Issue #12 December 2013

A Tronox
publication
for KZN Sands
stakeholders
issue 12
december
2013
The earth moves at Fairbreeze
The pending appeal
against the approval of
the Fairbreeze water
use licence casts a
shadow of uncertainty
over exactly when full
construction will start.
But preparations are
going full-steam ahead.
“THE EARLY WORKS CONSTRUCTION
is still progressing well,” says Garrick
Jefferys, senior planning engineer on the
Fairbreeze Project. “The contractor is busy
putting up the primary wet plant (PWP)
perimeter fencing, lining the pollution
control dam and doing piling and concrete
works on the PWP platform.”
Continued on page 3
Concrete works taking place on the
PWP platform.
december 2013
1
The earth moves at Fairbreeze
MRA hosts information sharing meeting
ON 31 OCTOBER t he Mtunzini Residents’
Association (MRA) convened an information sharing session at which Tronox
representatives presented information and
answered questions about the Fairbreeze
Mine project.
although there were still many issues to be
addressed and questions to be answered,
the MRA was hopeful that “the way has
been opened to enable the MRA to obtain
Meetings between Tronox and Mtunzini
residents are nothing new. This, however,
was the first meeting in recent
times initiated by the residents
and where Tronox was invited
to answer specific questions
about the project.
In terms of the way forward, Tronox and
the MRA have agreed to hold similar meetings in future. “To make sure that issues
are addressed in as much detail as possible, we suggested that Tronox and the
MRA agree on two questions beforehand
and that we stick to those during the
meeting,” says Jeremy.
Construction activities on site will stop
on 13 December and the team is working hard to ensure that all contingencies
Fairbreeze project manager, Robbie
Gleimius, says that he is heartened
by the initiative to expand interactions between the Fairbreeze
staff and the Mtunzini residents.
“The fact that the MRA initiated
these meetings is a very positive development. Of course it
doesn’t affect people’s right to
appeal project applications and
approvals, but we welcome the proactive
approach.
“We experienced it as a constructive event,” says Jandri
Beukes, Fairbreeze project’s
client manager. “The discussions were about the topics
on the table as agreed beforehand with the MRA and everybody had an opportunity to ask
questions.”
N
Tronox has applied to the Umlalazi Municipality for the necessary planning approval for
the Fairbreeze C extension area. As part of the process the comment period for public
submissions in response to Tronox’s application closed on 14 November 2013. Tronox
now has an opportunity to respond to the public submissions. Once that process is complete the municipality will review and decide on the application. The municipality has the
right to call a public hearing if it deems it necessary before deciding on the application.
FAIRBREEZE
INTERCHANGE
N2 NATIONAL ROAD
are planned for during the holiday period.
Work resumes on 6 January 2014.
eventuality such as heavy rains.” A security
team will be on site round the clock.
“Before the end of the year, the perimeter
fence will be in place to prevent any unauthorised access to site,” says Garrick.
In January the team plans to continue with
the concrete works on the PWP platform.
They will also implement the ramp-up plan
to make sure that everything is in place for
full construction to during 2014.
“All the storm water protection and dams
will also be complete, ready for any
Topsoil is being cleared where the Mega
Sabeka residue storage facility will be built.
“We will continue to do everything in our
power to build constructive relationships
with our neighbours.”
Jeremy Nottingham, the facilitator of
the meeting and MRA committee member,
said in his feedback letter to residents that
Planning
application
update
Continued from page 1
Across the N2, ie, on the western side,
topsoil is being cleared on the site where
the Mega Sabeka residue storage facility
will be built.
clarification on matters which concern
many residents”.
Garrick Jefferys, senior planning engineer
on the Fairbreeze Project.
MEGA SABEKA
RESIDUE STORAGE
FACILITY
BRIDGE No.4
INTERCHANGE
RAIL
TOPSOIL
STOCKPILE
The lining in the pollution control dam.
VALLEY RETURN
WATER DAM
VALLEY DAM
RESIDUE STORAGE
FACILITY
WAY
MTUNZINI
INTERCHANGE
NORTHERN
RETURN
WATER DAM
FB B
is published by Tronox’s KZN Sands operation to keep
As jy enige van die artikels in hierdie uitgawe in Afrikaans wil lees,
questions or comments on the newsletter or the project, share
laat weet gerus vir Natalie Keegan:
your thoughts by contacting Natalie Keegan:
035 902 7840 / [email protected].
Tel: 035 902 7840
Ngabe uyafuna yini ukuba kutolikwe? ngesiZULU?
Email: [email protected]
Uma udinga eminye yemibhalo edidiyelwe ngesiZulu
Fax: 086 630 2775
ungaxhumana no Natalie Keegan:
www.tronox.com
035 902 7840 / [email protected].
MTUNZINI TOWN
BULK WATER
PIPELINE
FB Cx
Op soek na ’n vertaling?
stakeholders informed about the Fairbreeze project. If you have
L ROAD
TIONA
N2 NA
FB A
FAIRBREEZE MINE
PRIMARY WET PLANT
FB C
RAILWAY
AY
RAILW
UMLALAZI NATURE
RESERVE
HIGH WATER MARK
BEACH
INDIAN OCEAN
In case of an
emergency
The areas circled in blue are where
construction is currently taking place.
Any security, safety, environmental or
community issue must be reported to
the central control room at Tronox’s
central processing complex (CPC) in
Empangeni.
The number is 035 902 7041. The
security controller on duty will inform
the right people who will attend to
the issue.
SEQUENCE OF MINING
YEAR 1
LEGEND
2
december 2013
PHASE 1
CONSTRUCTION
PHASE 2
CONSTRUCTION
MINING ORE BODIES
(FB A; FB B; FB C; FB Cx)
ECOLOGICALLY
YEAR 2
YEAR 3
YEAR 4
YEAR 5
YEAR 6
YEAR 7
YEAR 8
december 2013
3
Clean up as you go
Never underestimate the value of your mother’s advice that you should clean up
as you go. This is exactly what the Fairbreeze construction team is doing.
To start rehabilitating a mining area before
any mining has taken place sounds like an
odd thing to do. “In the mining industry,
rehabilitation is part of the mining process
and we have not started mining,” agrees
Marius Vlok, senior environmental specialist at Tronox. “What we are doing at the
Fairbreeze site is construction rehabilitation and management of the sensitive land
areas.”
Construction rehabilitation
The early works construction at Fairbreeze
is almost complete. Given that all the
earthmoving work is done, the environmental team has started to plant vegetation on
the slopes and embankments around the
primary wet plant (PWP) on the eastern
side of the N2.
Four types of planting have taken place over
the past number of months.
Above and below: The northern face of
the PWP platform embankment has been
planted with grass sods.
1. Seeding
One of the first early-works construction
tasks was to remove the topsoil in the construction area and store it in stockpiles or
berms. As far back as December 2012, the
topsoil berm at the PWP site was seeded
with a commercially-available grass seed
mix, oversown with seed collected within the
mine lease area. More than 50% cover was
achieved by February 2013.
It was not necessary to seed the services
corridor topsoil stockpile; self-seeding
has already covered more than 80% of
the berm.
The services corridor embankment was
4
december 2013
top-soiled, covered with a hessian mesh
soil saver and sown with standard grass
seed mix during April and May 2013.
“Unfortunately germination was poor and
patchy due to low rainfall and cool temperatures,” says Pat Jennings, rehabilitation
officer at Fairbreeze.
The same thing happened with the seeding
on the dam platform slopes. While waiting for weather conditions to improve, the
Fairbreeze nursery team took the opportunity to collect seed from elsewhere in the
mining area for further sowing.
2. Vetiver hedges
During June and July this year, the
Fairbreeze nursery and Shepley Farm teams
planted Vetiver grass on the services corridor embankment, the steeper portions of the
PWP topsoil berm, the south-western face
of the main PWP platform and the southern
face of the Eskom platform.
3. Return of the rescued plants
In October and November last year, before
the topsoil was stripped for the construction
of the services corridor area, rare and sensitive plants were collected and moved to the
Fairbreeze nursery. During August 2013 the
majority of these plants were returned to the
services corridor area and used to rehabilitate the embankment.
4. Grass sodding
The main PWP platform slopes and the
slopes of the main stormwater drain, from
the culvert to the stormwater dam, were
planted with grass sods in a checkerboard
pattern. This work was done by Coastal
The service corridor embankment (above) was top-soiled, covered with hessian mesh soil
saver and planted with a standard grass seed mix. Vetiver ‘hedges’ were later added for
additional erosion resistance.
Landscaping. Watering was provided by
the dust control and road maintenance
contractor, Ingulule Roads Forestry
Management.
Basic land management
On Siyaya Farm and the parts of
C Extension that will not be mined, Tronox
has started the work that needs to be done
to restore biodiversity.
Alien weed control
In the first six months of this year an initial
clearing of alien weed was done. It involved
cutting and stump treatment with appropriate herbicides, followed by burning in the
grass, cane and wetland areas.
Follow-up treatment started in November
and entails foliar spray with herbicides, as
well as further cutting and stump treatment
where necessary.
The topsoil berm was seeded with a
commerical grass seed mix and oversown
with seed collected in the mine lease area.
This picture shows the root system of Vetiver
grass about three months after planting.
The roots forms a vertical curtain that
anchors the soil.
Sugarcane eradication
All the cane areas were burned between
May and July this year, while standing cane
has been cut. During November herbicides
were applied to prevent the sugarcane from
sprouting again.
Eucalyptus removal
Tronox is currently evaluating proposals from
contractors on the most cost effective and
efficient solution to remove the standing
trees and treat the stumps.
Dragon tree (Dracaena aletriformis), quinine tree (Rauvolfia caffra) and broad-leaved bristle
grass (Setaria megaphylla), among others, were returned to the services corridor area and
used to rehabilitate the embankment.
december 2013
5
Hillendale makes rehab headway
huge benefits can be achieved.” Firstly
because well-managed offsets can deliver
social and economic outcomes for a region
and secondly because the offset obligation
usually far exceeds the area that will be
lost. If, for instance, 100ha of forest will be
lost, the developer might have to protect
and manage 300ha of suitable forest area
as an offset.
2013 was a year of rehabilitation highlights for Hillendale. After years of
preparation that was mostly invisible to the casual observer, a green wave is
now washing over the mine, leaving positive results in its wake.
Sugarcane
In June and July this year, Tronox delivered 1 062 tons of sugarcane to TongaatHullet’s Felixton Mill. This represented a
cane yield of 76 tons per hectare on the
14 hectares of rehabilitated soil that were
planted with 216 tons of seed cane at the
end of 2012.
Not only was the cane planted in unconventional soils, but the Hillendale farming team
also chose a different harvesting approach.
Instead of the traditional method of burning the cane before harvesting, they left the
leaves and foliage to be worked back into
the soil. Although more labour intensive and
costly, this practice enhances the soil and
protects it from the erosive forces of rainfall
and surface runoff.
Hot on the heels of the first successful
harvest, 700 tons of commercial seed cane
is currently being planted at Hillendale for
harvest in 2014.
done in June this year, yielded promising
results. The 12-month measurements were
done in the last week of November and the
results will be published in the first edition
in 2014.
of
Rose geranium
In April, 40 000 rose geranium seedlings were planted at Hillendale as a trial.
The first cuttings were harvested during
November.
Hillendale RSF
Agricultural trials are currently taking place
on a section of the north-eastern part of
the residue storage facility (RSF). Around
15 hectares of the dam’s surface were
capped with a layer of sand and prepared
with different fertilizer combinations, such
as wood waste and kraal manure, before it
was planted with Eucalyptus trees and sugarcane. The purpose of this trial is to determine the best way to prepare the RSF to
sustain commercial agriculture or forestry.
The plans include activities such as
repairing drainage, removing alien plants,
establishing indigenous plants and setting
up a monitoring system to track the
systems’ improvement over time.
The offsets option
Sugarcane emerging on the prepared
plots on Hillendale’s residue storage
facility.
Eucalyptus trees
A total of 5 600 Eucalyptus trees were
planted in December 2012 to find the best
way of reintroducing forestry at Fairbreeze
post-mining, where Tronox is required to
do so.
6
december 2013
In the balancing act between development and
conservation, offsets can offer a way for all parties
concerned to achieve their objectives. Here’s how.
WHEN A COMPANY a
pplies for a mining
licence, a vast array of studies has to be
done to determine, among others, the
environmental impacts and measures to
mitigate them. Should it emerge that a
particular impact on biodiversity cannot be
prevented or adequately mitigated, offsets
enter into the picture.
These reforestation trials test different
treatments to improve the physical quality and fertility of the reconstituted soil at
Hillendale. A grid of 16 treatments in four
blocks was created, covering an area of
about three hectares.
The six-month growth measurements,
The Fairbreeze offsets
The Fairbreeze environmental authorisation
(EA) includes an offset obligation. Two
offset areas have already been identified,
both close to existing nature reserves, and
the project’s environmental specialists are
busy finalising the design for both.
Boela Bekker and some members of his farming team who carry out the rehabilitation
activities at Hillendale.
In basic terms, an offset is an area in a
different location that is protected and
managed to make up for the biodiversity
that will be lost as a result of the planned
project. Douglas Macfarlane from Eco-pulse
Environmental Consulting Services, says
the basic principle is that the environment
shouldn’t lose on the bottom line. “Habitat
might be lost on the project site, but through
offsets a developer can make a meaningful
contribution to conservation and biodiversity
conservation efforts.”
The contribution should be permanent. As
such offsets have to be formally protected,
with an associated management plan and
monitoring programme in place.
According to Doug, site selection is critical. “When an offset area is selected with
regional conservation priorities in mind,
Tronox is also busy setting up committees
with local communities in and near the
offset areas to ensure good cooperation.
Additional sites are also being identified to
fully meet offset obligations.
Mitigation hierarchy for
environmental impacts
Avoid/prevent
Minimise
Rehabilitate
Offset
december 2013
7
What the dust is doing
Dust pollution from Fairbreeze remains one of the things people
worry about. Here’s how Tronox is keeping its eye on the ball.
THE FAIRBREEZE MINE SITE h
as 22 single
stand dust bucket units that record dust
fallout data. The samples are retrieved
and analysed once a month.
By law Tronox has to report all contraventions of the industrial limit of 1 200mg/m2/
day to the Department of Agriculture and
Environmental Affairs. The company has,
however, set itself an internal target of
half the legal limit, ie, 600mg/m2/day. This
‘threshold for action’ triggers an internal
investigation that ensures dust problems
are addressed immediately.
In the 18 months since dust monitoring started at Fairbreeze, the threshold
for action was only exceeded once, on
27 February 2013, when the dust fallout
was 654mg/m2. The incident investigation found that the combination of strong
winds and traffic on the construction
site was to blame.
PM10 monitoring
The air quality impact assessment (AIQA),
which was done in 2011 as part of the
Basic Assessment Report, had identified Mtunzini, the Shepley Farm homestead, the McMurray organic farm and
Twinstreams nursery and educational
centre as sites that could be impacted
by PM10 emissions from the mining
activities. The term PM10 describes small
particles in the air that can be harmful to
humans. They can be caused by natural
events, such as dust storms and forest
or grassland fires, or result from human
activities, such as vehicle exhaust fumes,
emissions from industrial processes or
sugarcane burning.
To understand the PM10 situation
and prevent any possible detrimental
impacts, Tronox has installed four PM10
monitoring stations on the sites identified in the AIQA and are in the process
of commissioning them.
For more information, read
the Dust Management
Strategy for the Hillendale
and Fairbreeze Mines on the
Tronox website. It was first
published in July 2013 and is
reviewed every six months.
Ingulule Forestry Maintenance
is the Mtunzini-based company
that was contracted by Leomat,
the construction contractor, to
control dust on the Fairbreeze
construction site. According to owner
Perry Cobbald, water is used to suppress dust on
the mine site. “Our water car wet the roads and
the areas where earthmoving works are being done.
We also water the embankments where grass has
been planted.”
8
december 2013

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