Winchelsea Mine: Building a Future for Groote Island
About
An Anindilyakwa majority-owned mine
Winchelsea Mining Pty Ltd (Winchelsea) is a joint venture between the Anindilyakwa Advancement Aboriginal Corporation (AAAC) and AUS China International Mining Pty Ltd.
It was established in 2018 and the project is part of a comprehensive economic strategy to enhance Groote’s Future Fund to maintain important economic, cultural and community programs for the island’s people permanently into the future.
Winchelsea will be an Aboriginal owned and operated mining venture. The Groote Eylandt archipelago was declared the Anindilyakwa Operations Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in 2006 and is administered by the Anindilyakwa Land Council (ALC).
Our Location
The Winchelsea Mine project is located on Winchelsea “Akwamburrkba” Island on the western side of the Gulf of Carpentaria, in the Northern Territory, Australia.
Winchelsea Island is approximately 60km2 in size and lies less than 500m north of the much larger Groote Eylandt (where South 32 – Groote Eylandt Mining Company GEMCO) currently operates a world-class manganese mine.
Akwamburrkba falls within the Anindilyakwa Land Council (ALC) area with access to the island by boat from Groote Eylandt which is Australia’s third largest island with an area of 2,285 square kilometres. Under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976, the Traditional Owners hold inalienable freehold title over the island.
Groote Archipelago Local Decision
The objectives of the Groote Archipelago Local Decision-Making Agreement include:
I. Identifying the services and priorities which the Anindilyakwa people wish to have control over, and to take responsibility for; and
II. Committing NT Government agencies and, where agreed in Implementation Plans, NT Government owned corporations, to collaborating with the ALC including sharing information, to agree on how this control will be achieved.
To view the Agreement, click here https://ldm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/791315/galdm-agreement-edip.pdf
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Winchelsea Mining submitted a referral to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) in December 2020. The NT EPA determined a standard assessment by Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be an appropriate method of assessment for the proposed action. The Project was concurrently referred to the Commonwealth Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) in April 2021 (EPBC 2021/8877). In August 2021, the delegate for the Minister for the Environment made an Assessment Approach Decision and decided the Project would be assessed by accredited assessment under the EP Act at the level of an EIS.
Under the EPBC Act, the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment may rely on certain environmental impact assessments conducted by the NT Government when considering whether an action has significant effects on the environment. The NT EPA will assess and provide recommendations to both the NT and Commonwealth Environment Ministers on whether to approve the proposal and under what conditions. The Draft EIS chapters listed below have been prepared to address the EIS Terms of Reference, which meet the requirements of both government jurisdictions.
For further information on the progress of this assessment, refer to the environmental impact assessments register via the following link:
The public consultation period of the Draft EIS is from 5 February to 9 April 2024.
Interested persons and organisations wishing to comment on the Draft EIS are invited to make a submission to the NT EPA by 9 April 2024. via:
Mail: GPO Box 3675, Darwin NT 0801
Email: eia.ntepa@nt.gov.au
Online form: ntepa.nt.gov.au/consultation/open-consultations
Verbal or other format: call 08 8924 4218
All submissions will be treated as public documents unless confidentiality is requested.
For further information on this submission go to: https://wmining.com.au/environment-sustainability/
