Rehabilitation highlights exploration and environmental best practice

Rehabilitation progress at the Great Cobar, Queen Bee and Burrabungie prospects in our Cobar exploration district highlight our leading exploration and environmental management practices.

Group Exploration Manager, Todd McGilvray explained how the Exploration and Environment Teams work together on exploration rehabilitation, and the encouraging rehabilitation progress at these sites.

“At the Great Cobar site, we established a vertical 634 metre geotechnical diamond drill hole to determine if the competency of rock in the area was appropriate for a future vent rise/raise bore. At Burrabungie, two drill pads were established to support 12 diamond drill holes to test the viability of the copper deposit,” Todd said.

“We establish our drill sites in areas where our drilling program will have minimal impact on the surrounding environment. This includes in precleared areas and/or existing access tracks. Our drilling contractor, Mitchells’ Services, also use above ground sumps to capture water and further minimise any impact to the environment.

“Prior to the commencement of any drilling activity, we seek external approvals from multiple parties such as landholders, the NSW Resource Regulator and Native Title.

“We also complete a heritage survey with an archaeologist and a First Nations representative to ensure any artifacts are identified and preserved. Following this, internal approvals are obtained through our Environment Teams and a permit is obtained to dig.

“As part of the drill pad construction, we’re required to rehabilitate the surrounding area back to its original state. Once drilling is completed, rehabilitation activities include removing all infrastructure, recontouring the area to the existing topography, and raking and reseeding if required.

“We’re proud of the rehabilitation success we’ve had at the Great Cobar and Burrabungie sites and will continue to work closely with all our stakeholders to ensure our drilling activities and rehabilitation work reflect industry best practice,” Todd explained.

For more information about our exploration districts and activities, see our Exploration page.