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Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion

Project
Proponent: 
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd
FMG
Proposal description: 

The proposal is to revise the existing Pilbara Iron Ore and Infrastructure Project: East-West Railway and Mine Sites Stage B located approximately 70 to 100 km north of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The proposal includes mines and associated infrastructure at Christmas Creek and Mindy Mindy, and an east-west railway to link the Stage A north-south railway (to Port Hedland) to the Christmas Creek Mine. The revision includes modification/expansion or development of additional mine pits and associated infrastructure; processing facilities; water management infrastructure; and power station and associated infrastructure at the Christmas Creek Mine.

Assessment Number: 
1989
Region: 
Pilbara
Referred under EP Act: 
s38
Industry sector: 
Infrastructure
Iron Ore
Last updated: 
July 8, 2019
Current Status: 
Ministerial Statement published
EPA Report and Recommendations released - appeals closed
1. Referral
Comment on this referral: 
Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion
Comment period: 
Friday, 8 November, 2013 to Thursday, 14 November, 2013
Referral documentation: 
PDF icon Referral letter and form
PDF icon Flora and Vegetation Assessment
PDF icon Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna and Fauna Habitat Assessment
2. Decision on whether to assess this proposal
Chair's Determination: 
Assess - Public Environmental Review
Extract of determination: 
PDF icon Chairman's Determination - Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion
Preliminary Environmental Factors: 
Flora and Vegetation
Subterranean Fauna
Terrestrial Fauna
Hydrological Processes
Date published: 
Monday, 25 November, 2013
3. Assessment
Scoping
Environmental scoping document: 
PDF icon Environmental Scoping Document - Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion
Approved: 
Friday, 16 May, 2014
Environmental Review
Public submissions: 
Monday, 23 March, 2015 to Monday, 20 April, 2015
Make a submission: 
Public Environmental Review - Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion
Environmental Review documentation: 
PDF icon Fortescue Christmas Creek - Public Environmental Review - March 2015
PDF icon Appendix 1 Environmental Scoping Document
PDF icon Appendix 2A Stakeholder Consultation Reinjection Management Plan CC-PL-EN-0006
PDF icon Appendix 2B Surface Water Management Plan100-PL-EN-1015
PDF icon Appendix 2C Groundwater Management Plan 100-PL-EN-0029
PDF icon Appendix 2D Chemical and Hydrocarbon Management Plan 100-PL-EN-0011
PDF icon Appendix 2F Draft Acid and/or Metalliferous Drainage Management Plan 100-PL-EN-1016
PDF icon Appendix 2G Christmas Creek Vegetation Health Monitoring and Management Plan CC-PL-EN-0004
PDF icon Appendix 2H Conservation Significant Fauna Management Plan 100-PL-EN-0022
PDF icon Appendix 3A Preliminary Report: Geochemical Assessment of Waste Material – Christmas Creek Mine URS 2014
PDF icon Appendix 3B Christmas Creek Preliminary Waste Rock Characterisation of Vasse WRD and Eyre Pit Tetra Tech 2013
PDF icon Appendix 3C Christmas Creek Windich Waste Rock and Tailings Assessment Golder 2013
PDF icon Appendix 4 Flinders in Pit TSF Groundwater Impact Assessment SRK 2014
PDF icon Appendix 5A Hydrogeological Assessment of the Christmas Creek Life of Mine Water Management Scheme CC-RP-HY-0017
PDF icon Appendix 5B Comments from Peer Review – Christmas Creek LOM HydroConcept 2014
PDF icon Appendix 5C Christmas Creek Groundwater Operating Strategy CC-PH-HY-0002
PDF icon Appendix 5D Christmas Creek Triennial Aquifer Review: August 2013 to July 2013 CC-RP-HY-0039
PDF icon Appendix 5E Fortescue Marsh: Synthesis of Eco-hydrological Knowledge Equinox 2013
PDF icon Appendix 5F Modelling Analysis of the impact of Mine Dewatering on Soil Availability
PDF icon Appendix 5G Christmas Creek Life of Mine Expansion Surface Water Investigation and Impact Assessment Worley Parsons 2014
PDF icon Appendix 5H Peer Review of Samphire Water Use Modelling (UWA 2014)
PDF icon Appendix 6A Christmas Creek Life of Mine Flora and Vegetation Assessment ENV 2013a
PDF icon Appendix 6B Vegetation Health Monitoring and Management Plan – Annual Report, December 2013 CC-RP-EN-0058
PDF icon Appendix 7A Christmas Creek Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna and Fauna Habitat Assessment ENV 2012a
PDF icon Appendix 7B Christmas Creek Life of Mine project terrestrial SRE invertebrate survey Subterranean Ecology 2012
PDF icon Appendix 7C Christmas Creek Short-range Endemic invertebrate survey report: Fortescue Marsh Samphire Biologic 2012
PDF icon Appendix 7D Christmas Creek Expansion Project, subterranean Fauna Assessment Bennelongia 2014
PDF icon Appendix 7E Christmas Creek Water Management Scheme Conservation Significant Fauna baseline monitoring Ecologia 2013
PDF icon Appendix 7F Christmas Creek Water Management Scheme Northern Quoll Annual Monitoring Report 2014 Ecologia 2014a
PDF icon Appendix 7G Christmas Creek Water Management Scheme Pilbara Olive Python Annual Monitoring Report 2014 Ecologia 2014b
PDF icon Appendix 8A Desktop Assessment of Rehabilitation Strategies in the Pilbara
PDF icon Appendix 8E Mine Closure Plan
Proponent response to submissions: 
PDF icon Christmas Creek - Response to submissions
4. EPA Report on assessment
EPA Report Number: 
1567
EPA Report: 
PDF icon Report 1567 - Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion
Key Environmental Factors: 
Flora and Vegetation
Subterranean Fauna
Terrestrial Fauna
Hydrological Processes
Inland Waters Environmental Quality
Date published: 
Wednesday, 25 May, 2016
Appeals close: 
Wednesday, 8 June, 2016
5. Decision on proposal and implementation of proposal
Ministerial Statement
Date of approval: 
Monday, 8 August, 2016
Ministerial Statement: 
PDF icon Ministerial Statement 1033.pdf
Post-assessment changes
s. 45C amendments: 

Attachment 1 to Statement 1033 - temporary presence of water in mining pits - change to proposal under s45C approved on 21 July 2017.

Attachment 2 to Statement 1033 - Changes:

  • Expansion of the Christmas Creek Mine Development Envelope (Depicted by the red line within Figures 1 to 4 of Schedule 1); and
  • Changes to the clearing of locally significant vegetation in Table 2 of Schedule 1.

Change to proposal under s45C approved on 12 November 2018.

Attachment 3 to Statement 1033 - Changes:

  • Changes to Table 2, removing the time limit for the temporary presence of water in mining pits.
  • Approval of presence of water in inactive mine pits.
  • Below water table pits are required to be backfilled at cessation of mining to a level which will not allow the formation of permanent lakes.

Change to proposal under s45C approved on 8 July 2019.

Date of approval s. 45C: 
Friday, 21 July, 2017
Monday, 12 November, 2018
Monday, 8 July, 2019

Source URL:https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/proposals/christmas-creek-iron-ore-mine-expansion