The mining industry is a significant part of Australia's economy. When companies have multiple operations in one region, environmental approvals can be complex. Hamersley Iron Ore, a Rio Tinto company, started the strategic assessment process for its operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA).
Strategic assessments are a collaboration between the Australian Government and an assessment partner. This collaboration allows for a big-picture approach to safeguarding protected matters from the impacts of development over a long time.
The Hamersley Iron Ore (WA) strategic assessment on this page is inactive. This means the Environment minister signed an agreement, but the Australian Government does not anticipate receiving further documents to progress the strategic assessment at this time.
The partner has no obligation to finalise the strategic assessment requirements. They may choose not to continue to seek approval for their development at any time.
Overview
This assessment was to consider the impacts on protected matters from Hamersley Iron (Rio Tinto)'s operations in the Pilbara region of WA, including:
- mining iron ore
- transporting mined ore
- developing and maintaining infrastructure.
The strategic assessment was to cover Rio Tinto's mine leases and operations in the Pilbara, including the rail link to Dampier.
Figure 1. Proposed Hamersley Iron Strategic Assessment Area
Signed agreement
On 18 December 2012, the minister signed an agreement with Hamersley Iron Ore Pty Ltd (Rio Tinto) to begin a strategic assessment. The assessment was to be undertaken in line with section 146 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
The strategic assessment agreement describes the process under the EPBC Act, including the terms of reference.
Strategic assessment agreement (PDF 4.24 MB)
Strategic assessment agreement (DOCX 280.09 KB)
Terms of reference
The terms of reference for a strategic assessment detail how the strategic assessment partner is to assess the impacts of their proposed development activities.
The public comment period for the draft terms of reference ran between 21 January and 4 March 2013. The terms of reference were finalised on 30 April 2013.
Draft plan and impact assessment report
A plan describes proposed developments and commitments to environmental protection.
An impact assessment report describes the impacts of implementing the plan on:
- biodiversity
- protected matters.
Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd was to develop both a draft plan and a draft impact assessment.
However, the Australian Government does not expect to receive the draft plan or impact assessment report at this time.
This means Rio Tinto continues to seek project-by-project approval for its iron ore mining activity in the Pilbara.
Get in touch
Contact our Referrals Gateway team:
- Email: epbc.referrals@dcceew.gov.au
- Phone: 1800 423 135 between 9 am and 5 pm Canberra time.