Projects
Lake Wells Potash
Australian Potash is focused on the development of the Lake Wells Potash Project, with drilling commencing in 2014 and over 1 billion cubic metres of brine for the production of potash identified. APC remains positive regarding the future of a Western Australian SOP industry however challenges experienced by colleagues in the sector have, for the time being, materially damaged the Company’s ability to fund the Project into development and production.
Lake Wells Potash Assistance:
- Strategic advice regarding the environmental approvals pathway and regulator consultation.
- Regulator consultation and specialist environmental project development advice.
- Review of existing baseline study reports.
- Developing environmental impact assessment documents for State and Federal approval.
Lake Wells Night Parrot Habitat Assessment
As part of the impact assessment process for the Lake Wells Project, MBS undertook a Night Parrot habitat assessment to quantify the extent and quality of potential foraging and roosting habitat that may be impacted by the Project.
NDVI data was used to quantify vegetation coverage within the area mapped as Salt Lake habitat during baseline fauna assessments recognising that vegetated areas may provide foraging habitat for the species. The assessment utilised remote sensing data from the Sentinel Hub EO Browser, Sentinel-2 L2A (atmosphere corrected) satellite imagery program. Areas were classified as vegetated or non-vegetated playa. Vegetated areas were further classified by landform with only those recognised to be closed depressions being classified as potential foraging habitat.
A habitat scoring system was developed to assess Night Parrot roosting habitat considering spinifex age and extent, distance to fresh water, distance to foraging habitat and density of trees and shrubs. Potential roosting habitat was then classified by quality.
The resulting assessment provide data on potential foraging and roosting habitat present within the proposed project footprint and Development Envelope. Results informed project design and development of management and mitigation measures.
