Permanent non-acid forming aggregate storage facility proposed for Renison Bell

The owners of a West Coast mine want to build a new storage facility to keep up with demand, but before it can be built, they must convince the EPA they can do it safely and sustainably.

Renison Bell Tin Mine operations to boom, tour of the processing plant

The fate of a West Coast mine project rests with Tasmania’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

The organisation is assessing plans for a permanent non-acid forming aggregate storage facility at Renison Bell, a tin mine near Zeehan.

Mine owner Bluestone Mines Tasmania, a joint venture between MetalsX and Yunnan Tin Group, says the facility will store waste rock for permanent storage above ground.

The EPA says “the waste contains some sulphide bearing minerals and therefore there is the potential for leaching of salts and metals under neutral pH conditions”.

Bluestone has submitted a permit application with a supporting environmental impact statement (EIS) to the West Coast Council.

Renison Bell Tin Mine operations to boom, the Renison Tin Mine

In its EIS, the company said it had been operating the facility on a trial basis and hoped to make it permanent.

Bluestone also provided a timeline for the project.

“Rehabilitation of each filled level of the permanent aggregate Storage facility (ASF) will be undertaken within three months of completion to a suitable landform for cover and substrate media placed for revegetation,” the company said.

“It is predicted that all levels of the permanent ASF will be filled and a final landform over the entire facility established for closure by the end of 2035.

“Should approval not be granted, Bluestone will discuss and agree with EPA on suitable management arrangements for the existing ASF materials.”

Originally published as Permanent non-acid forming aggregate storage facility proposed for Renison Bell