400,000 mE 450,000 mE LEGEND y y y y aaa www hhhwww Development Envelope ggghhh iiiiiigigg HHH 22 22 Rio Tinto Ghost Bat records WARRAMBOOWARRAMBOO PP lllllll PPaannnn ttttaaa 22 nnnnaawwoo 22 OUTSTATIONOUTSTATION ssstttt RRR wwoonniiiiccc WWW aaasss iiiciccaa Ghost Bat Roost (Diurnal/ WWW oooaaa oooo 22aa (( PannawonicaPannawonica 22 22 ooo bbbb 22 88 (( PannawonicaPannawonica 22 aaaa CC bbbb 2288 aaaa !! CC e e e e 22 potential maternal) rrrrrrr !! 22 rrrrrrr aaaa mmm 2222222 RR mmm 22 22222222222 RRooo bbbb 22 22 ooo 88 8888 mN 7,600,000 bbbb aaa 2288 22882288 oooo t t t t t t t 222 ddd 22 88 DBCA Ghost Bat records o o o o t t t t t t t 222 ddd o o o o ssss 22 RRiiii 88 88 eeee RRiiiivv2v28e8e 28288 eeee MesaMesa A A 22 88 eerrrr 22828 2288 WW 22 2288 2288 2288 2288 88 22 2222 22 22 222288 Rio Tinto Railway 222288 22 22 2288 7,600,000 mN 7,600,000 222 22 22 22 Highway 2222288822 22222 22222282822 2222 28288 222 22828 Major Road h h h h ttttth tth h h rrrrrrr 22 oooo 22MesaMesa J J NNN 2222 Major Watercourse 22 22222 JJJ JJJiiimimmm MMMMMMM mm MMMMMMM mm MMMMMMM mmaa MMMMMMM aa MMMMMMM aa MMMMMMM aaww 22 wwuurrrrrrrraa Data sourced from: Department of Biodiversity, uuuuuuu rrrraa uuuuuuu aadd uuuuuuu 88 aadd uuuuuuu 88 aadd uuuuuuu 88 22 dd uuuuuuu 88 22 ddaa uuuuuuu 2288 22 ddaa nnnnnnn 22 nnnnnnn nnnnnnn CCCCCCC CCCCCCC Conservation and Attractions (2018) Threatened CCCCCCC ggggggg ggggggg ggggggg rrrrrrr rrrrrrr rrrrrrr aaaaaaa aaaaaaa eeeeeee aaaaaaa eeeeeee and Priority Fauna. Database Search for Rio Tinto eeeeeee rrrrrrr rrrrrrr eeeeeee rrrrrrr CCCCCCC eeeeeee aaaaaaa CCCCCCC eeeeeee aaaaaaa CCCCCCC aaaaaaa k k k k k k k k k k k k k k ttttttt tenements accessed on the 6/11/18. Prepared k k k k k k k ttttttt rrrrrrr k k k k k k k ttttttt rrrrrrr tththththththh rrrrrrr hhhhhhh eeeeeee hhhhhhh eeeeeee ooooooo eeeeeee ooooooo eeeeeee ooooooo by the Species and Communities Program for eeeeeee ooooooo ooooooo CCrrrreeeekkk k k k k k k k ooooooo CCrrrreeeekkk k k k k k k k ooooooo CCrrrreeeekkk k k k k k k k ooooooo CCrrrreeeekkk k k k k k k k CCrrrreeeekkk k k k k k k k CCrrrreeeekkk k k k k k k k CCrrrreeeekkk k k k k k k k nnnnnnn nnnnnnn Rio Tinto for the purposeof understanding fauna nnnnnnn a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 22828288 habitat utilisation and facilitating management 2288 outcomes. 2288 22 BB BBuuunnn 88 nnnggg 2288 aaarrrrooo rrrroooooo 2288 2288 88 eeeekkk 22 2288 CCrrrree 2288 2288 RRR 88 RRR 22888822 eeee 228822 d d d d SCALE 2288 5 0 5 10 15km 1:500 000 @ A4 Disclaimer This document has been prepared to the highest level of accuracy possible, for the purposes of Rio Tinto’s iron ore business. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part by any means is strictly prohibited without the express approval of Rio Tinto. Further, this document may not be referred to, quoted or relied upon for any purpose whatsoever without the written approval of Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto will not be liable to a third party for any loss, damage, liability HHiiii iiililllll or claim arising out of or incidental to a third party using or relying on the content contained in this document. Rio Tinto disclaims all risk and the third party assumes all risk and releases and indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Rio Tinto from any loss, damage, claim or CCrrrreeeekkk liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or reliance on this document. 7,550,000 mN 7,550,000 I r o n O r e ( W A ) 7,550,000 mN 7,550,000 CCaannee Figure 12-5: RRiiiivvv iiiivvveerrrr Ghost Bat records in the Robe Valley Drawn: T.M. Plan No: PDE0165179v1 400,000 mE 450,000 mE Date: January, 2019 Proj: MGA94 (Zone 50) Geospatial Information and Mapping 12.3.5 Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia) The Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat population that occurs in the Pilbara and upper Gascoyne is considered to be one interbreeding biological population of genetic divergence which is of national significance (TSSC 2016a). The Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat has been recorded 119 times across the Robe Valley (Figure 12-7) and occurs in colonies concentrated around significant roosting sites, often associated with disused mining infrastructure. Most of the known natural roosting sites coincide with areas of current or future interest for mining development; hence mining activities are an identified threat to Pilbara populations of the species (DotEE 2017b). The Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat is restricted to deep roosting caves and mine adits (manmade horizontal shafts) with stable, warm and humid microclimates. The species is thought to prefer such environments because it has a limited ability to thermo-regulate and retain water (DotEE 2017b). The Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat is known to have a typical dry season foraging range up to 20 km from its primary roost caves (Bat Call 2016) but may forage at greater distances if suitable water sources are available. The availability and use of transitory diurnal roosts is dependent upon wet season conditions when the humidity of temporary roosts is elevated making them suitable for use. The species is likely to return to its primary roosting location in dry periods as demonstrated by perennial occupation of certain roost sites (DotEE 2017b). The Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat is most often observed in flight over waterholes, up to 3 m above the land surface, but sometimes within centimetres of the ground. In the Pilbara, the species has been observed in Triodia hummock grasslands covering low rolling hills and shallow gullies; within scattered Eucalyptus camaldulensis along the creeks; over small watercourses amongst granite boulder terrain; over pools and low shrubs in ironstone gorges; and above low shrubs and around pools in gravelly watercourses with a Melaleuca overstorey (DotEE 2017b). As with all cave-roosting bats, the Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat has separate diurnal and nocturnal habitats including roosting sites and foraging sites. Roosting sites may occur in rocky breakaways, scarps and gorges as these areas have the greatest potential to support relatively warm humid microclimates. The type and quality of potential foraging habitat surrounding known or suspected roost sites can also be critical to the survival of the Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat. The Conservation Advice for the species (TSSC 2016b) lists the types of habitat that are used for foraging and their relative priority but also indicates that assessment of significance of habitat removal would include assessment of "the relative proportion of identified foraging habitats to be removed (e.g. within a surrounding 10 km radius from the roost)". The conservation advice states that actions are: • highly likely to have a significant impact on Pilbara Leaf-nosed bats if an action causes the loss of confirmed or even potential roost sites; and • may have a significant impact on Pilbara Leaf-nosed bats if an action disrupts breeding or removes a significant proportion of foraging habitat within proximity (e.g. 10 km radius from the roost). There is currently no recovery plan for this species. A full summary of policy/guidance relevant to the Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat is provided in Section 8.6.4.1. The Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat has been recorded 11 times in the Proposed Change Area. The species was recorded at five of the 11 bat SM2 detector locations in the Proposed Change Area by Astron (2017e). The species was recorded a further six times in the Proposed Change Area during the earlier Level 1 survey of Mesa H (Astron 2014). During the most recent survey (Astron 2017e), seven locations yielded low activity levels, while one location (BAT 14) recorded high activity levels with 257 calls (Astron 2017e). BAT 14 was located at the entrance to a large gorge system, of which most occurs in the south of the survey area and outside of the Proposed Change Area. Four bat detectors were subsequently placed along the gorge system for a period of five days in June 2016, Mesa H Proposal (Revision to the Mesa J Iron Ore Development) 464 following completion of the main survey and results indicate that individuals likely originate from a known roost site approximately 10 km south of the survey area (Astron 2017e). Ongoing surveying for the species within the broader Robe Valley by Rio Tinto from 2015 to 2017 in the vicinity of the Development Envelope identified multiple calls in the vicinity of the Robe River, along the southern boundary of the Proposed Change Area and within a gully. The surveys did not identify any roosts at Mesa A, B, C, D, E or F (Rio Tinto 2017e). It is likely that the species utilises habitats around the mesas and the Robe River for foraging, as part of a larger home range. The 11 records of Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat from within the Proposed Change area are also the total that have been recorded in the broader Development Envelope and comprise (Figure 12-8): • three from Breakaways and Gullies habitat; • five from River habitat; • two from Hills habitat; and • one from Plains habitat. There are an additional 19 null records in the Development Envelope from placement of acoustic recorders which are largely from Plains, River and Mesa Plateau habitats with five null records from Breakaways and Gullies.