Opposition to Olympia mine

The proposed development of a mineral sands mine near Keysbrook, just 70 kilometres south of Perth, has stirred up strong debate within the local community, particularly with regard to the increasingly sensitive issues of water usage, pollution and truck traffic.

Herdsman-based mineral sands explorer Olympia Resources Ltd’s Keysbrook operation is expected to produce about 78,000 tonnes of titanium minerals and 15,000t of zircon a year from a shallow mining operation located along the eastern edge of the Swan Coastal Plain, 4km west of Keysbrook.

The proposal has sparked an outcry from a local community group, which vehemently opposes the mine’s development, although Olympia Resources managing director Peter Gazzard played down concerns, saying that the mining methods to be employed were well proven.

In the Public Environmental Review for the project, which is currently open for comment, the proposed mine would cover an area of 1,234 hectares with 75.4 per cent consisting of open pasture and the rest made up of remnant vegetation.

The amount of water to be used on site is estimated to be between 1.5 and two gigalitres a year, to be sourced from two aquifers, the Bassendean Dunes and Guildford Formation, located in the mine area, and from groundwater pumped from the Leederville aquifer.

Olympia Resources has encountered opposition in the form of the Keysbrook North Dandalup Action Group Inc.

The group’s chair,  Graham Elliot, a geophysical consultant with mining company clients in Africa, South America and Australia, told WA Business News that many of the KNAG group had careers associated with mining.

“We are not against mining if it has benefits for the community, minimises the area and extent of impact and is done with care,” Mr Elliot said. 

“The Olympia company fails on all of the above.”

For instance, he said the water studies did not factor in the declining rainfall and run-off, which would reduce aquifer recharge.

“The watertable is already dropping at an alarming rate in this area,” Mr Elliot said.

“Major subdivisions are to be built in the area which will further increase the demand for water.”

The action group also believes drainage from the mine site will result in pollution of waterways in the Peel catchment area.

Mr Elliot said dust levels, brought on by the high winds experienced in the area, would also affect the local community.

“North Dandalup is subject to intense easterly winds during summer and spring,” he  said.

“With these conditions the potential for serious dust and erosion problems [from the mine site] are significant.”

Mr Elliot told WA Business News the average grade of 2.7 per cent of heavy mineral concentrate from the mine, which was tabled in the review, was considerably less than Olympia’s other mineral sand operations.

“The mining operation is very different from the relatively narrow high-grade deposits that have been mined in the Capel area,” he said.

“[The Keysbrook] deposit is about one quarter the mineral grade of other deposits and more than 10 times the area.

“It is marginally economic and is only possible because of the massive volumes and aerial extent of the mining operation.”

Remnant vegetation to be cleared would include jarrah, banksias and marri forest, along with endangered flora and fauna, according to Mr Elliot.

“There are estimated to be 60,000 trees within the mining area,” he said.

“The land which they will clear is home to thousands of kangaroos, which will be flushed out into small hobby farms located close to the mine site.”

The review indicated that the mineral sands would be produced at Keysbrook and trucked to the dry processing plant at Picton near the mineral sands export facilities at Bunbury port.

However, Mr Elliot said Olympia overlooked the possibility of using a train line from Keysbrook to Picton because of a minor cost differential.

“The haul roads were planned along narrow roads, school bus routes and an overcrowded South West Highway,” he said.

“The result would be another 46,000 road train movements along South West Highway over the eight-year life of the mine.”

Mr Elliot said the mining would affect the local community with a reduction in the value of properties in the area.

“Real estate worth billions of dollars in the area will be devalued by more than the mining project is worth,” he said.  “Most mining developments offer substantial benefits to the community; this proposal will have an overwhelmingly negative effect.”

Mr Gazzard told WA Business News the company would look towards the rail option as an alternative, however the cost differential remained an issue.

He said rail was probably a better option, if cost was not an issue.

Mr Gazzard said the dust issue would be managed and monitored through the use of a dust management plan.

“We aim to keep clearing and open areas as small as possible and would remove topsoil only in calm conditions,” he said.

In a statement, Mr Gazzard said he had never encountered most of the problems forecast by the action group in his 27 years of working in the industry.

“Scientific studies for the Public Environmental Report have confirmed that [the problems raised] are not likely to occur in this project,” he said. “Mineral sands mining employs tried, proven and very simple technology that uses only water and gravity to separate minerals from the sand.

“We are confident that the project can be successful, providing economic benefits without any significant negative impacts on the community.”

In its Public Environmental Review, Olympia Resources said the mine had a life span of eight years, with mining to take place at an average depth of two metres in individual pits of approximately 40ha each, with rehabilitation following as soon as possible after mining.

The Public Environmental Review document for the proposed Keysbrook project has been open to the public for review since June 26.

The closing date for submissions is August 21.