Interesting points from the Community Consultative Committee,...

Interesting points from the Community Consultative Committee, for the Peak Mine, held on the 26th October and posted on the Aurelia website.
Main point I guess is that they hope to send the EIS to the NSW Gov in Jan 21.

2. Company PresentationAll business was set aside to allow consultation with the CCC for the preparation of the social impact assessment as part of the EIS for the New Cobar Complex. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a brief overview of the project; provide a summary of findings from the technical studies; and to get input from the CCC on the consequences (impacts and benefits) of the Project for the Cobar community.Andrea Kanaris provided a presentation to facilitate the discussion.A summary of the CCC observations are:The project has the potential to provide stability in town as a result of a significant extension to the life of mine and some new employment opportunities during construction.Cobar has good local infrastructure to support new and existing employees.Increased availability of traineeships would be useful.This is the first large scale project to be considered in Cobar and workforce impacts will be considered as part of the EIS.Construction and operation impacts considered to be minor.The proposed development is predominately underground with minimal (<2ha) surfacedisturbance proposed. Mining activities will be between 150m and 800m below ground level.Noted the project impacts don’t go beyond the Barrier Highway, therefore the urban impactswill be nil. Mining under the Museum precinct (approximately 800m below ground level) isproposed, however, mitigation and monitoring proposed.The Subsidence Assessment has determined that subsidence is likely to be minor (<15mm at thesurface).Future of the Fort Bourke Hill Lookout post mining needs further consideration and futurenegotiations with Cobar Shire Council as the likely custodian.Public access (tourism) to Towser’s Huts needs consideration. PGM is keen to make this areaaccessible to the public but public safety and preservation of Towser’s Huts is of utmost concern.Impacts of water loss in the Great Cobar historic open cut – it is expected the open cut will bedewatered as the underground workings are dewatered.Impact on Newey reservoir – modelling suggests this is not connected to groundwater, however,requires ongoing monitoring.Potential exclusion zones during construction of the box cut need to be considered (e.g. surfaceblasting, if required)3. General BusinessJonathon advised he is hoping to send the EIS to DPIE in January 2021 and a CCC meeting in that timeframe will be considered.