Fingerboards Mineral Sands ProjectCultural Heritage Existing Conditions and Impact Assessment

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EES

• An Environment Effects Statement (EES) is required for the Fingerboards Mineral Sands Project under s 3 of the Environment Effects Act 1978

• The draft evaluation objective for cultural heritage is ‘to avoid or minimise effects on Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultural heritage.’

• Key objectives of the Cultural Heritage Technical Report component of the EES are to:

o Describe the study method

o Identify the location and type of existing Aboriginal and historical cultural heritage values in and near the study area

o Characterise the locations and type of potential Aboriginal and historical cultural heritage values in the study area

o Identify key potential issues and impacts and assess the risk of impacts to Aboriginal and historical cultural heritage by the construction, operation and decommissioning of the project

o Propose avoidance, mitigation and management measures to reduce the risk of impacts associated with the construction, operation and decommissioning of the project

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentStudy Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

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CHMP

• A Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) is required for the Fingerboards Mineral Sands Project under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006

• The preparation of a cultural heritage management plan for an area involves—

a) an assessment of the area to determine the nature of any Aboriginal cultural heritage present in the area; and

b) a written report setting out—

i. the results of the assessment; andii. conditions to be complied with before, during and after

an activity to manage and protect the Aboriginal cultural heritage identified in the assessment

• The written report is the cultural heritage management plan

• A CHMP (ID 14969) is currently being prepared

• Preparation of the CHMP involves consultation with GLaWAC

• The CHMP will be evaluated by Aboriginal Victoria

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentStudy Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

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Existing Conditions

• The activity area must encompass all proposed activities to be considered by the EES technical report and CHMP.

• The CHMP activity area and EES technical report study area have both been defined using the mining area boundary and ancillary works including transport routes, utilities, potential bore-fields, siding areas etc.

• The existing conditions within the project activity area were assessed by reviewing the activity area’s geographic and environmental context and investigating the historical environment and various heritage databases.

o Landform, geology, geomorphology and environment

o Heritage register searches

o Review of ethnohistorical and historical accounts

o Review of regional and local Aboriginal and historical cultural heritage studies

o Review of land use history

o The existing conditions assessment

o Preliminary Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Predictive Model

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentActivity Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

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Preliminary Aboriginal cultural heritage predictive model

The preliminary model considered eight Aboriginal site types and five environmental datasets;

Registered Aboriginal cultural heritage places within the model area

1. Artefact scatters2. Art sites3. Ancestral Remains 4. Earth features5. Quarries6. Scarred trees7. Shell middens8. Stone features.

Data sets

1. Geology, 2. Geomorphology, 3. Pre-1750 modelled Ecological vegetation classes, 4. Slope, and 5. Distance from water to predict patterns of past landscape use and

how these affected the distribution of archaeological remains.

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentActivity Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

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Preliminary predictive model – All Site Types

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Refining the model: site survey

Survey included pedestrian transects investigating the potential for Aboriginal and historical archaeological remains to be present within the study area. The study area was divided into five broad investigation areas (IAs) based on observations in the field and derived from the principal landforms identified during the conditions assessment

o IA 1: Upper Planar Surfaces (Munro Plain)o IA:2 High Ridgeso IA 3: Swaleso IA 4: Streams and floodplainso IA 5: Alluvial Terraces and fans

The previously recorded location of a scarred tree, registered by Aboriginal Victoria in 1979, was inspected during the site survey.

A total of 68 stone artefacts were identified within the five investigation areas during site survey. The artefact locations were each identified within areas of soil exposure attributed to ground disturbance.

o IA-1 – Upper Planar Surfaces: 53 surface artefacts o IA-2 – High Ridge: 5 surface artefacts o IA-3 – Dune Swale: 1 surface artefact o IA-4 – Streams and floodplains: 4 surface artefacts o IA-5 – Alluvial Terraces and Fans: 5 surface artefacts

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentStudy Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

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Subsurface testing

A sampling subsurface testing program was conducted in August 2018 and was designed to:

• Establish the presence or absence of subsurface archaeological deposits within the activity area;

• Establish a base-line understanding of the Aboriginal cultural heritage sensitivity of targeted landforms within the activity area for the purpose of testing the model

• Examine the soil profile and general subsurface nature of the area through controlled excavation;

• Collect data on the nature and significance of any cultural deposits identified;• Testing was undertaken through the excavation of a combination of manual

and mechanical test pits.

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentStudy Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

•.

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Subsurface testing- results

A total of 45 test pits were excavated during the subsurface testing programme, comprising five 1x1 m test pits, six mechanical 2x1m test pits, and thirty-four 0.5x0.5m test probes.

A total of 281 subsurface artefacts were identified within 21 test pits

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentStudy Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

•.

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Investigation Area Surface artefacts identified in survey Subsurface artefact count

IA-1- Upper Planar Surfaces 53 32

IA-2 – High Ridges 5 186

IA-3 – Dune Swales 1 0

IA-4- Streams and Floodplains 4 2

IA-5-Alluvial terraces and fans 5 61

Total 68 281

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Updated predictive model – All Site Types

Mitigations

The following mitigation measures are included in the impact/risk assessment for cultural heritage values, including; (a) known (i.e. recorded or registered) Aboriginal and/or historical cultural heritage/archaeological places; (b) places with associated Aboriginal or historical values and/or oral tradition; and (c) unidentified cultural heritage/archaeological places or values and/or oral tradition places that may be present within the study area:

1. Continue with the preparation of the CHMP in accordance with theAboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic)

o Further regional studies and field testing

o Further testing and refinement of the site predictive modelduring the CHMP process

o Continued consultation with the RAP and regulators

2. Gain approval for the CHMP

3. Comply with all CHMP conditions that may include site-specific andgeneral management conditions to be implemented before the projectcommences, during the project and after the project has ended (asappropriate)

4. Implement contingency measures (chance finds protocols) that provideclear instructions that must be followed in the event that Aboriginalcultural heritage places or materials are discovered during theconstruction, operation or decommissioning of the project

EES / CHMP

Existing Conditions AssessmentStudy Area / Geographic Region

Existing Conditions

Preliminary Predictive Model

Site Survey

Subsurface testing

Updated Predictive Model

Summary

•.

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