The Victorian Department of Health will regulate our operations through a strict Radiation Management Licence, which requires rigorous monitoring protocols and regular reporting. We will maintain comprehensive compliance arrangements for both dust and radiation monitoring to protect the community and environment. An independent radiation expert has thoroughly studied our project and found all activities will have negligible impact on public health, even in conservative scenarios like high-wind conditions. Radiation levels pose no significant risk to public health. Our focus is extracting mineral sands, not uranium. While all soils naturally contain trace elements, our deposits hold minimal amounts. Of the material we mine, about nine parts per million (0.0009%) will be uranium and 28 parts per million (0.0028%) thorium by weight. These levels are well below (22× and 18× respectively) the limits in Victoria's Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983 of:
Please see our Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Material fact sheet for more information.
We will minimise the impact of mine-related traffic by:
We will upgrade the following roads and intersections to create a durable transport route, which minimises local impacts, and improves the local road network for all users. These upgrades will include:
Improving turning facilities at the intersections of:
We will also assist the local councils with road maintenance along the transport route, throughout the life of the mine.
We will implement industry best practices to control dust emissions and minimise the environmental and health impacts of mining operations. The main sources of mine site dust will include:
To control dust, we will water unsealed haul roads, exposed surfaces, stockpiles, and other disturbed areas. Our monitoring system will verify dust suppression activities are working. In windy and/or dry conditions, where our monitoring provides early warning site conditions will require additional controls, we will implement those. We will have enough stored water for at least three days of site operating requirements, including dust suppression.
On total fire ban days, we will adjust our operations to reduce fire risk and dust. We will not do earthworks where there is grass or crop stubble. But we will keep working in areas inside the mine where we have already removed topsoil and no vegetation remains. If dust control becomes difficult, we may reduce or stop earthworks. This policy will apply on days when wind causes excessive dust. Our water trucks will continue operating, spraying water on dust-prone areas. We will limit maintenance activities requiring hot work, where feasible. For essential hot work we cannot postpone, we will obtain a Section 40 permit from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and adhere to all permit conditions. These measures will allow us to balance operational requirements with safety and environmental considerations during high-risk fire conditions.
What are the compliance and reporting arrangements for dust and radiation?
The Donald Project adheres to strict compliance and reporting arrangements for dust and radiation. An independent radiation expert conducted a comprehensive study using conservative assumptions, including high wind conditions. This analysis found all project activities, including dust generation, would have negligible impact on public health. The project operates under a Radiation Management Licence and follows rigorous monitoring protocols. A comprehensive monitoring system is in place, including real-time monitors positioned around the mining licence area. An onsite weather station tracks meteorological conditions, informing dust suppression efforts. The project employs a Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP) with alert levels for proactive air quality management and response to occur before an exceedance of prescribed air quality criteria will materialise. Continuous radiation monitoring ensures levels remain within safe limits, with results compared against established baseline data. Dust suppression techniques, include:
Regular environmental radiation monitoring, including dust and groundwater sampling, will happen throughout the project's lifespan. The Air Quality Management Plan undergoes review every three years to maintain best practice. All operations comply with relevant regulations and best practices for environmental and health safety standards. This robust system ensures ongoing compliance with regulations, while affirming project activities pose negligible risk to public health regardless of weather conditions. The project will also establish an Environment Review Committee before construction. The ERC will include community members. It will participate in biannual environmental reviews of the project's performance, with access to all environmental results, reporting, and grievances. Please refer to our Environmental Management fact sheet for more information.
