INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2018

WATER MANAGEMENT FIGURE 27 WATER USAGE (EXCLUDING TROPICANA) FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 Kilolitres 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 Clean water and sanitation Water is an important resource for IGO’s mining activities. IGO uses water in all parts of its business, including exploration drilling, the mining process, ore processing, dust suppression, and for drinking and domestic use in our camps. Water is typically extracted from our underground mines and dedicated water supply borefields. In FY18, across all IGO managed operations, we consumed a total of 3,259,480kL of water. Consumption has increased over the last three years, commensurate with our growing operational footprint (see Figure 27). Therefore, the ongoing responsible management of water is key to the sustainability of our operations. In Western Australia, water extraction is always subject to a licence issued by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). Licences set out our annual water entitlement and conditions to ensure we appropriately manage abstraction over the life of our mining activities. To meet these requirements, abstraction volumes and groundwater levels are monitored. We note that it is standard practice at IGO operations to maximise the volume of water recycled. Unintended safety and environmental impacts can result from both poorly managed groundwater abstraction and the uncontrolled release of contaminated water, particularly where salinity or contaminant levels are elevated. Water releases from mining operations can take various forms including stormwater discharge, process and mine dewatering discharges, water delivery line breakages, and seepage from storage facilities such as dams and tailings storage facilities. IGO has established processes for water management and we can confirm that we operated in accordance with our licence conditions. Further, in FY18, IGO has had no material spills or unapproved discharges. NOVA OPERATION Groundwater, sourced from production bores, dewatering bores and the underground mine, accounts for all water supply at the Nova Operation. In FY18 a total of 1.8GL was abstracted from groundwater sources. At Nova we complete annual vegetation impact assessments to determine if our abstraction is causing tree stress or deaths. Similarly, we monitor groundwater levels around the TSF to check for changes in groundwater levels and chemistry. Unlike unlined TSFs, which typically have associated groundwater mounds beneath and around them, the fully lined TSF at Nova has no associated groundwater mound. To date, vegetation monitoring indicates that neither groundwater drawdown nor mounding has had an impact on the overlying forest. Further, as the groundwater is hypersaline, it is likely that few higher organisms, if any, are dependent on groundwater as a water source. Wastewater is managed under a recycled water scheme with the approval of the Department of Health and Local Government. A waste water treatment plant has been installed to recycle all grey and black water produced by the village, power plant, paste plant and other non-process infrastructure on site. The treatment process enables this water to be reused on site for industrial processing, dust suppression and effluent irrigation. Since commissioning, a majority of the recycled water has been directed to the licensed effluent irrigation area or stored in the TSF for further use. Nova has an ongoing challenge to achieve the efficient disposal of the bio-solids produced by our sewage treatment plant. At present, these solids are trucked to Esperance for landfill disposal. A permanent and local disposal solution will be sought in FY19. 78 — IGO SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2018