Ministers North Derived Proposal

Overview

The proposal is for iron ore mining operations at Ministers North, located approximately 85 km north-west of the Town of Newman. The proposal is located approximately 15 km south-east of BHP’s existing Yandi Mining Operations (Yandi).

The proposal is a derived proposal for mining operations at Ministers North authorised by the Pilbara Expansion Strategic Proposal, Ministerial Statement 1105.  

The proposal includes:

• Above water table mining in open mine pits.
• Stockpiling of ore on a run of mine pad prior to transport of ore to Yandi.
• A Central Overburden Storage Area and in-pit backfilling of the mine pits.
• Infrastructure corridor connecting Ministers North to Yandi.
• A new primary crusher at Yandi to accommodate the Brockman-type ore supply.
• Mine access roads and tracks to connect various mining infrastructure.
• Borrow pits, laydown areas, stockpiles (topsoil, subsoil, vegetation).
• Surface water management infrastructure.
• Water supply pipelines (including requirement for pump stations and turkey’s nests).
• Associated infrastructure to support the mine construction and operation.

The proposal is located within a 5,556.6 ha development envelope and will require the clearing of up to 1,848 ha of native vegetation.

Why your views matter

At this initial stage of the EIA process, comment is simply sought on whether or not the EPA should assess a proposal and, if so, what level of assessment is considered appropriate.