Woodie Continued Operations Project

Overview

Consolidated Minerals Pty Ltd the proponent) propose to develop the Woodie Continued Operations Project. The proposal is an expansion of the existing Woodie Woodie Mine operations (Pilbara Manganese Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Minerals Pty Ltd) which is not subject to a Ministerial Statement issued under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act). The proposal is located approximately 100 km east of Marble Bar and Nullagine and 400 km south east of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Existing operations at Woodie Woodie are currently regulated under Part V of the EP Act and the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914. The current project operates under Licence L6131/1990/3 and Clearing Permit CPS 6792/1.

Historically 2,325 ha of clearing has taken place with an additional 345 ha of native vegetation authorised to be cleared under CPS 6792/1. The current Clearing Permit Boundary area is 7,589 ha, the proposed development envelope of 12,708 ha extends the boundary to the north, south and west.

The proposal would include clearing of up to an additional 2,340 hectares (ha) of native vegetation on top of 2,670 ha of native vegetation cleared under previous approvals. Resulting in a total clearing of 5,010 ha within a development envelope of 12,708 ha.

Key Characteristics of the proposal:

• New and existing satellite pits will be mined with material crushed, screened and beneficiated on site at a central processing plant, prior to being trucked to Port Hedland and shipped through the Utah Point Bulk Handling Facility. Processing wastes (tailings) are discharged into In-Pit Storage Facilities (TSFs).
• Additional above and below water pits will be mined Proposed depths of pits range from 48 to 234 m below ground level.
• Abstraction of up to 40 GL of groundwater per annum and discharging of up to 40 GL of water to local creek systems per annum.
• Deposition of tailings to in-pit TSFs.
• Construction of additional miscellaneous infrastructure to support mining activities.

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.

What happens next

Following the seven day public comment period and consideration of any comments received, the EPA will decide whether or not this proposal requires environmental impact assessment and, if so, what level of assessment will be applied.

The EPA's decisions on level of assessment are released each Monday on the EPA's website.