Projects
Eneabba Rare Earth Refinery
MBS assisted Iluka gain approval for construction and operation of the Eneabba Rare Earth Refinery, within the brownfields Eneabba mine site located in the Shire of Carnamah within the Mid-West region of Western Australia. The refinery would allow processing of monazite from stockpiles and ore generated by current operations to be processed to produce rare earth oxides and carbonates.
MBS worked closely with the Iluka technical team to ensure approvals could be obtained in a timely manner to fast-track commencement of construction. Project design was modified to avoid terrestrial and marine ecological impacts and effectively manage radiation impacts from process wastes. This allowed the project to not be formally assessed by the WA EPA and not be designated as a Controlled Action under the EPBC Act.
Eneabba Rare Earth Refinery Assistance:
- Provision of corporate advice and development of environmental approvals strategy to allow fast tracking of approvals.
- Scoping and management of baseline studies to support environmental impact assessment.
- Conducting and peer reviewing environmental radiation assessments (RESRAD and ERICA).
- Preparation of an EP Act referral document for the WA EPA.
- Provision of technical assistance on radiation matters for EPBC Act Referral.
- Participation in stakeholder engagement including multi agency site visit.
- Managing GIS data relevant to environmental and social aspects of the project.
- Peer review of impact assessment documentation for the rare earth concentrator
Radiological Risk Assessment Case Study
The Rare Earth Refinery proposal involved further processing the monazite concentrate stream by ‘cracking’ the monazite and production of rare earth oxides and carbonates. The resulting refinery waste (tailings) although primarily comprised of gypsum and low solubility minerals, contained elevated naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) to be disposed of in tailings storage facilities (TSF) on site.
MBS Environmental worked with the in house Iluka technical team to address the need for an environmental and radiological risk assessment associated with the use of the TSF and fate post-closure of the TSF. This involved assisting Iluka in developing post-closure modelling scenarios using ERICA software to address the potential for radiological risks, as well as completing a radiation impact assessment (RIA) to quantify the radiological risk to the environment at closure. The ERICA modelling and environmental risk assessment included a source, pathway and receptor approach with multiple scenarios to assess risk for flora, fauna and human health during operations and post closure. This resulted in demonstrating that radiological exposures will be of no regulatory concern in relation to the maintenance of biological diversity, conservation of species, or on the health of natural ecosystems.
