❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding the Fimiston I and II tailings dams operated by KCGM, focusing on the proposed height increase of Fimiston 2, seepage rates, and the discharge of pollutants. The Minister provides detailed data on volumes and modelling.
AnsweredQoN 3540Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Fimiston I and Fimiston 2 tailings dams operated by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd (KCGM) owned by Barrick Gold of Australia and Newmont Mining -
(1) Is it correct that KCGM is proposing lifting the height of Fimiston 2 tailings dam?
(2) If yes to (1), what specific height will it be lifted to and how many more years of capacity will this provide?
(3) Is it correct that raising the height of the Fimiston 2 tailings dam may cause a small increase in the seepage rate?
(4) How much seepage in litres per day is currently seeping into the ground?
(5) Can the Minister specifically quantify the amount in litres per day that represents a small increase in the seepage rate for the Fimiston 2 tailings dam?
(6) If no to (5), why not?
(7) Can the Minister state how many litres per day of saline, alkaline and cyanide constituents (along with other toxic chemicals and heavy metals) are discharged into the Fimiston I tailings dam?
(8) If no to (7), why not?
(9) Can the Minister state how many litres per day of saline, alkaline and cyanide constituents (along with other toxic chemicals and heavy metals) are discharged into the Fimiston 2 tailings dam?
(10) If no to (9), why not?
(11) Can the Minister state how many litres per day of seepage from the Fimiston I and Fimiston 2 tailings dams is being recovered from the Eastern Borefield?
(12) If no to (11), why not?
(13) Can the Minister explain how the Department of Environment/Environmental Protection Authority calculated that raising the height of the Fimiston 2 tailings dam may cause a small increase in the seepage rate?
(14) If no to (13), why not?
(1) Is it correct that KCGM is proposing lifting the height of Fimiston 2 tailings dam?
(2) If yes to (1), what specific height will it be lifted to and how many more years of capacity will this provide?
(3) Is it correct that raising the height of the Fimiston 2 tailings dam may cause a small increase in the seepage rate?
(4) How much seepage in litres per day is currently seeping into the ground?
(5) Can the Minister specifically quantify the amount in litres per day that represents a small increase in the seepage rate for the Fimiston 2 tailings dam?
(6) If no to (5), why not?
(7) Can the Minister state how many litres per day of saline, alkaline and cyanide constituents (along with other toxic chemicals and heavy metals) are discharged into the Fimiston I tailings dam?
(8) If no to (7), why not?
(9) Can the Minister state how many litres per day of saline, alkaline and cyanide constituents (along with other toxic chemicals and heavy metals) are discharged into the Fimiston 2 tailings dam?
(10) If no to (9), why not?
(11) Can the Minister state how many litres per day of seepage from the Fimiston I and Fimiston 2 tailings dams is being recovered from the Eastern Borefield?
(12) If no to (11), why not?
(13) Can the Minister explain how the Department of Environment/Environmental Protection Authority calculated that raising the height of the Fimiston 2 tailings dam may cause a small increase in the seepage rate?
(14) If no to (13), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
20 June 2006
Responded by
Minister for Education and Training representing the Minister for the Environment
Response time
26 days
(1) Yes. (2) KCGM has proposed to raise the external perimeter embankments of Fimiston 2 to heights between 42.2 and 45 metres. This will provide an additional three years of tailings storage capacity, providing sufficient total tailings storage to 2012. KCGM has an additional proposal to raise the external perimeter embankments of Fimiston 2 to heights between 55 and 60 metres. This proposal is being assessed by the Environmental Protection Authority at Public Environmental Review level as part of the Fimiston Stage 3 expansion. This rise, together with a rise to Fimiston 1 embankments, will provide a further five years of tailings storage capacity, to around 2017. (3) Yes, modelling undertaken for KCGM for raising the external perimeter embankments of Fimiston 2 to heights of between 42.2 and 45 metres predicts a small increase in seepage rate from 51 to 53 litres/second. The effect of the further proposed increase in height to between 55 and 60 metres will be considered during the EPA assessment. (4) Modelling predicts that the current seepage rate is 51 litres/second, which is approximately 4 406 kilolitres/day) for Fimiston 2. (5) The increase in seepage is estimated to be 172.8 kilolitres/day which equates to an increase of approximately 4%. (6) Not applicable. (7) The Department of Environment (DoE) has advised that approximately 4.2Mt of tailings slurry is deposited to Fimiston I TSF each year. Taking into account the density and specific gravity of the slurry and of the water this is equivalent to around 4 162 kilolitres/day of water contained in the tailings slurry. (8) Not applicable. (9) The DoE has advised that approximately 17.1Mt of tailings slurry is deposited to Fimiston II TSF each year. Taking into account the density and specific gravity of the slurry and of the water this is equivalent to around 16 809 kilolitres/day of water contained in the tailings slurry. (10) Not applicable. (11) The DoE has advised that volumes of groundwater produced annually from the Eastern Borefield during 2003, 2004 and 2005 were 2 368ML, 2 504ML and 2 701ML respectively. Average production rates were 75.1 litres/second in 2003, 79.2 litres/second in 2004 and 85.7 litres/second in 2005. The 2005 seepage recovery rate of 85.7 litres/second is the equivalent of around 7 404 kilolitres/day. (12) Not applicable. (13) Refer to responses to (3) and (4) above. (14) Not applicable.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.