资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Supervising Scientist’s Overview

2018-19 was another significant year for the Supervising Scientist Branch (SSB). Rehabilitation work at the Ranger mine is gathering pace, as are the research and supervision programs which support it. Our comprehensive monitoring programs were completed successfully and continue to show that the people and environment surrounding Ranger mine remain protected from the effects of uranium mining.

Our focus on the development and implementation of new monitoring technologies continued throughout the year, improving both the safety and efficiency of our activities. Increasing numbers of crocodiles mean that many of our previous monitoring activities now present an unacceptable risk to staff. New techniques are required which allow us to continue this important work, but also ensure the safety of our people.

• Fish videography is now well established in channel billabongs, and is being adapted to shallow seasonal billabongs to replace our previous pop-netting program in combination with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based vegetation surveys.
• The Branch now has both airborne and ground-based 3D laser scanning (LiDAR) capability allowing vegetation surveys to be conducted over large areas in a fraction of the time it would previously have taken.
• Our macro-invertebrate genomics database continues to expand, and should allow for genomic based surveys to commence in about 12 months’ time. This will eventually eliminate the requirement for the very time intensive manual sorting and identification of macro-invertebrate samples. Additionally, this information will be made available to inform other monitoring programs across northern Australia.

We have completed a significant amount of planning and re-alignment of the Branch over recent years to better coordinate our oversight of the Ranger mine rehabilitation project and manage our scientific research. Our revised research Key Knowledge Needs (KKNs), which represent the additional information required to successfully rehabilitate the Ranger mine, have been finalised, agreed and adopted by Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) and endorsed by the independent Alligator Rivers Region Technical Committee. A detailed project schedule to address the KKNs has been established, aligned with the Ranger rehabilitation schedule and is being managed through a purpose-built project management system. The SSB and ERA teams are working closely on this collaborative research program to ensure that high quality, fit-for-purpose scientific information is available at the required time to allow its incorporation into rehabilitation planning and activities.

The public release of the Ranger Mine Closure Plan (RMCP) on 5 June 2018 was a key step in the rehabilitation process and the trigger for a detailed review by the SSB.  We published a detailed assessment of the RMCP on 11 September 2018 which utilised the KKNs as the basis for capturing the information still required to inform rehabilitation. ERA will publish an updated version of the RMCP addressing this feedback later in 2019. In addition to the RMCP, ERA continues to seek specific approval for key rehabilitation activities. During the year SSB reviewed and endorsed applications from ERA for the continuation of backfill of Pit 1 and a revised method of tailings deposition in Pit 3.

In addition to our work on Ranger, SSB continues to provide technical advice to the Department in support of assessments under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and undertakes a range of scientific and technical engagements both within Australia and internationally. Internally, we have commenced planning the future beyond the major rehabilitation works at Ranger mine and I am excited that the Branch is ideally place to assist the Department with a range of existing and emerging issues, both within the Alligator Rivers Region and nationally.

Once again I must thank the staff of the SSB for their dedication and hard work over 2018-19. It is a privilege to work with such an amazing group of people, and of particular note is the award of Fulbright scholarship to Dr Renee Bartolo, head of our Ecosystem Restoration and Landform Team. This award provides international recognition, at the highest level, of the innovative and world-leading work being undertaken at SSB, and in particular by Dr Bartolo’s team. It is due to the efforts and unwavering enthusiasm of all SSB staff that we are now in such a strong position to fulfil our role in ensuring the long-term protection of the environment through the successful rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine.

Keith Tayler
Supervising Scientist