Toms Gully Underground Project

Primary Gold Limited

Primary Gold Limited (the Proponent) proposes to conduct underground mining at the historic Toms Gully Mine site, approximately 100 km southeast of Darwin. A new decline will be constructed to access the underground ore. Approximately 900,000 tonnes of gold ore would be extracted and processed using a carbon-in-leach circuit. Waste rock and tailings will be stored subaqueously in the existing pit lake at the site, to limit the generation and potential spread of contaminants. The Proposal includes the rehabilitation of legacy mining structures that have caused environmental impacts. Approximately 100 people will be employed over a five year mine-life.

The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) decided on 23 April 2014 that the Proposal required assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act 1982 at the level of Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Terms of Reference for EIS were issued on 19 November 2014 and the Draft EIS was on public exhibition for six weeks commencing 26 September 2015.

The Proponent has since notified the NT EPA of alterations to the Proposal (8 June and 14 December 2018). In both instances the NT EPA decided (on 24 July 2018 and 8 February 2019 respectively) that the alterations do not change the environmental significance of the Proposal and that environmental assessment at the level of an EIS was still necessary.

The Proponent submitted the Supplement on 15 August 2018 and the NT EPA requested additional information several times in 2018 and 2019. An addendum to the Supplement was received on 17 July 2019, and Further Information was received on 6 January 2020. The NT EPA issued the Assessment Report to the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources on 21 February 2020.