Managing Groundwater

Carmichael Mine Project

pg 2

Managing Groundwater Carmichael Mine and Rail Project

Water for the Carmichael Mine and Rail Project

For many years, from the development of the

Environmental Impact Statement through to today,

Adani Mining has been studying, assessing and

reviewing water management at the Carmichael Project.

We recognise the critical importance of managing any

impact on groundwater in and around the mine site.

Our extensive scientific studies have informed the

Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan or

GDEMP - one of the many management plans in place for

the construction and operation of the Carmichael Mine.

The GDEMP is a regulatory document that describes the

monitoring and management activities, and any approved

potential impacts to groundwater dependent ecosystems.

The plan also outlines the actions we will take to protect

these ecosystems during the construction and operation

of the Carmichael Mine and beyond, post operations.

The GDEMP has been through 11 rounds of assessment

with the Australian and Queensland Governments and

has also been independently reviewed by CSIRO and

Geoscience Australia.

On site, water will be used for:

• Washing coal – approximately 30% of coal will

be washed to increase its energy efficiency

• General human use – workshops, offices and

in the accommodation village

• Dust suppression – water is sprayed onto roads

and stockpiles to minimise dust to keep employees

and neighbours safe.

Water will come from:

• Suttor River water pumped under licence when

the river is in flood and after farmers and other

users have taken the water they need

• Groundwater – for the purpose of enabling safe mining

• Rain water

• Recycled water.

Environmental sampling at the Carmichael Mine site

pg 3

Groundwater assessment findings

As part of our extensive groundwater studies

completed between 2014 and 2018, we engaged

third party scientific and environmental experts to

complete field surveys, underground water monitoring

assessments and geological studies based on the

Australian water modelling guidelines. Groundwater

and potential groundwater drawdown have been

modelled for the life of the project and beyond to 2129.

This modelling reflects a range of climatic conditions

including drought.

During mining, groundwater is extracted from in and

around the mine to allow mining to occur safely. Adani

Mining has approval to take and reuse this water that

is removed. The water will come from local aquifers, the

Betts Creek beds, connected to coal seams beneath

the mine site. These aquifers are not connected to

the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). The mine is separated

from the GAB by a natural underground layer of thick

claystone, the Rewan Formation, which stops water

from moving from the GAB to the mine.

Moolayember Formation

The source aquifer of the Doongmabulla Springs

(Clematis Sandstone) will not be directly affected by mining.

The water source for the Doongmabulla Springs

A 250-300m thick layer of claystone, separating the Springs’ water source (Clematis Sandstone) and the water associated with mining (Betts Creek beds)

Clematis Sandstone

Doongmabulla Springs Open cut mine11km

Dunda beds

Rewan Formation

AB SeamsWater associated with miningBandanna

FormationBetts Creek beds

C SeamD Seam

Colinlea Sandstone

Early Permian

A cross-section of the ground beneath the Doongmabulla Springs and the Carmichael Mine site shows that they draw water from different underground sources.

pg 4

Location of the Carmichael Project

Collinsville

Mackay

Bowen

Townsville

ChartersTowers

Moranbah

Clermont

DysartMuttaburra

Abbot Point Terminal

Carmichael Rail Alignment

Aurizon Rail Network

GAB - Groundwater Management Unit Boundary

Doongmabulla Springs Complex

Bel

yand

o Ri

ve

r

S

ut tor River

CarmichaelCoal Mine

CarmichaelCoal Mine

50KM

Scale N

DoongmabullaSprings Complex

CarmichaelRiver

The Carmichael Mine will not source water from the Great Artesian Basin.

pg 5

How is groundwater monitored?

What’s in the GDEMP?

Adani does not have unlimited access to groundwater

– we will only take the water required to support

the safe operation of the mine at each stage of

production. The Carmichael Mine will produce

approximately 10 million tonnes of coal per annum

and we will only take the water required to operate

safely at this rate.

Groundwater monitoring will be regularly conducted

at more than 100 sites to observe and track water

levels. Some of these sites are grouped together

in the same location as ‘nested bores’.

The information from these monitoring bores is

used to ensure the mine’s water use is safe and

sustainable and will be reported to Federal and

State regulators. In addition, we will share the data

with local landholders and communities. Reports will

also be publicly available at www.adaniaustralia.com

Water monitoring will continue throughout the

life of the project and after mining is completed

to ensure early detection of any changes.

Conceptual map of the Carmichael Mine lease boundary, the open cut

mine (Phase 1), and the network of groundwater monitoring bores

Carmichael Open Cut Mine

(Phase 1)

N

Open Cut Mine Area Phase 1 (260 Ha)

Legend

Multiple Groundwater Monitoring Bores (More than 1 Bore)

Mining Lease Area (41,000 Ha)

Single Groundwater Monitoring Bores (1 Bore)

Doongmabulla Springs Complex

Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community

An extensive network of monitoring bores will track groundwater levels around the Carmichael Mine

Doongmabulla Springs Complex

The GDEMP:

The Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan (GDEMP) is a regulatory document that outlines

the actions we will take to protect the Doongmabulla Springs and groundwater dependent species during

the construction and operation of the Carmichael Mine, ensuring we meet project conditions.

• Describes the assessed and approved impacts to groundwater and ecology of the Groundwater

Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs)

• Details the environmental values that have been monitored

• Identifies goals and triggers for each GDE, which will be refined over time

• Details the monitoring program throughout the project

• Describes mitigation and management measures

• Achieves compliance with relevant Commonwealth and Queensland approvals.

How is groundwater protected?

There are more than 270 conditions within the mine

approvals to protect the natural environment and

100 of those relate to managing groundwater.

The GDEMP outlines how we will meet the regulatory

conditions to protect the ecosystems that depend

on groundwater. This includes a range of ‘triggers

to take action’ that will be investigated, reported

and acted upon to ensure we stay within approved limits.

All of these triggers were modelled on a mine producing

coal at 60 million tonnes per annum and, as we now plan

to commence at 10 million tonnes per annum, we are

confident we will not reach these limits.

‘Make good’ provisions exist in case there is a drop

in water levels of those bores neighbouring the mine

site. If water levels drop, Adani Mining will supply water

to landholders to replace what has been lost or provide

compensation. The Queensland Government has a

range of ‘make good’ measures in place across the

mining industry.

As well as these protections, we will review planned

mining activities to ensure we stay within approved

groundwater impact levels.

Adani is committed to responsibly managing groundwater and will continue to monitor and report on any potential

impacts throughout the life of the project and beyond.

For more information on water use and management for the Carmichael Project, visit www.adaniaustralia.com and

download our ‘Safe and Sustainable Water Management’ and ‘Protecting the Doongmabulla Springs’ fact sheets.

April 2019To find out more about the Carmichael Mine Project, visit www.adaniaustralia.com or call us on 1800 423 264.

Safeguards exist in case there is any seepage from the Great Artesian Basin to the mine site.

‘Make good’ provisions exist in the unlikely event of a drop in water levels in neighbouring bores.

Mining operations will be reviewed to make sure we only use our approved amount of water.

Over 100 monitoring bores will track underground water levels.

Adani must regularly report to Australian and Queensland regulators.

The Rewan Formation is a 250-300m underground formation that forms a natural barrier between the mine and the Great Artesian Basin.

The GDEMP is based on extensive and verified scientific findings.

1. MONITORING SYSTEM 100+ monitoring bores will operate

across the mining site to observe

underground water levels.

2. EARLY WARNING TRIGGERS Early warning triggers will be alerted

if there are unforeseen impacts

outside our conditions.

3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORTING All triggers will be thoroughly

investigated and reported to regulators.

4. IMPLEMENT CORRECTIVE MEASURES If early warning triggers are alerted, we

will identify and implement corrective

measures to ensure approved limits are

not exceeded – including a review of

mining operations at the time.