Rio publishes amended EIS for Cape York bauxite mine

PERTH (miningweekly.com – Mining giant Rio Tinto has released a draft environmental-impact statement (EIS for its South of Embley project, in Cape York, Queensland.

The amended draft EIS comes after federal Environment Minister Tony Burke tightened the environmental supervision on the A$1.4-billion Weipa expansion in March this year.

Rio said this week that the amended EIS concluded that the proposed avoidance and mitigation measures would be sufficient to limit the residual impact associated with the project.

"The EIS comprehensively describes the potential social, economic and environmental impacts associated with the project and outlines how we can sustainably develop our existing bauxite resources while safeguarding the Cape and the Great Barrier Reef," Rio Tinto Alcan CEO and president Pat Fiore was quoted as saying.

"The project does not substantially change the number of ships traversing the reef and the EIS shows that potential impacts on the environment can be managed. "

Fiore added that Rio had been mining bauxite on the Cape and shipping it safely through dedicated shipping lanes to Gladstone for almost half a century.

"The strict measures that are used for existing Weipa bauxite shipping activities, such as piloting for ships, would continue to be used for project-related shipping.»

Burke's demand for an amended EIS has seen the project being significantly delayed. Construction of the project was now anticipated to start in 2013, subject to the receipt of relevant environmental approvals, and could be expected to take between 30 and 36 months to complete.

Production and shipping of first bauxite from the project was expected to start in 2016.

The South of Embley project would extend the life of the Weipa mine by some 40 years, involved the staged increase in bauxite production up to a possible 50-million tons a year and would include the construction of new mining areas, infrastructure, a power station, warehouses, barge and ferry facilities, ship-loading facilities and an access road.

Fiore noted that the project would provide an average of 950 direct jobs during the initial construction of the initial 22. 5-million-ton-a-year operation and around 550 direct local jobs. At a production rate of 50-million tons a year, the mine would provide 1 350 direct local jobs.

The miner was only expected to take an investment decision after the necessary government approvals have been granted.

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