Mining Area C, Life of Project: Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna Assessment Troglofauna Assessment PreparedPrepared for: for: BHPBHP Billiton Billiton Iron Iron Ore Ore February 2015 September 2015 Final Report Final Report Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna Assessment Bennelongia Pty Ltd 5 Bishop Street Jolimont WA 6014 P: (08) 9285 8722 F: (08) 9285 8811 E: [email protected] ACN: 124 110 167 Report Number: 225 Report Version Prepared by Reviewed by Submitted to Client Method Date Draft 1 Andrew Trotter Stuart Halse email 27 October 2014 Stuart Halse Draft 2 Andrew Trotter email 9 December 2014 Danilo Harms Stuart Halse Final 1 Andrew Trotter email 16 February 2015 Michael Curran Andrew Trotter Final 2 Stuart Halse email 26 August 2015 Michael Curran Final 3 Stuart Halse Danilo Harms email 8 September 2015 K:\Projects\B_BHPBIO_56\Troglofauna Report\Final\Sent\Corrected\July 2015_ BEC_Mining Area C Troglofauna Report_final_8ix15a This document has been prepared to the requirements of the Client and is for the use by the Client, its agents, and Bennelongia Environmental Consultants. Copyright and any other Intellectual Property associated with the document belongs to Bennelongia Environmental Consultants and may not be reproduced without written permission of the Client or Bennelongia. No liability or responsibility is accepted in respect of any use by a third party or for purposes other than for which the document was commissioned. Bennelongia has not attempted to verify the accuracy and completeness of information supplied by the Client. © Copyright 2015 Bennelongia Pty Ltd. vi Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore vii Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Mining Area C is located approximately 100 kilometres north-west of Newman in the central Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Northern Flank Valley is an active mining operation in the north- eastern corner of the mining lease and comprises 14 deposits, namely the Marra Mamba deposits A, B, C, D, E, F and R, the Brockman Detrital Deposit and six Brockman bedrock deposits (P1-6) on the Packsaddle Range. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted in 1997 via the Public Environmental Review (PER) process of BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s proposal to mine 14 iron ore deposits in the Northern Flank Valley at Mining Area C (i.e. deposits A, B, C, D, E, F, R, P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 and the Brockman Detrital Deposit). The PER was assessed by Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Bulletin No. 913 in 1998 and a Ministerial Statement of Approval (MS 491) was issued by the Minister for the Environment in December 1998 under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act). Two deposits were assessed in the PER – C Deposit and the Brockman Detrital Deposit. In addition to the specific assessment of these two deposits, MS 491 provided an on-going mechanism for the development of the remaining 12 deposits subject to the Mining Area C Environmental Management Plan (EMP) being reviewed and updated to the requirements of the EPA. Deposits A, B, C, D, E, F, P1, P3, P4 and the Brockman Detrital have been described and assessed in previous versions of the EMP. EMP Revisions 1 through to 5 currently describe mining below the water table (A, C, E, F, P1 and P3 deposits) and above the water table (B, D, P4 and Brockman Detrital deposits) at Mining Area C. Project Description BHP Billiton Iron Ore is seeking access to the remaining deposits at Mining Area C through the development of a Life of Project EMP (Revision 6). A preliminary project description includes: access to the P2, P5, P6 and R deposits; current and planned pit boundaries (including extensions to all approved pits) and Overburden Storage Area (OSA) boundaries; below water table mining of all deposits and placement of overburden in mined out voids; construction and use of haul and access roads; out-of-pit topsoil, Run-of-Mine and low grade ore stockpiles; continued groundwater abstraction and usage to meet operational demands; additional infrastructure required to support the future mine plan; and closure and progressive rehabilitation. Objective This report provides information about the potential effects on troglofauna of the developments proposed in the Life of Project EMP (Revision 6). Potential effects on troglofauna were assessed using available information on the troglofauna species present within the areas likely to be impacted by the proposed development; namely, the four proposed new mine pits at deposits P2, P5, P6 and R, as well as the proposed modifications to the approved indicative mine pits. These areas are referred to in the remainder of the report as the ‘Project Area’. The objectives of this assessment were: (1) To identify the troglofauna species present in the Project Area. viii Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore (2) To determine the future conservation status of the troglofauna species present in the Project Area. (3) To assess the potential impacts on troglofauna species from the developments proposed in the Life of Project EMP. Findings Troglofauna surveys in the Project Area were conducted in accordance with the recommendations of EPA Environmental Assessment Guideline 12 and Guidance Statement 54A. Altogether, 82 species have been recorded from the Project Area and adjacent Reference Area. Twelve of these species are widespread in the Pilbara, whereas 70 species are known only from the Central Pilbara. Twenty (29%) of these 70 species are known only from the Project Area, or the Project Area and the adjacent approved indicative mine pits. It is difficult to determine the level of threat to the 20 species (of which 13 species or 65% are singletons) that are currently known only from within the Project Area, or the Project Area and the approved mine pits. This is mainly because while current distributions almost certainly underestimate the true ranges of the species because of the small number of records of each species, the extent of underestimation is not known. Habitat characterisation suggested there is little difference in the structure of the rock between commercial grade iron ore (i.e. the mine pits) and surrounding areas. The differences between the two areas are mainly subtle variation in the extent of mineralisation that affects the commercial viability of mining rather than differences in habitat structure that will affect the density and distribution of troglofauna. Thus, it is inferred the 20 ‘restricted’ species are likely to have wider ranges than currently documented. Seventeen of the 20 species are considered unlikely to have ranges that are limited to Project Area and approved indicative mine pits, and the proposed development is considered to present only a low level of threat to the conservation of these species. The level of threat to three species (Hanseniella sp. B08, Symphyella sp. B03, and Parajapygidae sp. S03) is uncertain because there is currently little information on which to infer likely ranges of these species. It is considered that all significant threats to troglofauna will occur during mining (the excavation of mine pits). No additional threat to troglofauna conservation is expected following mine closure. ix Mining Area C, Life of Project: Troglofauna BHP Billiton Iron Ore CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ VIII 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Overview of Operation ................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Approvals History ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.3. Current Proposal ............................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.4. Report Objectives ............................................................................................................................................................. 4 1.5. Survey Program ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 2. BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1. Troglofauna ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.1. Habitat Requirements.............................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1.2. Principal Impact of Mining on Troglofauna .................................................................................................... 5 2.1.3. Other Impacts of Mining on Troglofauna ....................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Legislative Framework ...................................................................................................................................................