Independent monitor for the McArthur River Mine
In 2006, the McArthur River Mine transitioned its operations from underground to open cut pit mining.
A condition of the approval was the appointment of an independent environmental monitor for the life of the mine.
The independent monitoring assessment conditions are included in authorisation 0059 under the Mining Management Act 2001. They will also be part of corresponding deemed licences in effect as of 1 July 2022 under the Environment Protection Act 2019.
Read the independent monitoring assessment conditions PDF (740.0 KB) in the authorisation issued in 2006. The original conditions comprise schedule C of authorisation 0059, which is available on the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade website.
The independent monitor represents an essential commitment of the Northern Territory (NT) Government to the community for independent oversight of environmental management and monitoring by:
- McArthur River Mining Pty Ltd (MRM) as the operator and
- the department as the regulator.
For more information about the McArthur River Mine, go to the Glencore website.
Role of the independent monitor
The role of the independent monitor is to provide an independent assessment of the environmental performance of the McArthur River Mine by reviewing the activities of the:
- mine operator - MRM
- mine regulator - Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security.
In December 2019, Advisian Pty Ltd was appointed the independent monitor.
Advisian (now Worley Consulting) is part of the Worley Group and operates as an environmental consultancy with international standing.
For more information, go to the Advisian website.
Role of MRM and the department
It is a requirement of the independent monitoring assessment conditions that MRM and the department:
- cooperate with the independent monitor
- provide all necessary information and documents to the independent monitor
- provide and fund access by the independent monitor to McArthur River Mine and departmental sites
- enable the independent monitor to carry out its assessment of environmental performance.
Scope of the independent monitor
The independent monitor’s services include:
- environmental performance auditing for the period starting April 2018 to ensure continuous scrutiny of both the operator and the regulator
- assessment of delivery against recommendations made by the NT Environmental Protection Agency (NT EPA).
The independent monitor’s environmental performance assessment and audit is intended to provide transparency to the community regarding the:
- actions the regulator and the operator undertake to maintain continuous improvement in the environmental performance of McArthur River Mine and
- achievement of the overarching environmental objective arising from the NT EPA assessment of the Overburden Management Project - protecting the health of McArthur River from mine-related impacts at all times.
A key function of the independent monitor relates to engagement with the Borroloola community to get feedback regarding matters of interest to the community in relation to the operation of McArthur River Mine.
Community feedback informs the preparation of a culturally appropriate non-technical summary report - the Annual Report Card.
Reports and documents
View the reports and documents.
Appointment of the independent monitor
- Appointment to the role of independent monitor occurs following a public call for tenders under NT Government procurement processes.
- Environmental Earth Sciences VIC acted as the independent monitor of the McArthur River Mine for the first 5 years.
- ERIAS Group Pty Ltd was the independent monitor for a 5-year period until December 2019.
- Advisian Pty Ltd commenced a 3-year contract as independent monitor in December 2019 with an option to extend service delivery to 2026.
- In September 2022, Advisian (now Worley Consulting) was confirmed as the independent monitor for 3 years.
Contact
If you have any questions, contact the mining division.