Environment and Resource Management

Urquhart Point Mineral Sands Project

Project summary

Oresome Australia Pty Ltd, owned by Metallica Minerals Limited, is the proponent for the Urquhart Point Mineral Sands Project. The proposed project area, on mining lease application (MLA) 20669, would be located at Urquhart Point, western Cape York, approximately five kilometres south-west of Weipa in North Queensland. The area is presently owned by the Aurukun Shire Council but is part of an Aboriginal Land Act 1991 freehold package to the Wik and Wik Way people. Oresome Australia proposes to mine rutile and zircon from sand ridges (strandlines) in continuous pits of up to three metres deep. The MLA covers 366.07 hectares; however, disturbance would be limited to 30 per cent of this area.

The first stage would be a two-week drilling program to ground-truth historic data. Drilling would be conducted to approximately three metres using hand augers. The proposed mining method would be a form of slot mining to minimise the excavation footprint. Mining would be undertaken by use of an excavator, which would load the sand into trucks. The mining face would progress at a typical rate of about 8–10 metres per day. The width of the mining face would typically be about 80 metres. Mined pits would be decommissioned on an ongoing basis as resources are exhausted. The mining operation would be a process of pit face development followed by continuous backfilling of the pit with barren sand returned from the plant. All sand returned to the pit would be re-contoured, re-establishing drainage lines. Topsoil and vegetation would be replaced as part of the rehabilitation process. The site would be rehabilitated with species native to the local area.

The proposed project would involve treating 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes per annum of sand, which includes the shipping of approximately 50,000 tonnes of material per annum over a four-year period. Annual water requirements for the project would be 280 megalitres and would be mainly sourced from a subartesian bore. Mining would be conducted 12 hours per day in a single 12-hour shift between five to seven days per week. Mining crews would be accommodated in nearby towns and transported to the site by boat or barge.

The final plan and design of mine infrastructure is still to be completed, although it is expected the mine would consist of:

Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Queensland)

On 20 August 2010, an application was made by the proponent for an environmental authority in relation to MLA 20669. The environmental impact statement (EIS) decision was made on 1 October 2010 by the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) in accordance with Section 162 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act). The application is to be assessed as a non-code compliant level 1 mining project and an EIS is required.

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth)

On 19 May 2011, the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities determined the Urquhart Point Mineral Sands Project to be a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).  The controlling provisions are sections 18 and 18A (listed threatened species and communities), sections 20 and 20A (listed migratory species) and sections 23 and 24A (Commonwealth marine areas). SEWPaC will conduct its own EIS process under the EPBC Act.

Public notification of final Terms of Reference (TOR)

The process for the assessment of this project is as follows:

 

The final terms of reference for the EIS were issued to the proponent on 1 July 2011. The proponent will now prepare the EIS. The EIS will be available for public review and DERM’s chief executive will invite written submissions from any person in relation to the draft EIS in due course.

Further information

Copies of publicly available documents can be obtained by accessing the links below:

For further information about the EIS process for the Urquhart Point Mineral Sands Project please contact the EIS co ordinator.

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Last updated 1 July 2011

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