Development, Permitting and Environmental Approvals
Development & Permitting
KGL has now completed all major development approvals, having executed a Native Title Agreement in 2016, environmental approval recommended in October 2019, and the original Jervois Mining Management Plan approved by the NT Government in January 2021.
Environmental Approvals
KGL submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Northern Territory Government in 2013. The purpose of an NOI is to outline a proposed project and provide sufficient information for the NT Environment Protection Authority to determine whether a project requires formal assessment and if so, the appropriate level of assessment.
Following numerous Project developments and after additional mineralised zones were identified, a notice of alteration to the Project was submitted to the Northern Territory Government in January 2017.
In 2014, the NT Environment Protection Authority determined that the assessment level for the Jervois Copper Project was an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). As part of the development of the EIS, several studies were undertaken:
- Biodiversity
- Surface and groundwater
- Historic and cultural heritage
- Traffic and transport
- Geochemistry
- Air and Noise
- Human health and safety
- Social and economic
KGL lodged its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in October 2018, and completed a supplementary EIS in July 2019 following the public notification period.
The Northern Territory Environmental Protection Authority recommended Government approval of the Jervois Copper Project in October 2019.
The Minister for Mining and Industry granted the Authorisation for the Project in December 2020.
Timeline Overview
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Environmental Assessments
View the Jervois Project’s environmental assessments.
Mining Management Plans
This project builds upon a unique history of mining in the area and has the potential to make a positive economic impact to the region over the next decade. It has a planned mine life of about 10 years, producing up to 135,000 (dry) tonnes of 27% copper concentrate per year.
The Project will create approximately 310 jobs during construction and 270 operational jobs during peak production. KGL Resources is committed to providing jobs to locals where possible, and will develop local and indigenous participation plans with more detail on how this will be achieved.
The ore will be mined by both open pit and underground mining methods and processed on site. The ore concentrate will be transported in conventional road trains by road for processing off site.
The Project will include stockpiles, a processing plant, tailings storage facilities, workshops, laydown areas, offices, operational buildings, light vehicle and heavy vehicle roads, a hybrid power plant and power reticulation system, water storage and supply infrastructure and an accommodation village.
The Project area has been used for mining and exploration since 1929 with a copper mine operating in the area periodically from 1963 to 1983. Historic mining disturbance includes a tailings storage facility, waste rock dumps, decommissioned processing plants, pits, prospecting trenches, run of mine stockpiles, water storages, evaporation ponds, an exploration camp, and roads and tracks.
A full history of mining at Jervois can be viewed here.
Key Highlights
Ore Reserve – 2025
Re-designed processing facility – physical parameters
- Proposed processing throughput increase by 25% to 2.0 Mtpa.
- Steady state average annual production of c.30kt Cu, 1,015,000 oz Ag and 8.5 koz Au.
- Processing inventory totals 16.6Mt of ore which is sourced from open-cut (6.9Mt) and underground (9.7Mt). This processed material is sourced from Proven and Probable Reserves of 12.7Mt and 3.9Mt of Inferred Resources (23.5%).
- Initial life of 10.4 years (mining); 10 years (processing).
Value improvement opportunities
- Processing earlier, those open pit ores currently scheduled for stockpile.
- Topping up the mill feed schedule projected after year 4.
Next Steps
Prior to FID, the KGL Board will prioritise the following work programs:-
- Undertake competitive tender for key contracts including open cut and underground mining, EPC, and ongoing operations for the processing plant;
- Continue to identify opportunities to improve the project value and to reduce financing and operational risks in collaboration with the preferred tenderers; and
- Continue exploration to grow the high-grade resource focusing on resources and reserves within the known mineral deposits and in prospective parts of the Jervois tenements with the goal of increasing the mine life and upgrading the existing Mineral Resources and Reserves. The potential to add considerable value by extending the mine life justifies a focused exploration program.