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CULLEN VALLEY MINE

BLAST MANAGEMENT PLAN

Coalpac Pty Ltd Castlereagh Highway CULLEN BULLEN 2795 Tel: 07 3054 0810 Fax: 07 3054 0801

Proprietors of Invincible Colliery

and Cullen Valley Mine

Coalpac Pty Ltd

Cullen Valley Mine

Blast Management Plan



Coalpac Pty Ltd

CULLEN VALLEY MINE


Revision History *

Version Revision

Date Reason for Revision Author Authorised by:

0 2005 Cullen Valley Mine BMP Lithgow Coal Company Lithgow Coal Company

1 01/05/2009 BMP Review D Walsh Hansen Bailey

D Munro Hansen Bailey

2 20/10/2009 BMP Coalpac Review N/A T Flynn Coalpac Pty Ltd

3 14/12/2009 DoP Approval N/A C Phillips DoP

4 15/09/2012 BMP Coalpac Review N/A B Eastwood Coalpac Pty Ltd

COPYRIGHT

Coalpac Pty. Ltd 2012

All intellectual property and copyright reserved.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, 1968, no part of this report may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system or adapted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to Coalpac Pty Ltd.

Cullen Valley Mine




Coalpac Pty Ltd

CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 2 1

1.1 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................................................... 2

1.2 BLAST PLAN MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT ................................................................................................................. 2

1.3 DOCUMENT STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................................................... 2

1.4 STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION ................................................................................................................................. 3

POTENTIAL BLAST IMPACTS ............................................................................................................... 5 2

2.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

2.2 BLAST IMPACT CRITERIA ........................................................................................................................................... 5

2.3 BLAST MONITORING ................................................................................................................................................. 5

MANAGEMENT & MITIGATION .............................................................................................................. 7 3

3.1 PRIVATE RESIDENCE BLAST PROTOCOL ..................................................................................................................... 7

3.2 RAIL LINE BLAST PROTOCOL ..................................................................................................................................... 8

3.3 RED SPRINGS ROAD BLAST PROTOCOL ..................................................................................................................... 9

3.4 LIVESTOCK BLAST PROTOCOL ................................................................................................................................... 9

3.5 ABORIGINAL HERITAGE BLAST PROTOCOL ................................................................................................................ 10

ELEVATED BLAST IMPACT RESPONSE PROTOCOL ...................................................................... 11 4

REPORTING & REVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 12 5

5.1 REPORTING ........................................................................................................................................................... 12

5.2 REVIEW ................................................................................................................................................................ 12

RESPONSIBILITIES ............................................................................................................................... 13 6

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 BMP Consent Requirements ............................................................................................. 3

Table 2 Blast Impact Assessment Criteria ...................................................................................... 6

Table 3 Blast Monitoring Measures ................................................................................................ 6

Table 4 Management Measures & Responsibilities ...................................................................... 13

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Site Overview ................................................................................................................... 4

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A Stakeholder Correspondence Appendix B Property Inspection Procedure

Cullen Valley Mine


Last printed 11/09/2012 7:21:00 AM

Original Issue Date: 2005

Version Number - 4 Revision Date – 15/09/12

Author: B Eastwood Page 2 of 14

120911_CVM Blast Mgt Plan



Coalpac Pty Ltd

CULLEN VALLEY MINE


for

Coalpac Pty Limited

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background

Cullen Valley Mine is owned by Coalpac Pty Limited (Coalpac) and is located in the Western Coalfields of NSW near the township of Cullen Bullen, 25 km north west of Lithgow. The operation is generally bound by the Wallerawang - Gwabegar Rail Line to the west and Castlereagh Highway to the east. Ben Bullen State Forest is located generally to the north and east of the operation as shown on Figure 1.

Coalpac has developed this Blast Management Plan (BMP) to ensure that mining operations at Cullen Valley Mine are managed in such a way as to minimise the potential for blasting and vibration impacts to key features surrounding the site. This includes measures for the management of blasting impacts in relation to road and rail infrastructure, private residences, rural properties and an Aboriginal heritage site surrounding the mine.

1.2 Blast Plan Management Requirement

This BMP is required by Schedule 4, Condition 14 of development consent DA 200-5-2003, which is summarised in Table 1.

1.3 Document Structure

This BMP provides a discussion of the measures in place at Cullen Valley Mine for the management of any blasting on site and is generally structured as follows:

Section 2 discusses the potential for blasting impacts as a result of Cullen Valley Mine operations and lists the relevant blast impact assessment criteria as stipulated by DA 200-5-2003;

Section 3 discusses the blast management measures in place at Cullen Valley Mine;

Section 4 provides the procedures to be followed to address any blasting related impacts; and

Section 5 provides the requirements for the reporting of blasting impacts and the ongoing review of this BMP; and

Section 6 summarises the responsibilities of Coalpac personnel as relevant to the management measures provided in this BMP.

Cullen Valley Mine


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1.4 Stakeholder Consultation

In accordance with the requirements of DA 200-5-2003, this BMP has been prepared in consultation with the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), Lithgow City Council and relevant landholders. Previous correspondence in this regard is provided in Appendix A.

Table 1

BMP Consent Requirements

Condition BMP Section

“14. Within 3 months of the date of this consent, the Applicant shall prepare (and then implement) a Blast Management Plan for the development, in consultation with Rail Corporation, Council, and the landowners of the Hillcroft and Forest Lodge properties (see Appendix 3), and to the satisfaction of the Director-General. This plan must:

Appendix A

(a) describe what measures would be implemented to minimise the potential blasting impacts of the development on the Wallerawang-Gwabegar Railway Line, Red Springs Road, and the land on Hillcroft and Forest Lodge properties (see Appendix 3) that may be within 500 metres of any blasting carried out at the development;

3.0

(b) monitor the performance of these measures; and

2.3

(c) describe what procedures would be followed to address any blasting-related impacts.”

4.0

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Coalpac Pty Ltd

POTENTIAL BLAST IMPACTS 2

2.1 Introduction

Blasting activities have occurred since the commencement of mining operations at Cullen Valley Mine. These activities are required as a component of the approved open cut mining operation for the removal of overburden and interburden material to allow the target coal seams to be accessed for extraction.

Blasting at Cullen Valley Mine has the potential to affect various receivers through overpressure and ground vibration impacts. Those receivers with the potential to be impacted directly include adjacent residential receivers, Cullen Valley Mine personnel, livestock and fauna on surrounding lands. The road and rail network surrounding the site and users of this infrastructure may also be impacted by blasting activities, including residential receivers, the ARTC and other operations accessing the rail line such as Baal Bone Colliery.

Cullen Valley Mine operations also have the potential to impact on a known Aboriginal heritage site.

A discussion of the management measures in place to minimise impacts to these features and the relevant stakeholders is provided below in Section 3.

2.2 Blast Impact Criteria

DA 200-5-2003 specifies the blasting criteria for operations at Cullen Valley Mine. These criteria are also stipulated in EPL 10341. Air Blast Overpressure and Ground Vibration criteria are reproduced in Table 2.

2.3 Blast Monitoring

All blasts at Cullen Valley Mine are monitored to determine that the operation remains in compliance with the conditions of DA 200-5-2003. Blast monitoring is also used to determine cases where elevated readings have occurred, so that future blasts can be modified as required to minimise potential impacts.

Monitoring of all blasts will be carried out in accordance with the specifications listed in Table 3 at the locations shown on Figure 1. Parameters recorded for each blast at each monitoring location will include the date, time, PVS, dB(Lin Peak) and wave form trace. Additional temporary monitoring will be undertaken at other locations in the event of concerns raised by receives not already monitored under the BMP.

Cullen Valley Mine


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Coalpac Pty Ltd

Table 2

Blast Impact Assessment Criteria

Airblast Overpressure Limits

Airblast overpressure level dB (Lin peak) Allowable Exceedance

115 5% of the total number of blasts

over 12 month period

120 0%

Ground Vibration Criteria

Peak Vector Sum (mm/s) Allowable Exceedance

5 5% of the total number of blasts

over a 12 month period

10 0%

Note: The airblast overpressure values stated above apply when the measurements are performed with equipment having a lower cut-off frequency of 2Hz or less. If the instrumentation has a higher cut off frequency then a correction of 5dB should be assessed to the measured value. Equipment with a lower cut-off frequency exceeding 10Hz should not be used for the

purpose of measuring airblast overpressure.

Table 3

Blast Monitoring Measures

Parameter Units of

Measure

Frequency Sampling Method Measurement Location

Airblast overpressure

dB(Lin Peak) During every blast AS 2187.2-1993 Not less than 3.5 m from a building or structure

Peak Vector Sum (PVS)

mm/s During every blast AS 2187.2-1993 Not more than 30 m from a building or structure

Cullen Valley Mine


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Coalpac Pty Ltd

MANAGEMENT & MITIGATION 3

This section summarises the blast management and mitigation measures in place at Cullen Valley Mine. Section 3.1 to Section 3.5 provides management protocols for each of the features identified surrounding Cullen Valley Mine that may be impacted by blasting activities.

3.1 Private Residence Blast Protocol

The following management protocol has been implemented at Cullen Valley Mine to control blast impacts during the mining operations and to limit impacts to receivers:

Blast designs are controlled and Maximum Instantaneous Charge (MIC) limited when blasting occurs within 500 m of any residential building or sensitive structures. Higher MIC values may be investigated, where the distance from the blast face to receiver is greater than 500 m and providing the limits in Table 2 can be met;

Meteorological conditions are considered prior to all blasts. Blasting is avoided during adverse weather (i.e. those conditions noted as noise enhancing under Schedule 4, Condition 5 of DA 200-5-2003);

Ground vibration and airblast overpressure from all blasts where trigger levels are reached at the three monitoring sites shown on Figure 1;

Blasting is carried out between the hours of 9 am and 3 pm Monday to Friday inclusive. No blasting is carried out on public holidays or any other time without the written approval of the Office of the Environment and Heritage (OEH);

Prior to blasting within 2 km of any residence, the landowner will be notified that they are entitled to a property inspection. A suitably qualified person will be commissioned to carry out the inspection and provide a report on the condition of any building or structure on the land and recommend measures to mitigate any potential blast impacts. A copy of this inspection report will be provided to the relevant landowner;

Prior to blasting within 500 m of a property, Coalpac will give the owner of the property a minimum of 24 hours notice of the intended blast. This notification will also allow the landowner opportunity to move any sensitive livestock that may be present in the area at the time of the blast away from any potential impacts; and

Any complaints received in relation to blasting are documented. Coalpac provides an appropriate responses to all complaints received, which may include:

o Identifying the blast that resulted in the complaint and whether the complaint related to overpressure or vibration;

o Investigating the blast by reviewing the cause of any elevated results, considering the blast location, prevailing weather conditions and specific procedures; and

o Commencing a review of blast management procedures in place and the implementation of practical measures to minimise impacts in future blasting at Cullen Valley Mine.

Cullen Valley Mine


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Coalpac Pty Ltd

3.2 Rail Line Blast Protocol

3.2.1 Mitigation

A range of management measures will be undertaken when blasting occurs within 100 m of the Wallerawang – Gwabegar Rail Line to provide safe access for rail traffic. Control measures to maintain safe train movements consist primarily of utilising appropriate blasting techniques that reduce the risk of flyrock and control blast vibration to levels unlikely to damage the rail line or associated infrastructure.

The following management measures consider potential for flyrock or vibration damage to structures such as the rail track, road crossing, power lines and signalling and includes:

When blasting within 100 m of the railway line, a blast will not be fired unless: o The railway line is clear of traffic for a minimum distance of 500 m in either direction;

and o No personnel are on railway land within the blast danger zone.

When blasting occurs within 100 m of the rail line and in the vicinity of a cutting or an embankment there is potential for a geotechnical failure. The rail line and each relevant cutting or embankment will therefore be inspected by a person deemed competent by ARTC before and after blasting. Although unlikely, if any geotechnical instability is noticed, the following procedure will be implemented:

o Notification of Mine Manager and the ARTC Track Manager in Bathurst; o Risk Assessment completed on any suspect areas; and o If required, further investigation.

A person deemed competent by ARTC thoroughly inspecting the rail line following each blast to ensure that it has not been damaged or obstructed by debris; and

Blasting, vibration monitoring and control will be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of Australian Standard AS 2187 1993 or its latest version.

Any potential hazards to ARTC personnel from operations at Cullen Valley Mine will be minimised through the prior notification of all blast events and the placement of sentries and signage by Coalpac. These measures will the responsibility of the Mining Supervisor.

3.2.2 Protocol

The Mining Supervisor shall follow the following procedures for blasting that may have the potential to impact on the Wallerawang – Gwabegar Rail Line:

At least 24 hours prior to all planned blasts, the ARTC track foreman will be notified of Coalpac’s intention to blast within 100 metres of the Wallerawang - Gwabegar Rail Line;

Immediately prior to the blast taking place, the ARTC track foreman is to be contacted to confirm his advice that a suitable window of time is still available and that no rail traffic will be using the rail line;

Cullen Valley Mine


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Coalpac Pty Ltd

Sentries will be placed on the rail line either side of the location where the blast will take place; and

When the blast has been completed, a competent person will inspect the site and notify ARTC that the rail line has been returned to service. This person shall record in their shift report the time that the track was returned to service.

3.3 Red Springs Road Blast Protocol

3.3.1 Mitigation

Specific measures will be undertaken when blasting occurs within 200 m of Red Springs Road, which is an unsealed road to the west of Cullen Valley Mine which runs from Portland Road to Ben Bullen (see Figure 1). Red Springs Road provides access from Ben Bullen to small acreages fronting Red Springs Road and provides access from Portland Road at Cullen Bullen to two agricultural properties (Hillcroft and Forest Lodge). The road is used infrequently as a through road from Cullen Bullen to Ben Bullen as the Castlereagh Highway provides a shorter sealed route. As such, the point at which blasting occurs has minimal traffic.

3.3.2 Protocol

When blasting occurs within 200 m of Red Springs Road, the following management measures will be implemented:

A minimum of 24 hours notice will be provided to all landowners who register an interest in being notified about the blasting schedule, with up to a week’s notice of blasting times provided by Coalpac upon landowner request, if possible;

A sentry will be posted to ensure no vehicles are approaching when a blast is fired. The blast will be delayed should a vehicle approach the exclusion zone; and

Immediately after the blast, the sentries will inspect the road to ensure the road is free from any debris.

When blasting occurs adjacent to the Hillcroft or Forest Lodge properties and the owner requests notification of pending blasts, a protocol for notification as discussed in Section 3.1 will be undertaken or as otherwise agreed with the owner.

3.4 Livestock Blast Protocol

To minimise any potential blasting effects on livestock at surrounding private lands from flyrock or ‘startle’ impacts, Coalpac will notify landholders prior to blasting within 500 m of a property at a minimum of 24 hours before each intended blast. This notification will give landholders the opportunity to move any sensitive livestock that may be present in potentially impacted areas before the scheduled time of each blast, where possible.

It is considered that the potential for flyrock impacts to livestock as a result of blasting at Cullen Valley Mine is very low, with any such event representing a worst-case scenario. However, in the event that the movement of livestock by landholders outside of the 500 m zone is not feasible and it is found that flyrock from a blast has resulted in the injury or death of livestock, Coalpac will consult with the relevant landholder(s) to determine appropriate compensation.

Cullen Valley Mine


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3.5 Aboriginal Heritage Blast Protocol

DA-200-5-2003 requires that the peak vector sum from blasting at Cullen Valley Mine does not exceed 2 mm/s at the Aboriginal heritage site C-S-1, a sandstone overhang / rock shelter (see Figure 1).

To minimise any potential impacts to the site, the MIC of all blasts at Cullen Valley Mine is restricted when blasting is undertaken within 150 m of C-S-1.

Additionally, an annual inspection of the site is undertaken to confirm that no damage has occurred due to blasting impacts from Cullen Valley Mine, with results of this inspection reported in the Annual Environmental Management Report.

Cullen Valley Mine


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Coalpac Pty Ltd

ELEVATED BLAST IMPACT RESPONSE PROTOCOL 4

In the event that elevated ground vibration or overpressure is registered or damage as result of blasting occurs, the following measures will be undertaken:

Any exceedance of the blast impact criteria for airblast overpressure or ground vibration will be reported to the Coalpac Environmental Officer;

Details of any complaints received will be recorded in the complaints register;

The particular blast pattern, delay and MIC will be internally investigated to determine any specific problems with the blast;

If the complaint or issue relates to property damage, an inspection by a suitably qualified person will be carried out within 14 days of receiving the complaint in accordance with the EP1.1 Property Inspection Procedure (Appendix B). A copy of this report will be provided to the complainant;

The cause for any blasting related damage will be investigated and subsequent changes to future blast designs implemented as required; and

Rectification of damage caused by blasting carried out as soon as practicable.

In the event that elevated ground vibration or overpressure is detected and no complaints are registered, the same procedures will be followed. Since elevated vibration or overpressure is most likely to be caused by blast design, the primary mitigation technique would be to reduce MIC per delay. Blast design has been refined significantly at Cullen Valley Mine over the life of the mine and elevated levels rarely occur with many blasts to date not triggering monitoring equipment.

Cullen Valley Mine


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Coalpac Pty Ltd

REPORTING & REVIEW 5

5.1 Reporting

Details of blast management measures implemented at Cullen Valley Mine and any specific blast management actions will be reported annually in the Cullen Valley Mine Annual Environmental Management Report (AEMR).

The results of all blast monitoring undertaken will be held on site and reported in the AEMR.

Should any damage to ARTC infrastructure, Red Springs Road, Aboriginal heritage site C-S-1 or private property be detected by Coalpac personnel following a blast event, the Mining Supervisor will immediately notify the relevant party to arrange the implementation of ameliorative procedures, as required under DA 200-5-2003.

5.2 Review

This BMP will be reviewed on at least a five yearly basis to ensure that it remains consistent with operations at Cullen Valley Mine and in accordance with general industry standards and procedures.

This review will consider the need to modify the BMP and the management measures in place at Cullen Valley Mine to ensure that all practicable measures are in place to minimise blast impacts from the site.

Cullen Valley Mine


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Coalpac Pty Ltd

RESPONSIBILITIES 6

Table 4 summarises the management measures discussed in this BMP and provides the relevant responsibilities for each. These responsibilities may be delegated as required.

Table 4

Management Measures & Responsibilities

Ref Control Measure Responsibility Timing

1 All blasts to be designed to meet the consent criteria included in Table 2.

Mining Supervisor Ongoing

2 Meteorological conditions will be considered prior to blasting to avoid adverse weather.


3 All blasts are to be monitored in accordance with the requirements of DA 200-5-2003, or latest equivalent.


4

Prior to blasting commencing within 2 km of any private residence, Coalpac will notify the landholder that they are entitled to a property inspection.

Mine Manager Ongoing

5

Prior to blasting within 500 m of a private property, Coalpac will give the landholder of the property a minimum of 24 hours notice of the intended blast to enable livestock to be moved. If possible, blasting times will be provided by Coalpac up to one week prior to their occurrence, upon landholder request.

Mining Supervisor

Ongoing

6

Ensure appropriate notification and management procedures are followed prior to and following all blasting within 100 m of the Wallerawang – Gwabegar Rail Line.

Mining Supervisor

Ongoing

7

Ensure appropriate notification and management procedures are followed prior to and following all blasting within 200 m of Red Springs Road.

Mining Supervisor

Ongoing

8

All complaints made in relation to blasting impacts will be recorded in the Cullen Valley Mine complaints register and processed accordingly.

Environmental Officer

Ongoing

9

In the unlikely event that flyrock from a blast at Cullen Valley Mine has resulted in the injury or death of livestock of adjacent landholders, Coalpac will consult with the relevant landholder(s) regarding the provision of appropriate compensation.

Mine Manager Ongoing

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Coalpac Pty Ltd

Ref Control Measure Responsibility Timing

10

An internal review of blast pattern, delay and MIC will be undertaken in the event of elevated blasting results, with modifications to future blast design implemented as required.

Mine Manager As required

11

In the event of a complaint regarding property damage being received, an inspection of the property in question will be carried out within 14 days by a suitably qualified person and a report on the inspection prepared.

Mine Manager As required

12

Complete an inspection of Aboriginal heritage site C-S-1 to confirm no damage has occurred due to blast impacts from Cullen Valley Mine.

Environmental Officer Annual

13

Complete review of this BMP to ensure consistency with current operations at Cullen Valley Mine and industry standards and procedures.

Environmental Officer Five Yearly

Cullen Valley Mine




Coalpac Pty Ltd

APPENDIX A

Stakeholder Correspondence

Cullen Valley Mine




Coalpac Pty Ltd

APPENDIX B

Property Inspection Procedure

PROPERTY INSPECTION AUGUST 2012

Last printed

Original Issue Date: August 2012

Version Number – 1 Revision Date – N/A

Review Date 3 Years

Page 1 of 2

EP1.1_120808_Property Inspection Procedure



Coalpac Pty Ltd

EP 1.1 PROPERTY INSPECTION

1 Purpose

To ensure property inspections and reports in response to complaints from the community regarding potential damage from blasting and other mining relating activities are undertaken in a consistent, transparent and independent manner.

2 Scope

This procedure applies to all privately owned Receivers located within close proximity to the Invincible Colliery and Cullen Valley Mine. This procedure applies to baseline property inspection surveys and responding to community complaint regarding possible blast damage.

3 Definitions

Receiver: A person that owns property on privately owned land that is potentially impacted by the Project.

Property Inspection: Assessment of a residence or dwelling to determine if any identified damage has been caused by blasting or other mining related activity

Authorised Person: Is an independent certified Civil Engineer authorised by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DP&I) to undertake property inspections for Coalpac.

4 Actions

Upon the receipt of a complaint from the community/receiver claiming potential property damage due to blasting and/or other mining related activities the following process is to be followed:

Complete a Complaint Notification Form; Notify the Receiver that independent Civil Engineers are engaged to undertake Property

Inspections regarding any claims of property damage; The Receiver has the opportunity to select from the below list of authorised persons;

PROPERTY INSPECTION AUGUST 2012

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Original Issue Date: August 2012

Version Number – 1 Revision Date – N/A

Review Date 3 Years

Page 2 of 2

EP1.1_120808_Property Inspection Procedure



Coalpac Pty Ltd

Table 1 Authorised Persons

Company Authorised Person Location Contact

Barnson Richard Noonan Bathurst 02 68 831 935

CALARE CIVIL Chris Beuzeville Bathurst

02 6332 3343 John Armitage

GHD Zahir Dewji Orange

02 63 936 400 Roopal Ratnala

SLR Heggies Dick Godson Sydney 02 94 278 100

Arrange a suitable date and time that is convenient for the Receiver to undertake the Property Inspection;

Engage the authorised person selected by the Receiver; Provide a copy of the final inspection report to the Receiver.

Coalpac is committed to abide by the feasible and reasonable findings of the Property Inspection report. As such, Coalpac is committed to rectifying any damage to privately owned property, identified within the Property Inspection report that is shown to have been caused by blasting or other mining related activities.

5 Responsibilities

Environmental Manager

Complete Complaint Notification Form; Coordinate the property inspection process with the Receiver and the Authorised Person; Forward finalised report to Receiver; Provide any follow up information and discussion with Receiver as required in accordance

with the findings of the inspection report.

6 Attachments

Nil

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