Xstrata Copper North Queensland.pdf - Mount Isa Mines

Environmental performance
Bob Griffin – Port Operations Coordinator,
inspects the Xstrata Port sump system, which
allows capture and reuse of stormwater
The Townsville port operations’ energy
consumption was 10,400 gigajoules (GJ) in
2010 up from 10,200 GJ in 2009 (please note
that the 2009 report had incorrectly stated in
the text that energy consumption was 10 GJ
for 2009, when it was actually 10 terajoules
(TJ), or 10,200 GJ. This accounted for only
1.5% of the Townsville operations’ energy
consumption. The port operations’ energy is
sourced from a combination of electricity and
diesel and consumption levels have remained
constant for the past five years.
Water use and
management
A number of key stormwater management
initiatives were completed in 2010:
Energy use by source (GJ) – Townsville operations
Consumption 2010
Direct
Diesel 5,500
Natural gas 285,300
Other sources (other energy sources such as LPG, petrol, and oils and greases) 2,400
Indirect
Electricity 429,800
Total 723,000
Energy use – EHM
Energy intensity – EHM
‘000s GJ
GJ per tonne ore processed
4,500
0.450
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The expansion of the Townsville copper
refinery’s irrigation area. Currently,
the refinery uses sustainable irrigation
practices as a method of stormwater and
extracted groundwater control as per
our Environmental Licence conditions.
In an effort to increase our capacity to
deal with extreme rainfall periods we
expanded our irrigation area by
13 hectares and installed two new
travelling irrigators. Final commissioning
of the irrigators will take place in 2011.
Our port operations commissioned a
study to identify options to improve the
quality of the stormwater discharged
from site. The study examined site
characteristics, current water quality,
desired outcomes and the current
first flush capture system to provide
an analysis of the options available.
The Townsville operations consume
potable water and are considered a
small consumer of water in a regional
context. Fresh water consumed at
Xstrata Copper’s Townsville operations
is sourced from the local supply system
fed from the Ross River Dam. In 2010
potable water consumption at the
copper refinery increased by 11% with
a total consumption of 127 megalitres
(ML) recorded.
3,750
3,000
2,250
2,600
2,400
2,200
2,000
2,600
0.375
0.300
0.225
0.24
0.21
0.19
0.25
0.26
0.20
Potable water use at our port operations
decreased by 31% from 2009, with a total of
5.3 ML consumed in 2010. This is consistent
with 2008 consumption as 2009 was an
unusually dry year which resulted in increased
potable water use.
1,500
750
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
0.150
0.075
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011*
Our Townsville operations put significant
effort into capturing and reusing process
water and stormwater where possible to
minimise potable water consumption. The
copper refinery used approximately 81 ML
of captured stormwater and process water
for irrigation.
*Target
106 XSTRATA COPPER NORTH QUEENSLAND