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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
MOUNT ISA MINES
LIMITED AGREEMENT
AMENDMENT BILL 1997
Queensland
MOUNT ISA MINES LIMITED
AGREEMENT AMENDMENT BILL 1997
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3 Insertion of new s 1A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1A Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 Replacement of s 2 (Ratification of formal agreement) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Ratification of agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2A Ratification of 1997 agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5 Insertion of new s 3A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3A Effect of formal agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6 Amendment of sch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7 Insertion of new sch 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SCHEDULE 2
AGREEMENT VARYING THE MOUNT ISA MINES LIMITED
AGREEMENT
1997
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend the Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Act 1985
s1 4 s4
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
title 2
Short
Clause 1. This Act may be cited as the Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement 3
Amendment Act 1997. 4
amended 5
Act
Clause 2. This Act amends the Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Act 1985. 6
of new s 1A 7
Insertion
Clause 3. After section 1-- 8
insert-- 9
10
`Definitions
`1A. In this Act-- 11
"agreement" means the agreement made 14 February 1985 between the 12
State and Mount Isa Mines Limited, a copy of which is in schedule 1. 13
"formal agreement" means the agreement as varied under an Act.'. 14
of s 2 (Ratification of formal agreement) 15
Replacement
Clause 4. Section 2-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
of agreement 18
`Ratification
`2. The agreement is ratified and approved. 19
of 1997 agreement 20
`Ratification
`2A.(1) The agreement made 28 April 1997 between the State and 21
Mount Isa Mines Limited varying the agreement is ratified and approved. 22
`(2) A copy of the varying agreement is in schedule 2.'. 23
s5 5 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
of new s 3A 1
Insertion
Clause 5. After section 3-- 2
insert-- 3
of formal agreement 4
`Effect
`3A.(1) The formal agreement has the force of law and takes effect as if 5
its provisions were expressly enacted in this Act. 6
`(2) If there is an inconsistency between the formal agreement and 7
another Act or law, the formal agreement prevails to the extent of the 8
inconsistency. 9
`(3) However, if the formal agreement is varied by a further agreement 10
that has been approved by regulation, subsection (2) only applies to an 11
inconsistency between the agreement as approved by regulation and an 12
instrument made under another Act.'. 13
of sch 14
Amendment
Clause 6. Schedule, heading-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
`SCHEDULE 1 17
`MOUNT ISA MINES LIMITED AGREEMENT 18
section 2'. 19
of new sch 2 20
Insertion
Clause 7. After schedule 1-- 21
insert-- 22
s7 6 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
`SCHEDULE 2 1
GREEMENT VARYING THE MOUNT ISA MINES 2
`A
LIMITED AGREEMENT 3
section 2A 4
AGREEMENT VARYING THE MOUNT ISA MINES 5
LIMITED AGREEMENT 6
THIS AGREEMENT is made the 29th day of April 1997 7
BETWEEN: THE STATE OF QUEENSLAND (the "State"); 8
AND: MOUNT ISA MINES LIMITED (A.C.N. 009 661 9
447) a company incorporated in Queensland and whose 10
registered office is at Level 1, 410 Ann Street, Brisbane, 11
Queensland (the "Company"). 12
RECITALS 13
A. The State and the Company are parties to an agreement made on 14
the fourteenth day of February 1985 which was approved and 15
ratified and given the force of law by the Mount Isa Mines 16
Limited Agreement Act 1985 and which is set out in the Schedule 17
to that Act (the "Agreement"). 18
B. WMC Fertilizers Ltd ("WMC") is investigating the feasibility of 19
manufacturing fertiliser products at its phosphate deposit at 20
Phosphate Hill to the south of Mount Isa (the "Project"), which 21
Project is of considerable scale and economic benefit to 22
Queensland. 23
C. The Project incorporates the construction and operation of an acid 24
plant and associated gas cleaning facilities (all the "Acid Plant") 25
by WMC at Mount Isa to convert sulphur dioxide from the 26
s7 7 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
Company's copper smelting operations to sulphuric acid for use 1
in the manufacture of the fertiliser products. 2
D. WMC and the Company have agreed the terms by which the 3
Company will make available to WMC smelter process gases for 4
conversion to sulphuric acid. 5
E. WMC and the Company have agreed that in the event the Acid 6
Plant does not capture smelter process gases made available to 7
WMC for conversion to sulphuric acid, the current procedure of 8
emitting such gases via the copper smelter stack will continue. 9
F. The construction of the Acid Plant, and the substantial reduction 10
in Smelter emissions which will result from its operation, will be 11
a positive step towards achieving the object specified in section 3 12
of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 in that it allows for 13
new and continued development while at the same time reduces 14
the potential for environmental impact. 15
G. The State and the Company have agreed that the current air 16
quality standards will apply to all emissions of smelter process 17
gases which the Acid Plant does not capture. 18
H. The State and the Company have agreed that a formal study be 19
carried out into the environmental impacts of sulphur dioxide 20
emissions under conditions projected to occur when the Acid 21
Plant is in operation. 22
I. The State and the Company wish to vary the Formal Agreement 23
as provided by this agreement. 24
J. This agreement will only take effect in the event that the Acid 25
Plant is constructed. 26
s7 8 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
IT IS AGREED AS FOLLOWS-- 1
CONDITION PRECEDENT 2
It is a condition precedent to this agreement that-- 3
(a) WMC irrevocably commits to construction of the Acid Plant; and 4
(b) all conditions precedent specified in the agreement between 5
WMC and the Company dated 19 December 1996 are satisfied. 6
COMMENCEMENT DATE 7
This agreement commences on the later of-- 8
(a) the date on which all conditions precedent to it are satisfied; and 9
(b) the date of this agreement (the "Commencement Date"). 10
VARIATION OF FORMAL AGREEMENT--DEFINITIONS 11
The Formal Agreement is varied by inserting the following definitions in 12
clause 2 of Part I-- 13
"Administering Authority" has the meaning given to that term in 14
Schedule 4 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994. 15
"Environment" has the meaning given to that term in section 8 of the 16
Environmental Protection Act 1994. 17
"Environmental Duty" has the meaning given to that term in section 36 of 18
the Environmental Protection Act 1994. 19
"Environmental Legislation" means the Environmental Protection Act 20
1994 and any other Act and any subordinate legislation under those 21
Acts which relate to the air emissions from the Smelters. 22
"Formal Agreement" means the Agreement entered into for and on behalf 23
of the State and the Company on the fourteenth day of February 1985, 24
a copy of which is set out in the Schedule to the Mount Isa Mines 25
Limited Agreement Act, as varied from time to time in accordance 26
with this Act. 27
s7 9 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
"Panel Assessment Study" means the study to be commenced within 1
three months of the Commencement Date and to be conducted in 2
accordance with the scope specified in Schedule I by or on behalf or at 3
the direction of the State into the environmental impacts of sulphur 4
dioxide emissions from the Smelters under conditions projected to 5
occur when the Acid Plant is in operation. 6
"Permit" means an environmental authority, order, direction or other 7
requirement under any Environmental Legislation. 8
"Prescribed Requirements" has the meaning given in clause 20 of Part II. 9
"Smelters" means the copper smelter and the lead smelter or either of 10
them, and the Acid Plant, and any associated plant and equipment, 11
located on the Mining Tenements. 12
"Standard Criteria" has the meaning given to that term in Schedule 4 of 13
the Environmental Protection Act 1994. 14
VARIATION OF FORMAL AGREEMENT-- 15
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 16
The Formal Agreement is varied by inserting a new clause 19 in Part II 17
as follows-- 18
19. The Company shall-- 19
(a) develop and implement an integrated environmental management 20
system ("IEMS") which provides for the following functions-- 21
· formulating and implementing an environmental policy 22
· management ethic and leadership 23
· initial environmental review 24
· planning, comprising 25
· identification of environmental aspects and evaluation 26
of impacts 27
· legal requirements 28
· internal performance criteria 29
· environmental objectives 30
s7 10 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
· environmental action plan 1
· implementation and risk management, identifying 2
· resources needs 3
· IEMS integration with existing management elements 4
· environmental awareness and motivation 5
· knowledge, skills and training 6
· documentation 7
· operational control 8
· emergency preparedness and response 9
· measurement and evaluation, comprising 10
· measuring and monitoring 11
· corrective and mitigative action 12
· records and information management 13
· review and correction of deficiencies; 14
(b) lodge with the administering authority on or before 1 July 1997, 15
and at six monthly intervals thereafter until 2 January 1999, a 16
brief report describing the progress in developing and 17
implementing the IEMS; 18
(c) on or before 1 December 1997, have substantially completed the 19
IEMS documentation; 20
(d) on or before 1 December 1997, lodge a detailed description of the 21
IEMS and its documentation with the administering authority for 22
its review and comment; and 23
(e) have due regard to that comment in the finalisation of the IEMS. 24
VARIATION OF FORMAL AGREEMENT--PANEL 25
ASSESSMENT STUDY 26
The Formal Agreement is varied by inserting a new clause 20 in Part II 27
as follows-- 28
20.(1) The Company shall participate in the Panel Assessment Study. 29
s7 11 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
(2) Following the publication of the findings of the Panel Assessment 1
Study, the Company shall consult with the chief executive of the 2
Department of Environment to determine how those findings should be 3
included in the IEMS. 4
(3) In making the determination referred to in subclause (2) of this 5
clause 20, the Standard Criteria must be considered. 6
VARIATION OF FORMAL AGREEMENT--AVAILABILITY 7
OF SMELTER GASES 8
The Formal Agreement is varied by inserting a new clause 21 in Part II 9
as follows-- 10
21. The Company shall make available to the operator of the Acid Plant 11
the gases generated and collected from the copper smelter. 12
VARIATION OF FORMAL AGREEMENT--AIR QUALITY 13
STANDARDS 14
The Formal Agreement is varied by inserting a new clause 22 in Part II 15
as follows-- 16
22.(1) Despite any Environmental Legislation or other law to the 17
contrary-- 18
(a) with respect to air emissions, the only standards, parameters, 19
conditions and requirements which apply to and regulate the 20
environmental effects and emissions from or in connection with 21
the Smelters are those set out in Schedule H (the "Prescribed 22
Requirements"); 23
(b) environmental effects and emissions from or in connection with 24
air emissions from the Smelters and their operation that conform 25
with the Prescribed Requirements are lawful; and 26
(c) the Company shall be taken for all purposes to be the holder of a 27
licence under Chapter 3 Part 4 of the Environmental Protection 28
Act 1994 which is consistent with the provisions and conditions 29
contained in Schedule H. 30
s7 12 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
(2) To the extent that the Prescribed Requirements differ from or are 1
inconsistent with standards, parameters, conditions and requirements 2
contained or prescribed in any Environmental Legislation, the application of 3
that Environmental Legislation to the Smelters, their operation and the 4
Company is modified only to the extent of that difference or inconsistency 5
and, in all other respects (including those mentioned in paragraph (3) of this 6
clause 22), the Environmental Legislation applies with full force and effect. 7
(3) To the extent to which any Environmental Legislation (as modified 8
by paragraph (2) of this clause 22) is not complied with, the provisions of 9
that Environmental Legislation in relation to offences, penalties and 10
remedies for noncompliance with or breaches of that Environmental 11
Legislation (as so modified) shall apply. 12
VARIATION OF FORMAL AGREEMENT--NEW 13
SCHEDULE H 14
The Formal Agreement is varied by inserting a new Schedule H as 15
follows-- 16
SCHEDULE H 17
PART 1--DEFINITIONS 18
"Abnormal operating conditions" means equipment startup, equipment 19
shut down, Smelter and AQC plant or equipment malfunctions which 20
were not reasonably foreseeable, accidents and emergencies. 21
"Unpredictable meteorological conditions" means atmospheric 22
conditions which, although in the opinion of a reasonable AQC 23
System operator would not cause the limits in Clause 1 to be exceeded, 24
in fact have that effect. 25
"AQC system" means the closed loop air quality control system used by 26
the Company to monitor and control ambient air quality in the Mount 27
Isa community. 28
s7 13 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
PART 2--AIR QUALITY 1
1. The Company shall not cause the following ambient air quality limits 2
at any of the air quality monitoring stations identified in Part 3 of this 3
Schedule H to be exceeded-- 4
(a) an annual arithmetic mean sulphur dioxide concentration of 5
80 micrograms per cubic metre; 6
(b) a 24 hour running average sulphur dioxide concentration of 7
365 micrograms per cubic metre; and 8
(c) a 3 hour running average sulphur dioxide concentration of 9
1,300 micrograms per cubic metre. 10
2. It is not a contravention of clause 1 of this Part 2 if the limits specified 11
in that clause are exceeded due in whole or in part to abnormal operating 12
conditions or unpredictable meteorological conditions, provided that the 13
Company has complied with the Environmental Duty in respect of the 14
operation of the AQC System. 15
3. The Company shall maintain high PM10 samplers at the locations 16
identified in Part 4 of this Schedule H and must report annually the mean 17
value of quarterly running average concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead 18
and mercury for all samplers. 19
4. The Company shall not cause the quarterly running average 20
concentration of lead to exceed 1.5ug/m3 at the PM10 high volume 21
sampling sites at the locations identified in Part 4 of this Schedule H. 22
s7 14 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
PART 3--SULPHUR DIOXIDE MONITORING 1
STATIONS 2
The air quality monitoring stations referred to in clause 1 of Part 2 of this 3
Schedule H shall be located as follows-- 4
Monitor Latitude Longitude 5
1 20º41'44" S 139º29'22" E 6
2 20º42'32" S 139º30'30" E 7
3 20º43'44" S 139º30'28" E 8
4 20º44'23" S 139º30'07" E 9
5 20º44'57" S 139º29'20" E 10
6 20º42'47" S 139º29'23" E 11
7 20º43'04" S 139º29'53" E 12
8 20º43'41" S 139º29'35" E 13
9 20º44'07" S 139º29'19" E 14
10 20º44'32" S 139º29'03" E 15
s7 15 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
PART 4--PM10 MONITORING STATIONS 1
The high PM10 samplers referred to in clause 2 of Part 2 of this 2
Schedule H shall be located as follows-- 3
Monitor Latitude Longitude 4
BSD 20º44'08" S 139º29'01" E 5
RSL 20º42'49" S 139º29'14" E 6
Racecourse 20º42'59" S 139º29'56" E 7
Miles St 20º43'07" S 139º29'35" E 8
K. Oval 20º43'52" S 139º29'15" E 9
* Measured using hand-held GPS equipment. 10
VARIATION OF FORMAL AGREEMENT--NEW SCHEDULE I 11
The Formal Agreement is varied by inserting a new Schedule I as 12
follows-- 13
SCHEDULE I 14
SCOPE OF PANEL ASSESSMENT STUDY 15
The scope of the work to be carried out by the Panel Assessment Study 16
is to be determined by the Minister for Environment, but is to include at 17
least the following matters-- 18
(a) current status including site history, smelting processes, air 19
quality control system, sulphur dioxide sources and emission 20
levels; 21
(b) emission control options including world-wide industry practice, 22
technology options, feasibility, legal requirements, impact of 23
control options on waste streams and energy; 24
s7 16 s7
Mount Isa Mines Limited Agreement Amendment
(c) environmental, health and social impacts, including research and 1
monitoring results and community impacts; and 2
(d) community views on the emissions and the effectiveness of the 3
air quality control system. 4
EXECUTED as an agreement by the parties at the date set out at the 5
commencement of this agreement. 6
SIGNED for and on behalf of the 7
}
STATE OF QUEENSLAND by 8
the Hon. Tom Gilmore the Minister 9
..................
for Mines and Energy of the State of 10
Queensland in the presence of: 11
............................. 12
A Justice of the Peace
SIGNED for and on behalf of the 13
}
MOUNT ISA MINES LIMITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '. 14
by David Munro in the presence of: 15
............................ 16
A Justice of the Peace
© State of Queensland 1997
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