Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited Application - RM10.351

The Otago Regional Council has received applications from Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited for resource consents for various activities as part of the Macraes Phase III (MPIII) expansion at Macraes Flat, North Otago. These activities include:

• Decommissioning of part of the Southern Pit Impoundment (SPI) tailings storage facility;
• Decommissioning of the Mixed Tailings Impoundment (MTI) tailings storage facility and reutilising the structure as a reclaimed tailings stack;
• Extension of the Round Hill – Southern Pit, which may result in the alteration of the MTI tailings dam/reclaimed rock stack;
• Extension of Frasers Pit and the re-opening and extension of Innes Mills Pit;
• Creation of the Back Road Rock Stack;
• Extension of the Frasers North and South Rock Stacks;
• Creation and operation of the Top Tipperary Tailings Storage Facility (TTTSF); and
• Creation and operation of the Camp Creek freshwater dam.

On this page

• Decision released
• Summary of consents
• Submissions
• Application documents

Decision Released

 Oceana Gold (NZ) Limited - Joint WDC and ORC Decision - Various Applications - Macraes Gold Mine, Macraes (5.51 MB)

Summary of consents

A summary of the types of consents required for the proposed activities follows:

Land Use Consents for Drilling

• RM10.351.21: To drill land for the purpose of creating an injection well from the TTTSF sump into the Frasers Underground Mine.
• RM10.351.41: To drill land for the purpose of expanding the Frasers Underground Mine.

Water Permits to Dam Water

• RM10.351.14, RM10.351.25, RM10.351.30, RM10.351.37, RM10.351.44: To dam water in tailings storage facilities, silt ponds, a fresh water dam and in open pits.

Water Permits to Divert Water

• RM10.351.03, RM10.351.12, RM10.351.15, RM10.351.24, RM10.351.36, RM10.351.50: To divert water to allow for the construction of waste rock stacks and dam embankments, and to divert water around rock stacks, tailings storage facilities and open pits.

Land Use Consents to Reclaim the Beds of Watercourses

• RM10.351.01, RM10.351.07: To disturb and reclaim the beds of watercourses through the deposition of waste rock.
• RM10.351.32: To reclaim unnamed tributaries of Deepdell Creek for the purpose of decommissioning the MTI.

Land Use Consents to Disturb the Beds of Watercourses

• RM10.351.22, RM10.351.27, RM10.351.39: To disturb the beds of watercourses during the construction of dam embankments.
• RM10.351.28: To disturb the beds of watercourses through the removal of an existing tailings dam.

Water Permits to Take Surface Water and Groundwater

• RM10.351.18, RM10.351.19: To take surface and groundwater that has collected in tailings storage facilities.
• RM10.351.42: To take groundwater for the purpose of dewatering the Frasers Underground Mine.
• RM10.351.48, RM10.351.51: To take surface and groundwater from open pits for the purpose of pit dewatering.
• RM10.351.45, RM10.351.46: To take surface and groundwater for the purpose of creating lakes in open pits.

Discharge Permits to Discharge Contaminants and Water to Water

• RM10.351.02, RM10.351.08, RM10.351.13, RM10.351.23, RM10.351.29, RM10.351.35: To discharge silt and sediment to water during the construction of waste rock stacks and dam embankments, and during the removal of an existing tailings dam.
• RM10.351.05, RM10.351.10: To discharge contaminants to water from the base and toe of waste rock stacks.
• RM10.351.17: To discharge tailings and tailings leachate to water for the purpose of operating the TTTSF.
• RM10.351.33: To discharge recovered tailings from the SPI to water in the MTI.
• RM10.351.34: To discharge contaminants from the toe of the MTI once it has been decommissioned.
• RM10.351.06, RM10.351.11, RM10.351.20, RM10.351.38: To discharge water from silt ponds and a freshwater dam into downstream watercourses.
• RM10.351.40: To discharge water that has been taken from the Fraser Underground Mine.
• RM10.351.43: To discharge water containing contaminants to water in the lakes that have been created in the decommissioned open pits.
• RM10.351.26: To discharge contaminants from the TTTSF to the Frasers Underground Mine as part of decommissioning the TTTSF.

Discharge Permits to Discharge Contaminants and Water to Land

• RM10.351.04, RM10.351.09: To discharge waste rock to land for the purpose of creating waste rocks stacks
• RM10.351.49: To discharge waste rock to land for the purpose of backfilling open pits.
• RM10.351.31: To discharge contaminants from the base of tailings storage facilities to land.
• RM10.351.16: To discharge tailings and tailings leachate to land for the purpose of operating the TTTSF.
• RM10.351.47: To discharge water containing contaminants to land for the purpose of creating lakes in decommissioned open pits.

Discharge Permit to Discharge Contaminants to Air

• RM10.351.52: To discharge dust to air for the purpose of operating the areas of the mine that are extended under MPIII.

Location:

Macraes Flat, just over 1 kilometre from the centre of the Macraes Township.

Map reference:

Within a three kilometre radius of NZTM 2000 1400484 E 4973117 N.

Legal description:

For a full list of legal descriptions, please see Appendix 1.

The applications include an assessment of environmental effects and may be inspected at the Council’s office at 70 Stafford Street. Please contact Hilary Lennox at the Otago Regional Council on freephone 0800 474 082 if you have any questions about the application.

Submissions

Submissions closed at 5pm on Wednesday 10 August 2011.

You must serve a copy of your submission on the applicant whose address for service is Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited, C/O Blake Holgate and Stephen Christensen, Anderson Lloyd, Private Bag 1959, Dunedin 9054, as soon as reasonably practicable after serving your submission on Otago Regional Council.

Note: The applicant has also applied to the Waitaki District Council for resource consents in respect of the above proposal. Please refer to the Waitaki District Council’s public notice also contained in this newspaper.

Application Documents

 
Final Assessment of Environmental Effects (4.52 KB).

Appendices 1 to 10

• Appendix 1 – Legal descriptions of the land on which MPIII activities will be located (76.8 KB)
• Appendix 2 – Landscape and Visual Assessment (12 MB)
• Appendix 3 – Botanical Assessment (3.86 MB)
• Appendix 4 – Avifauna and Herpetofauna Assessment (3.38 MB)
• Appendix 5 – Aquatic Ecology Assessment (7.32 MB)
• Appendix 6 – TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment – text only (8.31 MB)
• Appendix 6 - TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Appendix A (8.31 MB)
• Appendix 6 - TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Appendix B (944 KB)
• Appendix 6 - TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Appendix C (2.94 KB)
• Appendix 6 - TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Appendix D (2.71 KB)
• Appendix 6 - TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Appendix E (9.40 MB)
• Appendix 6 - TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Appendix F (7.28 MB)
• Appendix 6 - TTTSF Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Appendix G (748 KB)
• Appendix 7 – TTTSF Active Fault Hazard Assessment – text only (11 MB)
• Appendix 7 - TTTSF Active Fault Hazard Assessment - Appendix A (5.41 MB)
• Appendix 7 - TTTSF Active Fault Hazard Assessment - Appendix B (12.1 MB)
• Appendix 7 - TTTSF Active Fault Hazard Assessment - Appendix C (795 KB)
• Appendix 8 – Water Management Summary Report (778 KB)
• Appendix 9 – Water Quality Effects Mitigation Options (15.2 MB)
• Appendix 10 – Site Wide Surface Model – text only (7.85 MB)
• Appendix 10 - Site Wide Surface Water Model - Appendix A (643 KB)
• Appendix 10 - Site Wide Surface Water Model - Appendix B (5.61 MB)
• Appendix 10 - Site Wide Surface Water Model - Appendix C (4.78 MB)
• Appendix 10 - Site Wide Surface Water Model - Appendix D (661 KB)
• Appendix 10 - Site Wide Surface Water Model - Appendix E (995 KB)
• Appendix 10 - Site Wide Surface Water Model - Appendix F (664 KB)
• Appendix 10 - Site Wide Surface Water Model - Appendix G (1.18 MB)

Appendices 11 to 20

• Appendix 11 – Tipperary Creek Hydrological Monitoring (2.68 MB)
• Appendix 12 – TTTSF Hydrogeological Assessment (20.2 MB)
• Appendix 13 – Tailings Static and Kinetic Geochemical Assessment (1.78 MB)
• Appendix 14 - Groundwater Contaminants Transport Assessment (19.1 MB)
• Appendix 15 – Environmental Water Quality Data Summary Report (15 MB)
• Appendix 16 – Golden Point Pit Lake Seepage Loss Assessment (12 MB)
• Appendix 17 – Tailings Storage Facility Drainage Rates Following Closure (1.26 MB)
• Appendix 18 – Archaeological Survey (8.27 MB)
• Appendix 19 – Assessment of Economical Impacts (124 KB)
• Appendix 20 – TTTSF Technical Report (13.7 MB)

Appendices 21 to 30

• Appendix 21 – Mining of Round Hill-Southern Pit MTI, SP10 and SP11A Tailings Storage Facilities and Reclaimed Tailings (14.0 MB)
• Appendix 22 – Erosion and Sediment Control (19 MB)
• Appendix 23 – Camp Creek Water Storage Dam Technical Report (7.62 MB)
• Appendix 24 – TTTSF Long Term Seepage Disposal (3.87 MB)
• Appendix 25 – Round Hill East and Southern Pits Technical Report – text only (14.9 MB)
• Appendix 25 – Round Hill East and Southern Pits Technical Report – Appendix A (685 KB)
• Appendix 25 – Round Hill East and Southern Pits Technical Report – Appendix B (68.8 KB)
• Appendix 25 – Round Hill East and Southern Pits Technical Report – Appendix C (9.47 MB)
• Appendix 25 – Round Hill East and Southern Pits Technical Report – Appendix D (8.57 MB)
• Appendix 25 – Round Hill East and Southern Pits Technical Report – Appendix E (280 KB)
• Appendix 26 – Footwall Fault Peer Review of PSM Report (3.40 MB)
• Appendix 27 – Waste Rock General Stability Report (885 KB)
• Appendix 28 – Economic Assessment Report (3 MB)
• Appendix 29 – Assessment of Noise Effects (19 MB)
• Appendix 30 – Vibration and Air Blast Assessment (664 KB)

Appendices 31 to 40

• Appendix 31 – Assessment of Environmental Effects of Air Discharges (22 MB)
• Appendix 32 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation (1 MB)
• Appendix 33 – Letter from Kati Huirapa Runaka ki Peketeraki to Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited (301 KB)
• Appendix 34 – A Search for Maori Rock Art Sites (35.6 KB)
• Appendix 35 – Procedures should human remains be discovered during earthworks (34.7 KB)
• Appendix 36 – Memorandum of Understanding between Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited and Kati Huirapa Runaka (205 KB)
• Appendix 37 – Relevant provisions of the Natural Resource Management Plan (149 KB)
• Appendix 38 - TTTSF Active Fault Hazard Assessment Peer Review (155 KB)
• Appendix 39 – Footwall Fault Second Peer Review of PSM Report (83 KB)
• Appendix 40 – TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report – text, tables and some figures (13.9 KB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 3 (3.45 MB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 6 (4.83 KB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 7 (3.7 MB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 8 (3.58 KB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 9 (3 MB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 10 (969 KB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 11 (0.99 MB)
• Appendix 40 - TTTSF Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 12 (1.53 MB)

Appendices 41

• Appendix 41 – Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report – text, tables and some figures (12.9 MB)
• Appendix 41 - Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 3 (3.45 MB)
• Appendix 41 - Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 6 (4.83 MB)
• Appendix 41 - Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 7 (3.46 MB)
• Appendix 41 - Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 8 (4.11 MB)
• Appendix 41 - Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 9 (3.10 MB)
• Appendix 41 - Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 10 (9.65 MB)
• Appendix 41- Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 11 (0.99 MB)
• Appendix 41- Camp Creek Dam Breach Assessment Report - Figure 12 (1.53 MB)

Other Appendices

• L from Anderson Lloyd providing response to request for further information under S.92 (9.79 MB)
• Appendix to S.92 response – EGL response (2.77 MB)
• Appendix to S.92 response – Golders response (78.8 KB)
• Appendix to S.92 response – Open Cut Dust Management Decisions Tree (10.2 KB)
• Appendix to S.92 response – Precision Aerial Survey (314 KB)
• L from Golders providing additional geochemical information requested under S.92 (386 KB)