Original EA Amendment

6.4.2.1.3.

Historic and Surrounding Land Uses

More than a century of mining at Mount Morgan has put the surrounding land in a degraded state, with

contaminated runoff and seepage present. Little is known regarding the site history prior to mining

operations commencing in 1882, however it is assumed that the undisturbed areas was consistent with

the undisturbed areas adjacent to the site towards the north and west.

For the purposes of this amendment application, the pre-mining land use is the use of the land prior to

its disturbance by Heritage Minerals and therefore prior to the point in time relevant to rehabilitation

obligations. That pre-mining use is a decommissioned mine managed by the DNRMMRRD in

accordance with the Abandoned Mines Land Program. The land is heavily impacted by from historic

mining with unrehabilitated waste dumps and contaminated water impoundments. The DNRMMRRD

carries out remediation activities including contaminated water seepage interception, contaminated

water treatment, heritage building maintenance and land and infrastructure management. The

DNRMMRRD has developed numerous revegetation plans based on years of trials and consideration

of the surround ecosystems which the revegetation section in 6.2.4.2 has aligned with.

6.4.2.1.4.

Description of Nominated PMLU

Based on an understanding of relevant land use strategies, regional plans and considering the

surrounding land uses, the nominated PMLU for the Upper Mundic Gully TSF is ‘Native Ecosystem’.

Given the challenges associated with achieving a PMLU that matches natural historic ecosystems, as

published in the Office of the Queensland Mine Rehabilitation Commissioner, Native ecosystem

rehabilitation in Queensland implications for leading practice September 2023, a hybrid ecosystem is

proposed that meets DNRMMRRD expectations.

6.4.2.2. Rehabilitation Methodology

The performance outcomes for Land provides for an obligation to achieve a safe, stable and non-

polluting landform iv. able to sustain an appropriate land use after rehabilitation or restoration. The

proposed rehabilitation commitments are as follows:

• Completely backfilled with tailings. PAF waste rock exposed during construction transferred

to void;

Water removed from surface;

• Dry cover – store and release installed; and

Drainage system constructed.

Based on these proposed EA conditions, the rehabilitation methodology for the Upper Mundic Gully

TSF will involves the following aspects:

• Fill the TSF to the maximum permissible RL to achieve the final landform;

• Shaping of the tailings surface to provide a direct flow path to the spillway and minimise or

prevent ponding of water;

• Runoff management systems installed on the embankment;

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Wulguru Technical Services Pty Ltd – Supporting Information to Amend an Environmental Authority

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