Name of the Project
Iron Valley below water table (BWT) project.

Location
The BWT project is located in the East Pilbara shire within the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Client
BC Pilbara Iron Ore (BCP).

Project Description
The Iron Valley project was granted approval for above water table (AWT) mining in 2012, and the mine is currently being operated as a direct shipping ore operation.

The proposed project includes the development of a new mine pit, with mining operations to extend BWT, and the dewatering of the underlying aquifer.

The BWT proposal will extend the AWT project to mine ore below the water table.

The proposal is a BWT, blast and hydraulic shovel openpit mining operation.

The mining operations will predominantly use the disturbance area granted for the AWT project, with an additional 314 ha required to enable BWT mining operations. The ore will be mined from multiple pits through multiple stages and sent to the run-of-mine pad where the ore may be blended. The ore will be crushed and screened and sent to the beneficiation plant (as when appropriate) before being transported by road to market (gate sale).

BCP will mine the expected reserve of 140-million tonnes lying below the water table, over an expected operational mining life of ten years. An estimated 350-million tonnes of waste rock/low-grade ore is expected to be generated and stored in waste rock land (WRL) forms, which will be allocated to surface ex-pit and backfilled pit locations.

The proposal design allows for modifications to ancillary infrastructure, which include a beneficiation plant, an 18 MW gas turbine and reconfiguration of the existing infrastructure such as surface water management and access haul roads. The positioning of the roads and infrastructure will change with the mine life. Water will be supplied through mine dewatering activities, with excess proposed to be discharged through multiple points on tenure and subsequently enter the Weelie Wolli Creek (WWC) system. The site configuration will allow for a future alternative bulk ore transport system. This transport system is not included in this proposal.

The BWT proposal will entail:
• deepening the AWT project pits and covering a wider area;
• mining an additional pit in the south of the tenement – M47/1439;
• increasing the size and number of WRLs;
• placing WRL material as backfill to mined-out pits as they become available to minimise clearing;
• incorporating multiple encapsulated tailings storage facility cells within the WRLs to store up to 3.2-million tonnes a year of tailings;
• dewatering the underlying aquifer for safe, dry pit excavation using a combination of up to 19 bores across the lifetime of the project;
• disposing of excess pit dewatering into WWC; and
• the addition of L47/757 to accommodate northern discharge point.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has given junior BC Iron approval to mine below the water table at its Iron Valley project, subject to seven conditions.

The conditions recommended include the preparation of an outcome-based environmental management plan to minimise the long-term impacts from groundwater abstraction and surplus dewater discharge runoff, and alterations to surface water flows to WWC.

Conditions also require BC Iron to minimise hydrological impacts to Aboriginal heritage values linked to the creek and to contribute to an approved conservation offsets fund.

BC Iron will mine the expected reserve of 140-million tonnes lying below the water table over an expected ten-year mine life. About 350-million tonnes of waste rock/low-grade ore will be generated and stored, which will be allocated to surface ex-pit and backfill pit locations.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
BCP, tel +61 8 6311 3400, fax +61 8 6311 3449 or email info@bciron.com.au.