Resource

Copper (Cu), Gold (Au)

Location

12 km south of Ardrossan, Yorke Peninsula

Company and tenement information

Mining operation and status

  • Approved – Undertaking pre-construction activities.
  • The project involves the development of an open pit mine (mine) and associated processing plant and other infrastructure (plant) to mine and process ore, then ship the marketable concentrates.

The deposit

The Hillside mineral resource is located within the Moonta Subdomain of the Olympic Cu-Au Province of the eastern Gawler Craton of South Australia. This craton also hosts the Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill, Carrapateena and Moonta-Wallaroo deposits.

Approval process

On 16 September 2014 Rex Minerals (Rex) accepted an offer of mineral tenements under the Mining Act 1971 for the Hillside Copper Mine near Ardrossan on Yorke Peninsula.

The program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR) was approved on 23 July 2020.

Chronology of Rex Minerals Hillside Project application and assessment

Current documents

Program for environment protection and rehabilitation for ML 6438, EML 6439 and MPL 146

Letter of approval

Assessment report for the program for environment protection and rehabilitation for ML 6438, EML 6439 and MPL 146

Mining lease proposal and management plans

The following documents detail the assessment of the Rex mining proposal, the terms and conditions of the mineral tenements that have been accepted by Rex, and answers to commonly asked questions about the Hillside project:

Mining compliance report

More information

For more information about this mining operation contact DEM.MiningRegRehab@sa.gov.au

  • A program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR) is an operational document which describes how a miner will undertake mining operations in a practical and specific way. A PEPR approval is supported by a detailed, science-based assessment of its technical contents by South Australian government agencies including the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) and the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM).

    The management strategies, monitoring systems and compliance criteria outlined in the Hillside PEPR will enable the achievement of the projects’ environmental outcomes.

  • Before Rex can commence construction or mining operations it must first ensure it has addressed all of the requirements set out in the publicly available Hillside PEPR approval letter.

    Before any construction or operations on the mining lease, Rex must:

    • provide an independent expert report which outlines Rex’s capacity to achieve compliance in light of its management systems, personnel, policies, procedures, practices and resources
    • obtain relevant Environment Protection (EP) Act authorisations
    • comply with their Development Act approval requirements requiring works associated with the St Vincent and Yorke Highway diversion to be completed.

  • The PEPR does not authorise access to land. Rex must meet all land access obligations, for example land access agreements or waivers of exemption, as required under the Mining Act. Operations cannot commence on relevant land within Rex’s lease or licence areas until related land access is resolved.

    The Mining Act sets out the framework for obtaining authority to access land for mining activities.

  • The Hillside PEPR is the key operational document against which Rex must demonstrate and report compliance. Annual compliance reports will be published on the DEM website. Authorised DEM officers will conduct compliance inspections to ensure operations are undertaken in accordance with the PEPR and lease and licence conditions.

    Before starting operations, the Hillside mining lease conditions require Rex to establish real-time monitoring and public reporting frameworks for air quality and noise. Rex will establish an online public portal to display this real-time information.