∕ If Heritage Minerals does not use or disturb an area of the site as a result of its mining operations, it is not required to carry out any rectification or rehabilitation of that area; ∕ In particular, except as expressly set out in the Phase 3 Agreement, Heritage Minerals is not required to rectify or rehabilitate any disturbance or impact on the site caused by mining activities (including all ancillary and associated activities) conducted before 1 October 2003, including any and all environmental consequences of those activities; ∕ If Heritage Minerals uses or disturbs an area of the site, it must carry out rehabilitation activities in respect of that use or disturbance. The rehabilitation activities that Heritage Minerals carries out: – Must be consistent with the 'DNRME Site Remediation Plan' (to the extent relevant and unless otherwise agreed between the parties); – Must be in accordance with all relevant laws and approvals; and – Are limited by the other clauses of the Phase 3 Agreement which define the extent of rehabilitation that Heritage must carry out; ∕ Heritage Minerals accrues additional rehabilitation liability in circumstances where it significantly excavates material from a stockpile (i.e. tailings dump) for reprocessing, in which case on closure, Heritage Minerals would be required to fully excavate any remaining material in the stockpile to the pre-existing natural ground level. Excavated material would be reprocessed or otherwise disposed of in an authorised tailings storage facility. If, following that excavation, there is residual contamination capable of causing serious or material environmental harm, Heritage Minerals may be required in consultation with the DNRMMRRD to excavate a further 0.6m in the area of the contamination; ∕ However, if Heritage Minerals uses or disturbs a stockpile for a purpose other than to remove the material as part of its reprocessing activities, or uses or disturbs a stockpile in connection with any exploration activities for feasibility studies, Heritage Minerals is not required to excavate the stockpile to previous natural ground level and instead would be required to rehabilitate any disturbance caused by its exploration activities consistently with the DNRME Site Remediation Plan and in accordance with its environmental approvals (e.g. apply soil and seed); ∕ If Heritage Minerals takes water from the OCP, that activity does not constitute a use or disturbance of the site by Heritage Minerals. That is, taking water from the OCP will not trigger any requirement for Heritage Minerals to rectify or rehabilitate any disturbance or impact, or environmental consequences of any disturbance or impact, associated with the OCP; and ∕ Where Heritage Minerals is engaged by the DNRMMRRD to carry out rehabilitation activities on the DNRMMRRD behalf in support of its rehabilitation of the site, those activities do not constitute a use or disturbance of the site by Heritage Minerals. The EA is consistent with the allocation of rehabilitation liability as between the State and Heritage Minerals under the Phase 3 Agreement. It acknowledges the Phase 3 Agreement and provides among other things that Heritage Minerals is not required to rehabilitate areas of the site that are not used or disturbed as part of its mining activities (condition F5). The EA supplements clause 6 of the Phase 3 Agreement, including by describing rehabilitation requirements for other aspects of the site that are proposed to be disturbed by Heritage Minerals. The limitation of rehabilitation liability provided in the Phase 3 Agreement and reflected in the EA is a recognition by the State of the severity of the environmental issues at the site due to over 100 years of mining which pre-dated the modern regulatory regime. The burden of rehabilitation is significant, and the State has recognised that this risk allocation is the only avenue to ensure the viability of reprocessing activities.
Project number: 25B061
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