KALIUM LAKES POTASH PTY LTD – S38 REFERRAL SUPPORTING INFORMATION Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project BEYONDIE SULPHATE OF POTASH PROJECT SECTION 38 REFERRAL – SUPPORTING INFORMATION 30 OCTOBER 2017 PREPARED FOR KALIUM LAKES POTASH PTY LTD P a g e | 1 BY PRESTON CONSULTING PTY LTD KALIUM LAKES POTASH PTY LTD – S38 REFERRAL SUPPORTING INFORMATION Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Document prepared for: KALIUM LAKES LIMITED Contact Person: Brett Hazelden – Managing Director Email: [email protected] Phone: (08) 9240 3200 Street Address: Unit 1, 152 Balcatta Road, Balcatta WA 6021 Postal Address: PO Box 610, Balcatta WA 6914 Document developed by: PRESTON CONSULTING PTY LTD Contact Person Phil Scott – Director Email: [email protected] Website: www.prestonconsulting.com.au Phone: +61 8 9221 0011 Fax: +61 8 9221 4783 Street Address: Level 3, 201 Adelaide Terrace, East Perth WA 6004 Postal Address: PO Box 3093, East Perth WA 6892 KALIUM LAKES POTASH PTY LTD – S38 REFERRAL SUPPORTING INFORMATION Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project CONTENTS PART A: PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................. 1 Short summary of the Proposal ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Project Description ............................................................................................................................................................... 1 Disturbance .............................................................................................................................................................................. 3 PART B: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ........................................................................................................ 8 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................... 18 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Location of the proposal and overview of Development Envelopes ......................................... 5 Figure 2: Indicative site layout of Ten Mile Lake .................................................................................................. 6 Figure 3: Indicative site layout of Sunshine Lake ................................................................................................. 7 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Summary of the Proposal .............................................................................................................................. 1 Table 2: Location and proposed extent of physical and operational elements ........................................ 4 Table 3: Potential Environmental Impacts .............................................................................................................. 9 KALIUM LAKES POTASH PTY LTD – S38 REFERRAL SUPPORTING INFORMATION Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project PART A: PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION SHORT SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSAL Table 1: Summary of the Proposal Proposal Title Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Proponent Name Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd Short Description Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd is seeking to develop a sub-surface brine deposit to produce approximately 150 kilotonne per annum (ktpa) of Sulphate of Potash (SOP) product and by-products. The process will used, by undertaking an evaporation and processing operations at the Beyondie, 10-Mile and Sunshine Lakes area, which is located approximately 160 kilometres (km) south east of Newman, in the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia (Figure 1). The proposal includes the development of evaporation and crystalliser ponds, installation of production bores, trenches, pumps, pipelines, purification facility, access road upgrades, natural gas pipeline, and expansion of accommodation village, buildings, services and utilities (including water, power and waste disposal), disposal of excess salt. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project (the Project) is amongst Australia’s highest grade SOP deposits and is located close to key infrastructure, including the Goldfields Gas Pipeline and Great Northern Highway. The Project differs from a conventional mining operation as there is no mine pit. It relies on extraction of hypersaline groundwater that is pumped to ponds where the water is evaporated and the salts concentrated, with the different salts extracted and purified sequentially. Hypersaline groundwater will be extracted from the deeper (~50 - 100 m) paleochannel aquifer by bores, and from the upper layers of lake sediments via trenches and pumps. SOP is the target product from the groundwater, although other salts may be able to be commercially produced as a by-product (e.g. magnesium salts). Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd (Kalium Lakes) has completed drilling programs, geophysics surveys and initial test-pumping to confirm an indicated mineral resource of 0.94 Million tonnes (Mt) drainable resource and an inferred mineral resource of 18.84 Mt drainable. Currently a trial program is underway which has included the development of small camp, trial evaporation pond, upgrade of access tracks, and pump testing. On the basis of this trial work, Kalium Lakes is planning to seek approval for a 150 ktpa capacity project. The Project will include: A combination of shallow trenches and deep production bores to extract hypersaline groundwater; Evaporation ponds; Purification plant; Product and excess salt storage areas; Accommodation, administration, utilities (communications, power and water) and associated facilities; P a g e | 1 KALIUM LAKES POTASH PTY LTD – S38 REFERRAL SUPPORTING INFORMATION Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project 78 km access road to the Great Northern Highway to include a gas pipeline to join the Goldfields Gas Pipeline; and Borefields to supply fresh water. Kalium Lakes plans to export SOP to world markets via Geraldton and / or Fremantle Port. Brine Extraction Hypersaline groundwater (brine) will be extracted from paleo-channels beneath Ten Mile and Sunshine Lakes via a combination of shallow trenches and deep production bores (Figures 2 and 3). Bores and trenches will be equipped with pumps and the water will be pumped through poly- ethylene pipes to the evaporation ponds. Ground disturbance for brine abstraction within the two lakes is limited to that needed for the bores, trenches, pipes and tracks. Excess salt from the process will be harvested from the ponds and placed on the Ten Mile Lake surface (Figure 2). The excess salt will be almost entirely make up of halite (sodium chloride – or table salt) crystals. Currently, the market price for halite is not sufficient to support transport to market. Evaporation and Purification The brine will be pumped either: Directly to the main series of evaporation ponds located north of Ten Mile Lake; or First pumped to initial concentrator pond(s) located within an existing salt lake near the extraction points, for both consolidation and reduction in pumping volumes prior to moving to the main evaporation pond facility. These small concentrator pond(s) are located between Ten Mile and Sunshine Lake (Figure 3) and will not precipitate salts but will reduce volume of brine to be pumped by up to 50% reducing pipe size and transported volumes. The main evaporation ponds will be similar to those used for salt production at other locations around WA and are located off the lake surface to minimise the risk of losing product back into the groundwater. The ponds will be lined to prevent leakage. Table salt (halite = sodium chloride) is the first salt to precipitate. Other Mixed Potassium salts will precipitate in subsequent ponds as the brine is pumped through the pond circuit. The salts will be left as solids within the ponds to be harvested when full. Industry standard harvesting techniques and equipment will be used. The target salts will be harvested from the last ponds in the circuit and stored in a stockpile separately so they can be crushed and purified in the SOP plant. Excess salt from the process will be harvested from the ponds and placed on the Ten Mile Lake surface in a defined location within the Salt Lake Development Envelope identified in Figure 2. The excess salt will be almost entirely make up of halite (sodium chloride – or table salt) crystals. The SOP plant mixes the salts and uses reverse flotation, heating and internal recycling of the brines to purify the salts. The product will then be crystallised and stored in a product stockpile for transport to port. Kalium Lakes also intends to produce approximately 40 – 50 ktpa of by-products from waste streams where viable such as sodium chloride and magnesium salts / compounds. The evaporation and purification facilities will be located only within the Processing Development P a g e | 2 KALIUM LAKES POTASH PTY LTD – S38 REFERRAL SUPPORTING INFORMATION Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Envelope (Figure 1). Supporting Infrastructure The Project requires fresh water to run the purification process, accommodation and workshop facilities. This will be pumped from a series of new or existing bores or abandoned pit lakes in the area. Power will be supplied initially by a series of diesel fuelled generators. Project scale-up will require a greater power input and that may be provided by construction of a gas pipeline to the Goldfields Gas Pipeline. Solar panels will provide power to low flow pumps where appropriate.