West Angelas

The West Angelas Iron Ore Project is located 110 km from Newman in WA’s Pilbara region, the first of a new breed of iron ore mines supplying Marra Mamba-type ore to the global market.

Using open cut mining of iron ore, the project’s launch in 2002 marked the culmination of 25 years and $1 billion of investigation and development, a project that included the upgrade of the Cape Lambert port facilities and a new rail link.

Concerns about the impacts on two National parks (Karrajini and the Chichester Range), the sensitive Coondawanna Flats, biodiversity issues and dredge spoil disposal at the port, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) imposed the highest level of formal impact assessment on the project.

Ecologia’s involvement with the project began in 1997 with baseline vertebrate fauna surveys of the mine area.

Our success led to Ecologia’s appointment to deliver statutory approvals and act as the lead environmental consultant coordinating disciplines like marine science, noise and dust investigations.

We were appointed as the in-house environmental management team during the project’s construction. In this role we were responsible for all aspects of down-stream and minor environmental approvals, and contractor management through appointment of a full-time Environmental Manager in the North Ltd Major Projects group.

Ecologia’s involvement in the projects brought about the following successful outcomes;

• All environmental statutory approvals delivered on schedule without significantly impacting construction or operating costs;
• Sustainable outcomes for both the commercial success of the project and the environment after positive negotiations with stakeholders and regulators;
• Several innovative environmental management improvements by the project team and contractor workforce; and
• Receiving a Golden Gecko Certificate of Merit award for innovative environmental management in the design and construction of the rail link across the sensitive Coondewanna Flats.
• Monitoring sensitive Mulga areas to ensure interruptions to sheet flow hydrology by the Coondewanna Flats area rail line are minimised.
• Monitoring of phreataphytic vegetation at the Turree Creek borefield for evidence of impacts from groundwater extraction.
  

Ecologia has maintained an ongoing relationship with the project through the following;

Monitoring sensitive Mulga areas to ensure interruptions to sheet flow hydrology by the Coondewanna Flats area rail line are minimised.

Monitoring of phreataphytic vegetation at the Turree Creek borefield for evidence of impacts from groundwater extraction.

Useful Links:

• Rio Tinto Pilbara mining operation