IGO SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022— 83 82 —IGO SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022 Environment Case Study: Improving Nova Water Management In FY22, further refinements to the Nova Operation water balance were undertaken to provide enhanced understanding of the key drivers impacting water use. A water management improvement plan has been derived from this work and formed the basis of improvements plans to reduce our bore water abstractions, ultimately reducing water on our TSF. The key projects identified in the improvement plan included upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, water treatment plant, and the decant water supply network. Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade The wastewater treatment plant upgrade was completed during the financial year, with regulatory approvals to recycle the treated effluent for concentrate washing received in late February 2022. Realised savings of bore water abstractions between March 2022 and June 2022 are approximately 26,000m3. Water Treatment Plant Upgrade The water treatment plant upgrade began in FY22 and will be operational in the first quarter of FY23, with project delays experienced due to resourcing shortfalls and equipment supply issues. An improvement in permeate yield will be realised from this upgrade, reducing the amount of bore water required for the same volume of permeate produced. Monthly bore water savings of 15,000m3 per month are expected. Decant Water Supply Network Upgrade The decant water supply network upgrade began in FY22, with completion expected in the second quarter of FY23, which will negate the requirement to top up the processing plant with bore water. The key aspect of this is to have the process plant and paste plant and underground on dedicated water supply pumps. collect extensive data at the boundary of the Port and a reference site in town, which shows respirable nickel is five times less than the target limit prescribed by the regulator. Dust emissions data is regularly published and is publicly available on the Southern Ports, Port of Esperance website https://www.southernports. com.au/. Ongoing monitoring and strict loading controls will be maintained and continue for all future IGO shipping events. At our Nova Operation, our main activities involving resource extraction and primary processing result in the release of emissions and particulates to the atmosphere. Our major air emissions are carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds. IGO completes annual National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) reporting in accordance with the Australian Government regulations to disclose these emissions. Data on the key reportable pollutants for FY22 are included in the performance data table on page 102, and in the Our Response to Climate Change section on page 59. Mine Closure and Rehabilitation Closure planning is an essential process that occurs at all stages of a mine’s life cycle. The end of a mine’s operational life is far from being the end of its social and environmental impact. We recognise that we have a responsibility to close mines in a way that is safe, stable and non-polluting. Planning for mine closure must consider social, economic, physical and biological parameters that can change over time, particularly when the planning horizon extends past a decade. Taking the lead on closure and rehabilitation planning can significantly reduce the complexity and cost of closure in the long run. IGO’s planning and cost provisioning for mine closures starts during exploration and project development and extends across the operations life cycle. In accordance with our Common Management System Standard 15 — Acquisition, Divestment and Closure, we develop and maintain a closure plan for each project to ensure we are prepared and understand the cost of closure. The closure plan also outlines the process for developing and obtaining agreement on completion criteria that will demonstrate successful postclosure outcomes. IGO’s Nova Operation has an approved mine closure plan, developed in accordance with Western Australian regulation. The Mine Closure Plan (MCP) is a live document that is continually updated throughout the life of the operation. We continue to investigate and refine closure strategies at all our operations in accordance with our Group Environmental Standard 1 — Mine Rehabilitation & Closure and the Group Finance Standard 1 — Provisions for Mine Closure. The revision of these plans follows a structured approach, incorporating both external regulatory requirements as well as meeting internal standards to ensure adequate stakeholder engagement throughout the planning process. Finally, revised MCPs enable provisions for the estimated cost of rehabilitation, decommissioning and restoration relating to areas disturbed by our operations throughout the year. These are reviewed, and if required, updated annually. The Nova Operation has a current mine life to 2026, after its reserves were updated in FY21. IGO submitted an updated MCP to the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety in January 2022. At the end of FY22, the estimated total cost of rehabilitating and restoring the environmental disturbance that has occurred as a result of our Nova Operation amounted to $37.7M. Planning for Closure In progressively planning for closure at the Nova Operation, an embankment upgrade was completed during FY22 to take non-acid forming (NAF) material from the eastern stockpile to ensure a minimum factor of safety of 1.8 slope around the entire TSF. The work involved reprofiling dam embankments to a constant 1V:3H slope using NAF waste rock material generated from the mine access decline excavation. The outer shell of waste rock will provide erosion protection for both operations and closure. Materials balance assessments have also been undertaken to determine the availability of NAF waste rock to ensure an appropriate design cover for the TSF at closure. Mine closure planning is an ongoing process, and we will continue our work to inform knowledge gaps to ensure we achieve closure objectives. Engagement and Collaboration We work with industry and other international organisations on sharing best practice for mine closures. IGO was a key contributor to the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute’s Framework for Developing Mine-site Completion Criteria in Western Australia. This project was carried out to support the prioritisation of data collection and monitoring activity to enable the development and assessment of completion criteria. It reinforces the importance of engagement and collaboration within the industry to inform best-practice mine closure planning. Engagement with stakeholders both internal and external to IGO is a critical part of the planning process. The potential impacts of closure are an ongoing consideration in our engagement with governments and local communities, including how closure can affect our support of community development initiatives and local business. In recognition of the potential impacts of mine closure to the environment, community and the economy, a mine closure stakeholder engagement plan was developed during FY22, to ensure engagement with all relevant stakeholders will occur during the mine closure planning process. Mine Plan – Define Domains Mine Closure Plan Closure Cost Liability Report Internal and External Closure Cost Analysis Demolition and Earthwork Scope Final Landforms Engineered Designs Completion Criteria (Basis of Design) Development Regular Mine Closure Engagement We acknowledge the potential of our operations to impact water resources and take a proactive approach to responsible water management, as a minimum we comply with all regulatory requirements. In Western Australia, water abstraction is subject to a licence issued by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). In FY22, we were compliant with our licence obligations and actively monitor abstraction volumes and groundwater levels to ensure ongoing compliance. IGO relies on the withdrawal of available groundwater at our Nova Operation and exploration projects, due to the remote nature of these activities. The groundwater is typically saline to hypersaline. There are no competing users of the water resource in the vicinity of the Nova Operation. To date, vegetation monitoring indicates that neither groundwater drawdown nor mounding has had an impact on the overlying forest. We actively manage and track our water inputs, consumption and outputs, which are depicted in our water balance graphic and also disclosed in our performance data on page 103. We continue to look for opportunities to improve the efficiency of our water usage. There were no reported or significant material spills or unapproved discharges from our operations in FY22. Wastewater is managed by a recycled water scheme with the approval of the Western Australian Department of Health. Nova’s wastewater treatment plant recycles all grey and black water produced by the accommodation camp, power plant, paste plant and other non-processing infrastructure on site. Decant water stored in the TSF is recycled and reused in the processing plant. 1,315ML of water was recycled in FY22. The TSF at Nova is fully lined and has no associated groundwater mound. Air Quality We recognise that our activities can impact the amenity of the environment and our host communities and do our best to manage these impacts. The nature of resource extraction, primary processing, transportation of our products, and ship loading for export can result in dust, noise and pollutant emissions. In FY22, after five years of IGO nickel and copper concentrate shipments through the Esperance Port, the Port has had no licence exceedances during IGO product specific shipments. The Port continues to
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