1. Introduction Heritage Minerals Pty Ltd has engaged Wulguru Technical Services Pty Ltd (WTS) to conduct a baseline assessment of terrestrial ecological values in the proposed new Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) in the Upper Mundic Gully or Project Area. The purpose of this report is to provide the results of the desktop assessments and field surveys. 1.1. Project Description The Upper Mundic Gully area within the Mount Morgan Mine is a highly modified landform that has been subjected to previous waste rock and limited tailings deposition. The topography of the Mount Morgan Mine has been significantly modified through previous mining activities through the creation of the Open-Cut Pit (OCP), placement of overburden in dumps and deposition of latent tailings into natural gullies. Whilst originally an underground mining operation, during the 1930s-1950 the mining methodology changed to open cut methods. This activity significantly influenced site topography and associated hydrological drainage patterns across the entire site. 1.2. Project Location The Mount Morgan Mine is located near the town/location of Mount Morgan 38 kilometres southwest of Rockhampton in Central Queensland. The Mount Morgan Mine is largely bound to the east by the Dee River and bound to the north and west by undulating hills. Mount Morgan was founded as a gold mining town in 1882, with the Mount Morgan Mine located directly adjacent to the west. In addition to mining resources, the predominant land uses in the surrounding region is cattle grazing within native vegetation, with some areas of forestry and irrigated cropping. The Mount Morgan Mine is located alongside the Dee River, forming part of the Dee River Catchment. The catchment forms part of the larger Fitzroy River system within the Fitzroy River basin. The Dee River generally flows south to west into the Don River and Dawson River before reaching the Fitzroy River where it enters the ocean at Port Alma, downstream of Rockhampton. 1.3.Environmental Context The climate of Mount Morgan is sub-tropical with a distinct wet and dry season. Statistics for the nearest Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) station at the Rockhampton Aerodrome (BOM station #039083, 1939 - current) have been summarised in Figure 1. On average, 879 mm of rainfall occurs annually. Rainfall is generally highest from December to March. The area reaches a maximum mean temperature of 32.2 degrees in December and a minimum mean temperature of 9.8 degrees in July.
1 Wulguru Technical Services Pty Ltd – Heritage Minerals Upper Mundic Gully TSF – Fauna Survey Assessment Report
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