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.

 

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

 

Appendices 11 to 20

 

Appendices 21 to 30

 

Appendices 31 to 40

 

Appendices 41

 

Other Appendices