Mine to Market November-December 2012 - Mount Isa Mines

Monitoring air quality
in Mount Isa
Mount Isa has one of the
most intensive air quality
monitoring systems of any
city in Australia.
Established in 1975, our Air Quality
Control (AQC) system uses real-time air
quality data to monitor emissions and
observe emerging weather patterns. AQC
aims to ensure our smelting operations are
reduced or shut down in advance of any
predicted adverse impacts to air quality in
the Mount Isa community or if emissions
approach regulatory limits.
Over the coming years we are
continuing to expand our air quality
monitoring network to further improve
coverage of Mount Isa and the
surrounding district.
Inside AQC
AQC employees are trained in
meteorology to understand and predict
weather specific to the Mount Isa region.
Our people have extensive experience
to understand the interaction of weather
patterns with our operations and across
our community.
AQC operates seven days a week with
an on-call roster to respond to any night
time incidents. It is responsible for:
• Analysing weather forecasts
• Monitoring our comprehensive network
of air quality monitors
• Predicting ground conditions
(air quality)
Monitoring type Current By 2016
Real-time SO 2 monitoring stations 10 12
Passive monitoring stations 5 6
High-volume dust samplers 9 14
Continuous dust monitors* 2 6
Dust depositional gauges* 10 10
* We also have a number of monitors and gauges we can deploy at specific sites across
our operations to monitor our performance and target improvements.
• Providing advice on smelter operations
• Ensuring environmental obligations
are met
• Minimising air quality impacts to
local community
AQC collaborates with smelter
managers and the acid plant via an internal
alert system that advises of any potential
requirements to reduce or stop production.
Throughout the year, Mount Isa receives
the majority of wind from the east and
south-east. This means the wind blows
emissions away from town to the west.
During summer and spring, a higher
incidence of westerly winds (blowing
emissions to the east) can mean a busier
period for AQC, resulting in increased
plant down time. Our AQC operators
work hard to ensure our operations have
minimal impact on the community during
this period. As a result of the unfavourable
weather conditions and the acid plant
being offline, actions taken by the AQC
staff resulted in our smelting operations
being fully shut down for 169 hours
during November.
Have questions or concerns?
Contact our Community Feedback
Hotline on 1800 982 982.
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