After temporarily pausing operations at its McArthur River Mine on March 18 due to Tropical Cyclone Megan, Glencore has begun assessing the damage caused by the heavy rain and wind.
The major miner said the McArthur tailings storage facility was never at risk of releasing water to the environment during the cyclone, and it has been well managed by its skilled operators and key processes.
The operation’s waste rock pile has also seen no impact from the cyclone or flooding, with no landslide or collapse recorded.
“There has been some superficial erosion of a drainage channel that directs runoff from the surface of the waste rock pile into water dams as designed,” Glencore said. “This type of erosion is to be expected following such a significant rain event.”
Some water was found at the bottom of McArthur’s open pit. Despite the impairment, mining operations in the upper areas of the McArthur mine are being brought back online by Glencore personnel in a safe and phased manner.
“Our geotechnical team conducts daily assessments of the open pit, which includes assessment data from our radar and other monitoring systems,” Glencore said.
The company found no areas of concern at the McArthur flood levee wall following daily inspections, but it will continue monitoring water quality of the McArthur River by utilising helicopter to take samples.
“Testing confirms (the) water quality is good,” Glencore said. “Sampling data from the McArthur River shows all water quality measures at our compliance point downstream from the mine continue to be met.
“It has been a challenging period for people in the community as well as our workforce at the mine site. We continue to monitor, review and assess all of our key infrastructure at site to continue to minimise impact to the environment.”
Mining companies such as 29Metals, AngloGold Ashanti, South32, Westgold Resources, Gold Road Resources and Capricorn Metals have also been impacted by recent heavy rainfall at select operations.
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