Bulletin Resources has announced that its Native Vegetation Clearing Permit (NVCP) permit application for its Ravensthorpe lithium project has been denied by the Western Australian Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS).
Bulletin Resources said that it does not agree with the DEMIRS decision and intends to appeal it with the Western Australian Office of the Appeals Convenor.
The Appeals Convenor considers appeals in the context of the formal requirements of the Environmental Protection Act, including the clearing principles in Schedule 5 of the Act, relevant planning instruments and any other matters considered relevant. On completing the investigation of an appeal, the Appeals Convenor will provide a report to the Minister, whose decision is final and is not subject to appeal.
As part of the regulatory process, Bulletin Resources requires a Native Vegetation Clearing Permit (NVCP) to clear vegetation and allow access for tracks and drill pads.
DEMIRS’ reasons for refusing to grant the NVCP are based on the principle that native vegetation should not be cleared if the clearing of the vegetation is likely to significantly impact biodiversity, fauna habitats, remnant native vegetation, or conservation areas.
Bulletin Resources said that it provided DEMIRS independent environmental advice supported by on-ground surveys indicating that the works would be low impact and either not at variance or unlikely to be at variance to the Environmental Protection (EP) Act clearing principles, upon which the NVCP is determined.
Bulletin Resources refutes that the clearing would likely cause significant impact to biodiversity, fauna habitats, remnant native vegetation, or conservation areas and stated that DEMIRS has not appropriately considered Bulletin Resources’ avoidance, mitigation and rehabilitation measures, nor taken the best interests of the community or the environment into account.
Bulletin Resources said that the assessments were supported by the decision of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) not to assess the drilling proposal – which occurs when the EPA determines that the likely effect on the environment is not significant enough to warrant assessment by the EPA.
Bulletin Resources’ Ravensthorpe lithium project hosts outcropping spodumene bearing pegmatites and initial drilling of these pegmatites is proposed to determine their economic importance, if any.
Whilst the pegmatites are located within the Cocanarup Timber Reserve, DEMIRS provided consent to explore within the Timber Reserve within tenement conditions. Drilling and other exploration occurred within the Timber Reserve in 2017.
Bulletin Resources said that it has completed a significant body of work to reduce impacts of the proposal through avoidance, mitigation and rehabilitation in consultation with the community and Regulators including the EPA.
