Tampakan Copper Gold Project

Mine Water Management: Planning for Industry

Best Practices

Conference on Open Cut Mine Planning and Operational Excellence

22-23 February 2012
Scope of the Presentation

• Tampakan Copper - Gold Project Brief

− Description of the Mine Project
− Key Mine Components
• The Mine Water Management Plan
‒ Open Pit
‒ Tailings Storage Facility
‒ Waste Rock Storage Facility
‒ Fresh Water Dam
• Summary
The Tampakan Copper-Gold Project
Project Brief
Tampakan Copper-Gold Project

• With 15M tonnes of contained copper and 17.9M

ounces of gold, the Tampakan Copper-Gold
Project is one of the largest in the world
• Average +1% per year to the nation’s GDP for 20
years, it represents an unprecedented opportunity
for Mindanao and the country
• Potential to be a key driver of regional growth and
local development
• As the Government’s FTAA contractor, it is
demonstrating industry leading sustainable
development standards
• The success of a potential USD5.9 billion
investment will be a key indicator for international
investor confidence
 Current Status of the Project

• Two key requirements before proceeding to construction:

1. Secure all necessary critical approvals:
a. Environmental Compliance Certificates
b. Local government endorsements
c. Approval of Declaration of Mine Feasibility
d. Free and Prior Informed Consent
e. Shareholder approval
2. Securing all Project lands, including:
a. Securing control of all private lands
b. Resettlement of ~ 1,000 households
Project proponents
Fourth largest global copper
producer

World’s largest exporter of

thermal coal and significant
producer of hard coking and
semi-soft coal

Fifth largest global nickel producer

and one of the world’s largest
producers of cobalt

World’s largest producer of

ferrochrome and leading producer
of primary vanadium

One of the world's largest miners and

producers of zinc; significant
producer of lead

Geographic and commodity diversification, entrepreneurial culture and devolved

business model supports operational performance
Proposed Project location

Proposed power
station, port and
filter plant

Proposed
transmission
Proposed final and pipeline
mine area corridor
Project Mine Layout
The Tampakan Copper-Gold Project
Key Mine Components
The Mine Project

• Open-pit copper-gold mine producing copper-gold concentrate

• Estimated ore resource of approx 2.96 Bt at 0.2% Cu cut-off grade;
• 15M tonnes Cu at 0.51% at cut-off grade and 17.9M ounces of Au
at 0.19 gm/ton
• Peak ore processing rate of 66 Mtpa
• Proposed mine tenement area of 9,605 ha
• Mine life in the order of 17 yrs + 3 yrs construction
• Mine construction scheduled to commence in 2012
• Concentrate production scheduled to commence in 2016
Open-pit

• Progressive expansion over the

life of the mine
• Ultimate footprint of approximately
500 ha (3.1 km x 2.1 km)
• Final maximum depth
approximately 800 m
• Includes in-pit waste rock storage
facility in later stages of mine life
Waste Rock Storage Facility

• Capacity to store 1.35 billion tons of

waste rock
• Final maximum height above natural
surface approximately 300 m
• Final surface area approximately 500 ha
• Overall slope batters will generally be 18
degrees
• Crest and benches will have slopes of
1% - 5% to allow for surface drainage
3D Layout (Year 20) – West
WRSF cross section

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Tailings Storage Facility

• Capacity to store 1.1 billion tons of

tailings and 250 million tons of high
PAF waste rock
• Staged embankment raising over the
life of the mine
• Final embankment height
approximately 280 m
• Final crest length approximately 2.1
km
• Final surface area approximately
1,000 ha
 Fresh Water Dam

• Total fresh water storage capacity 215 Mm3

• Staged embankment raising in conjunction
with tailings storage facility (TSF)
embankment raising to maintain isolation of
the TSF impoundment area from upstream
catchment
• Final embankment height reached in Year
6 approximately 150 m
• Final embankment crest length
approximately 0.8 km
• Final surface area approximately 500 ha
• Designed to manage a 1:1000 year flood
3D Layout (Year 20) - TSF and FWD

3D Layout (Year 20) - East

TSF – FWD Staged Development
Cross Sections

• Not to scale – Conceptual illustration only

The Tampakan Copper-Gold Project
Mine Water Management Plan
 Climate and Water Baseline
Assessments

Baseline monitoring of climate data

‒ 6 fully automatic weather stations
‒ 12 automatic rainfall gauges
Baseline monitoring of stream flows
‒ 12 automatic stream flow stations
‒ Flow measurement during water quality sampling
Baseline monitoring of water quality
‒ 31 streams regularly sampled
‒ 16 groundwater sampling sites
‒ Water samples analysed at reputable local and
international laboratories (QA/QC protocols)
 Technical Studies Undertaken

• Modelling of rainfall intensities and durations

• Surface water flow modelling
– Catchment yield model
– Rainfall/runoff model
– Flood model
• Groundwater flow models
– Water level draw downs
– Pit dewatering requirements
– Contaminant flow directions
• Final pit water balance model
– Prediction of final/stable water levels
– Prediction of pit water quality
Tampakan Copper Gold Project
The mine water management system of the project has been
formulated to achieve the following objectives:
• Provision of compensating flows to the headwater catchments that
encompass the proposed open pit;
• Minimization of the creation of acid rock drainage;
• Minimization of the off-site discharge of sediment; and
• Assurance that water discharged from site, to the limit of the 90 day,
1,000 year Average Recurrance Interval (ARI) wet event, meets the
adopted site discharge water quality standards.

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 Tampakan Copper Gold Project
The mine water management system of the project has been
formulated to achieve the following objectives:
• Compliance with statutory and the proponent’s corporate
sustainability requirements;
• Minimization of dirty (contact) water generation;
• Maximization of fresh (non-contact) water diversion;
• Provision of a high level of certainty in the containment of dirty water
including the tailings storage system;
• Provision of a low risk water supply for mining operations;
• Provision of managed surface water releases to downstream water
users to replicate natural pre-mine flow
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 Key water facilities TSF Water
Treatment Plant

Seepage
Collection
Dam
Seepage
Collection Dams
Diversion Ditch &
Riparian Release

Mine Pit Water

FWD Flood
Treatment Plant
Spillway

Drainage Tunnel Water

Treatment Plant
Water Management Strategy
TSF and FWD

• Maintaining enough water in the FWD pond to provide fresh

water for mine site use and for riparian releases to the river
downstream of the TSF.
• Minimizing the upstream catchment and provide ditches to
divert non-contact water away from the TSF.
• Maintaining enough water in the TSF and the FWD ponds for
dry season concentrator use.
• Maintaining enough water in the TSF pond for saturation of acid
producing tailings and waste rock.
• Reclaiming concentrator water from the TSF pond.

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Water Management Strategy
TSF and FWD
• Treating excess water in the TSF pond and releasing to the
river downstream.
• Intercepting seepage water from the TSF at the seepage
recovery dams and pumping back to the TSF pond.
• Storing floods up to the 1000 year return period event in the
FWD pond and releasing to the river downstream of the TSF
seepage recovery dam at a controlled rate via the low level
outlet (LLO) and diversion ditch. Floods in excess of 1000 year
event would be released via the FWD operating spillways.
• Store floods up to a 1000 year return period event in the TSF
pond. Floods in excess of 1000 year event would be released
to the river via the TSF operating spillways.
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TSF Seepage
Control
Grout Cut-off
Walls

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TSF Seepage Control
Potential Seepage Path Without Control
Seepage Control with Grout Cut-off Walls
TSF Seepage Control

Seepage Control with Grout Cut-off Walls

Water Management Strategy
WRSF
• Minimize upstream catchment and provide perimeter ditches to
divert non-contact water away from the WRSF.
• Minimize aerial extent of PAF material and maximize
progressive covering with NAF material.
• Collect contact water at the north and east seepage collection
dam for treatment and/or distribution to the TSF or
concentrator. Storage capacity at the two dams would be the
1:1000 year return period flood.
• Separate contact NAF water from contact PAF water where
possible to help reduce water treatment requirements.
• In closed areas, direct contact water from final cover to non-
contact water diversion. 30
WRSF Seepage Control

WRSF Underdrains and Seepage Collection Dam

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Water Management Strategy
Open Pit

• For efficiency, runoff waters from the open pit would be

pumped to either the concentrator or the TSF.
• Depressurization of the open pit walls, deemed necessary
to promote safe mining conditions and management of
groundwater inflows, will be undertaken through the use of
a mine drainage tunnel and associated drainage gallery.
• Post-mine operation of the mine drainage tunnel to maintain
level of the final void water pond

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Open Pit Seepage Control

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Cross Section of Mine Drainage Tunnel

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The Tampakan Copper-Gold Project
Summary
Mine Water Management

Summary:
• Ensure downstream water supply availability is not
adversely impacted (groundwater and surface water)
• Prevent the contamination of downstream groundwater and
surface water
• Ensure a reliable water supply for mining operations

SMI is committed to developing the Tampakan Project in

line with leading environmental and industry best
practices and in partnership with our stakeholders.
End