Revised Hillside Project documents
The following submissions made by Rex provide information on the Extended Feasibility Study (EFS) for a revised, smaller scale staged start-up of the Hillside Mine.
- Rex May 2016 change submission
- Cover letter from Rex to DSD 30 May 2016 (PDF 1.15 KB)
- Description of mining operations (PDF 32 MB)
- Updated Mining Proposal Section 8 document - for more information regarding this document please contact DEM.MiningRegRehab@sa.gov.au
- Impact assessment tables (PDF 189 KB)
- Rex September 2016 change submission
- DSD assessment report (PDF 8.7 MB) and DSD letter to Rex 15 December 2016 (PDF 2 MB)
- Rex letter to DSD 02 February 2017 (PDF 57 KB)
Withdrawal of application for miscellaneous purposes licence - Ardrossan Port
On 22 July 2015 the Department received a letter from Rex Minerals withdrawing their application for a miscellaneous purposes licence (MPL) pertaining to the development of infrastructure at the Ardrossan Port.
Junesse Martin
Mining Registrar
Rex Minerals accept offer of mineral tenements
On 16 September 2014 Rex Minerals accepted an offer of mineral tenements under the Mining Act 1971 for the Hillside copper, gold and iron ore mine near Ardrossan on Yorke Peninsula.
Extension of time frame for the Rex Minerals Hillside Project
The Mining Regulations provide a statutory period of 21 days for Rex Minerals (SA) Pty Ltd (Rex) to consider the terms and conditions within the mining tenement documents. There is provision within the Regulations for the Mining Registrar to allow a longer period for Rex to consider these terms and conditions.
Rex have formally requested extensions to the statutory time frame to enable further detailed consideration of the offers and to seek clarification and expert assistance in relation to some of the terms and conditions.
The Mining Registrar has considered Rex's requests and has decided to grant an extension, now to the 15 September 2014.
During this period Government is continuing to work with Rex to explain and clarify the terms and conditions of the offers.
Once Rex has made a decision on the offer, the full decision including the comprehensive Assessment Report and terms and conditions will be made available on this website.
Junesse Martin
Mining Registrar
On Tuesday 29 July 2014, the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy announced the approval of mining tenements for the Rex Minerals Hillside Copper, Gold and Iron Ore Project near Ardrossan on the Yorke Peninsula.
This announcement follows more than three years of Government talking with and listening to the local community on the mine development process and what it means for the community. Formal Government consultation resulted in nearly 270 submissions being received from the community regarding issues including, but not limited to, dust, noise, potential impacts on the Gulf, traffic, visual amenity and social impacts.
As a result of this consultation, the most extensive set of conditions ever applied under the South Australian Mining Act will apply to the Hillside Project. Rex Minerals will be closely monitored by the regulator on all of their environmental and social impacts. This will include regular and unannounced site inspections, feedback and monitoring from the local community and compulsory public reporting including verification by independent experts.
Once Rex Minerals has made a decision on the offer, the full decision including the comprehensive Assessment Report for the Hillside Project will be made available online by the Government on this website.
The next stage of the process will require Rex Minerals to prepare a Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR). The PEPR is to detail how Rex Minerals will listen to community concerns and achieve the required standards. The Government will not approve the PEPR unless Rex Minerals meets all of the stringent conditions imposed by the Government, meaning mining cannot commence until this is achieved.
Greg Marshall
Director Mining Regulation
Lease and licence applications
The following applications were made by Rex Minerals (SA) Pty Ltd for two leases and two licences for a proposed open cut and underground mine producing a copper/gold concentrate and a magnetite (iron ore) concentrate
- Mineral lease application over mineral claim 4346 (PDF 5.8MB) for the recovery of copper, gold, hematite and magnetite
- Extractive minerals lease application over mineral claim 4354 (PDF 4.2MB) for the recovery of clay, gravel, limestone and sand for construction of the Yorke Highway diversion
- Miscellaneous purposes licence application for an infrastructure corridor (PDF 2.3MB) that will contain three pipelines and a high voltage power line
- Miscellaneous purposes licence application for infrastructure - Port of Ardrossan (PDF 1.8MB)
Mining lease proposal and management plan
In support of the lease and licence applications Rex Minerals (SA) Pty Ltd submitted a mining lease proposal and management plan for the Hillside Copper, Gold and Iron Ore Project.
Public consultation on the mining lease proposal
This proposal was made available for public comment for a consultation period from 12 September to 8 November 2013.
Response to consultation
The Government request for a response document:
includes a summary of technical issues raised in the public submissions, as well as a complete list of technical issues raised by South Australian Government agencies.
Rex Minerals were afforded the opportunity to respond to the issues raised through the formal consultation process, including technical issues raised in public submissions and by South Australian Government agencies.
The Mining Regulation Branch of the Resources and Energy Group reviewed Rex Minerals Response Document and considered the document to be suitable for the purpose of assessing the mining lease application for the Hillside project.
Assessment of the proposed mining development
The formal submission of the Response Document initiated the comprehensive technical assessment by the South Australian Government of Rex Mineral's proposed mining development. The assessment utilised the information collectively presented in the Mining Lease Proposal and Management Plan (MLP), the representations received from all stakeholders during the statutory consultation, and Rex Minerals Response Document.
The consideration of Rex Mineral's detailed risk assessment, analysis of potential impacts and the management strategies proposed to prevent unacceptable impact led to a recommendation to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy on whether or not to offer the mineral and extractive mineral leases and two miscellaneous purpose licences and, if so, any conditions that would be appropriate for those leases and licences.
In accordance with section 35B of the Mining Act 1971 Rex Minerals Ltd and any persons who made submission during the statutory consultation period will receive written notification on the final decision to offer or refuse the lease and licence applications and, if the lease and licences are offered, the relevant terms and conditions.
To ensure the transparency of this rigorous process the product of each assessment stage will be made public via this website.
