core sector communique

 

MINISTER FARAGHER TOURS KOOLANOOKA PROJECT

 

Environment Minister Donna Faragher today toured Sinosteel Midwest Corporation’s Koolanooka Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) Project, 160km south east of Geraldton.

 

The tour was part of an event organised by the Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance (GIOA) to launch a cooperative environmental research project into feral goats in the Mid West region. The study will be funded by GIOA members, including Sinosteel Midwest.

 

According to Sinosteel Midwest Chief Operating Officer Giulio Casello, the launch of the cooperative study provided the ideal opportunity to showcase some of the things the company is doing to meet and exceed their environmental responsibilities at its iron ore mine site at Koolanooka.

 

“Sinosteel Midwest has committed to several measures for the Koolanooka/Blue Hills Project which will contribute both directly and indirectly to offset environmental impacts within project areas,” Mr Casello said.

 

“A parcel of land within the Koolanooka Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) of approximately 2,500ha will be fenced and managed to restrict intrusion of sheep and feral goats. At Blue Hills, the company will relinquish 5,270ha of tenements to directly offset the impacts of mining within the area.

 

“We have also committed $100,000 to the DEC for conservation management initiatives such as weed eradication, fencing for goat control, and fire and access management.

 

“These offsets are part of our wider environmental management program which includes proactive Malleefowl conservation measures, studies into reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and a rehabilitation and restoration plan incorporating a strategic partnership with the Botanic Garden and Parks Authority (BGPA), based in Kings Park in Perth,” Mr Casello said.  

 

The GIOA-funded cooperative study which was today launched by Minister Faragher in Morawa involves the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), Murdoch and Curtin universities and property owners in the region. This research will assess how native vegetation responds to goat removal and will provide land managers with a sustainable approach to managing the goat populations in the Mid West. Feral goats are considered to be the single greatest threat to native vegetation in the Mid West region of Western Australia. They have a major destructive influence on the ecosystem as a result of over grazing.