McArthur River Mine Overburden Management Project 2018

McArthur River Mining Pty Ltd

The McArthur River Mine (MRM) is located approximately 45 km south-west of the township of Borroloola and 470 km south-east of Darwin, in the Gulf Region of the Northern Territory. MRM is the world's largest producer of zinc in bulk concentrate form and zinc concentrate. The concentrate is transported from the mine to the Bing Bong loading facility 100 km north-east of the mine.

The Overburden Management Project originated from an improved understanding of the overburden (waste rock) geochemistry and the need to manage it differently from previous proposals.

The key elements covered by the Project EIS are:

• the redesign of the overburden emplacement facilities to manage overburden geochemistry;
• reduction of overburden emplacement facilities;
• re-processing of tailings waste and placement within the open cut void on cessation of processing, removal of the

Tailings Storage Facility and rehabilitation of the former facility area;

• a revised open cut final void closure strategy; and
• an acknowledgement of the need and plan for ongoing monitoring and management in the long-term to maintain protection of the downstream environment.

The NT EPA decided that the McArthur River Overburden Management Project requires assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act at the level of an EIS. It is a controlled action and will require assessment and approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 before it can proceed. The proposal is being assessed under the bilateral agreement between the NT and Australian Governments.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement are now available for public comment. Comments are to be submitted on or before COB Wednesday 3 May 2017.