The WIM 100 mineral sands project or Wimmera Project is a proposed zircon and rare earth quarry located south-west of Horsham in Victoria. A requirement of project approval is the preparation of an Environment Effects Statement (EES) under the Environment Effects Act 1978 (EES Act).
Our natural heritage team has completed extensive ecological and aquatic investigations, and have prepared our technical report which will form part of the EES which will be advertised in the second half of 2020. Our specialist ecological consultants undertook the following:
- Vegetation mapping and habitat hectare assessments (including scattered tree and large tree assessments) in accordance with the Victorian Guidelines for the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation (the Guidelines).
- Detailed aquatic surveys to determine the presence, or otherwise, of threatened fish and invertebrate populations.
- Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem assessment.
- Targeted surveys for threatened species and ecological communities listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act), and/or the Victorian Department of Environment Land Water and Planning's (DELWP's) Threatened Species Advisory Lists.
- Detailed aquatic surveys to determine the presence, or otherwise, of threatened fish and invertebrate populations.
- Ecological Risk Assessment to address the key ecological considerations outlined with the EES Terms of Reference.
- Detailed biodiversity offset investigations under the EPBC Act and under the State 'Guidelines'.
Further Information
For further information regarding the project, ecological survey and assessments, or aquatic ecology, please contact our natural heritage team on 1300 839 325. Alternatively, for further information on the project please visit Illuka's website - click here.