At our Prominent Hill operation, mineral concentrates leave the site via a combination of road and rail routes to our customers. Concentrates are transported directly to international customers via the Adelaide to Darwin railway and the Port of Darwin. Concentrates are also transported by road to local customers. After leaving our process plants, the most significant hazard is loss of containment of these concentrates in the form of spillage or loss as dust.
The Commonwealth departments of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government are responsible for maintaining the Australian Dangerous Goods Code. The Australian Dangerous Goods Code (ADG) is closely aligned with international requirements for the land transport of dangerous goods, in particular the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods – Model Regulations. In December 2009, concentrate from Prominent Hill was classified as a Dangerous Good Class 9 – UN 3077 Environmentally Hazardous Substance.
For these reasons, every effort is made to ensure that road and rail transport is conducted by reliable and reputable carriers with appropriate track records and contingency plans are in place in case of spillage.
The revised classification will result in some changes to transport requirements and we have been working closely with SafeWork South Australia in relation to compliance requirements. Vehicles, drivers and placarding needs relating to road and rail transport are being addressed and a risk assessment completed.
Prominent Hill ore and concentrate contains low levels of uranium. Radiation levels are below regulatory limits. Levels are monitored under a radiation management plan to ensure there is no risk to the workforce or the public at any stage of the production or transport process.
There were no reported incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes related to the safety and health impacts of our products, information and labelling, breaches of customer privacy, losses of customer data or marketing communications during the reporting period.
All sales contracts for OZ Minerals’ products contain agreed levels of chemical specifications, including maximum limitations for any potential deleterious elements that may be contained in or derived from the ore or production processes. Monitoring and testing regimes are maintained to ensure adherence to all of these contractual commitments. This process of consultation and contracting assists us to prevent issues in downstream smelting or refining of OZ Minerals’ products.
In addition, all customers are provided with Material Safety Data Sheets, which describe safety, health or environmental hazards associated with our products.
