) (P2) DPaW (2015b) also recommended that Aristida jerichoensis var. subspinulifera (P3), Hibiscus sp. Gurinbiddy Range (M.E. Trudgen 15708) (P2) and Vittadinia pustulata (P3) be avoided within the application area. Potential impacts to Priority flora as a result of the proposed clearing may be minimised by the implementation of a flora management condition. The proponent has developed and will implement environmental controls and management procedures (Rio Tinto, 2015). All Priority listed flora will be avoided where possible. Fauna habitats that occur within the application area are relatively common and widespread in the local area and in the Pilbara region (Rio Tinto, 2015). The gorge/gullies habitats found within the application area are considered the most significant fauna habitat, potentially providing habitat for species of conservation significance (Rio Tinto, 2015). Potential impacts to gorge/gullies habitat as a result of the proposed clearing may be minimised by the implementation of a restricted clearing condition. There are no known Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs) mapped within the application area (GIS Page 2 Database), however the Priority Ecological Community (PEC) “West Angelas cracking clay community,” a Priority 1 PEC, occurs throughout the central part of the application area. This community is thought to be in a mostly ‘Excellent’ condition and has a mapped extent of approximately 447 hectares within the application area. DPaW (2015a) has advised that all mapped occurrences of this community appear to fall within the application area, and significant impacts to the West Angelas cracking clay community should be avoided due to the community’s highly restricted distribution (DPaW, 2015a). Rio Tinto has committed to avoiding clearing within the PEC where possible and has advised that the only likely scenario for any clearing within the PEC would be if critical access is required (Rio Tinto, 2015). Potential impacts to the PEC as a result of any proposed clearing may be minimised by the implementation of a priority ecological community management condition. Based on the above, the proposed clearing is at variance