the proposed alloystream manganese project at metalloys,...

AlloyStream Manganese Plant - Background Information Document © Cymbian Enviro – Social Consulting Services August 2007 1

The proposed AlloyStream Manganese Project at

Metalloys, Samancor Meyerton Works.

Reference Number: GAUT 002/07-08/N0553

Aim of the Project The proponent applying for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) authorisation is Samancor

Manganese (Pty) Ltd (Metalloys). Samancor Manganese (Pty) Ltd in conjunction with Exxaro Resources (Pty) Ltd have formed a joint venture (AlloyStream Manganese Joint Venture) in order to construct and

operate an AlloyStreamTM technology furnace to produce manganese alloy commercially.

The AlloyStream Manganese Plant will be an 8.5 MVA gas / induction furnace that will produce

manganese alloy. In terms of the National Environmental Management Act (No 107 of 1998) Regulation

No. R. 386 & 387 (21 April 2006) and through consultation with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (GDACE) the project requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

to obtain environmental authorisation.

Cymbian Enviro-Social Consulting Services have been appointed as the independent

environmental consultant, to manage the Environmental Authorisation Process. This

process includes the consultation with parties

that may be affected by, or have an interest,

in the project.

Purpose of this document:

� Provide Background Information regarding

the project.

� Provide an outline of the process being

followed in conducting the Environmental

Impact Assessment (EIA) Procedure.

� Inform members of the public of their

rights and responsibilities regarding participation in certain parts of the EIA

Procedure.

� Inform the public of the objective evidence surrounding the perceived impacts of the

proposed project.

� Assist the public to formulate their

comments in a manner that will ensure

that they can be afforded due attention in certain parts of the EIA procedure.

Kindly complete the attached form and return

it to the relevant Cymbian Enviro-Social Consulting Services representative before the

30th September 2007:

Cymbian Enviro-Social Consulting

Services

Konrad Kruger

P.O. Box 1676, Cresta, 2118 Johannesburg, South Africa

Tel : (011) 678 6680 Fax : 086 656 3883

E-mail : [email protected]

Background Information

Location

Metalloys, Samancor Meyerton Works, is located near the town of Meyerton in the Vaal

Triangle, approximately 70km south of the

Johannesburg Central Business District.

The proposed AlloyStream Manganese Plant

will be located within the Samancor Meyerton

Works, immediately west of the R59. The plant could be located on either Portion 4, 15,

63 or 74 of the farm Kookfontein 545 IQ and

can be reached from the R551, off the R59.

The Samancor Meyerton Works falls within the

jurisdiction of the Midvaal Local Municipality, which forms part of the greater Sedibeng

District Municipality. For the location of Samancor Meyerton Works, including the

alternative furnace locations, refer to Figure 2.

Existing Land Use

The current land use of the Samancor

Meyerton Works is heavy industrial.

Surrounding Land Uses

The land use surrounding Samancor Meyerton Works is industrial, agricultural and residential.

Alternative Locations

As part of the Scoping and EIA investigations five site alternatives are being investigated for

the proposed plant. Please refer to Figure 2 for a locality map of the different site

alternatives.


What does the project entail?

The project will entail the construction and operation of the AlloyStream Manganese Plant

and will comprise of:

� Raw Materials Handling equipment.

� An 8.5 MVA gas / induction furnace.

� A delivery system, including:

o Metal & Slag handling.

o Off-Gas handling system.

o Secondary dust and fume handling

system.

� Service equipment, such as:

o Cooling water system.

o Electrical supply system.

o Control system.

Process overview

The AlloyStream Manganese Plant utilises the AlloyStream™ pyro-metallurgical technology to

produce manganese alloy from manganese ore fines. AlloyStream is not competing with the

existing manganese alloy smelting technology,

but rather complements these plants. It is expected to make a notable contribution towards

the improved utilisation of South Africa’s mineral wealth by allowing the beneficiation of ores that

previously had limited use in traditional smelting technologies.

The feed materials for the AlloyStream process

comprise of ore, coal and flux. The feed material is fed to the furnace similar to the

method used by the established manganese alloy submerged arc furnace industry. The main

difference between AlloyStream and other technologies is that AlloyStream can process

previously unused resources.

Inside the furnace the ore, coal and flux is

heated. Carbon from the coal reacts with the iron and manganese oxides to form the

manganese alloy. The gangue in the feed

material melts to form liquid slag. Metal and

slag is tapped from the furnace while gas and

dust is continuously extracted and cleaned with

an off-gas bag filter.

Heat for this high temperature process is

supplied as a combination of electrical energy and chemical energy. Process gasses are

combusted inside the furnace to optimise energy

utilisation and to ensure that product gas from

the process has the minimum impact on the

environment.

Process to be followed

In terms of Government Notice Regulation 387

of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Regulations (2006), promulgated in terms of Section 24(5) of the National Environmental

Management Act (No. 107 of 1998), the

proposed development is subject to a Scoping

and EIA Procedure, which entails the following:

� Public Participation Process as described in

Regulation 56 of the EIA Regulations, 2006;

� Identification of potential environmental

impacts;

� Compilation of a Scoping Report in

accordance with Regulation 29 of the EIA

Regulations, 2006;

� Compilation of an Environmental Impact

Assessment Report in accordance with

Regulation 32 of the EIA Regulations,

2006;

� Undertaking of Specialist Studies Report in

accordance with Regulation 33 of the EIA

Regulations, 2006; and

� The compilation of an Environmental

Management Plan (EMP) in accordance

with Regulation 34 of the EIA Regulations,

2006.

The final EIA report will include details on all specialist studies undertaken. This report will

provide sufficient information to facilitate

decision-making by the designated Authority.

Process flow diagram of the furnace is shown in Figure 1.


Authority Pre-consultation

A pre-consultation meeting will be arranged with all relevant authorities. The purpose of the

meeting will be to communicate the nature of the project, and obtain guidance from

Authorities in terms of the project process and

deliverables.

Stakeholder Engagement Initiation Phase

During this phase stakeholder engagement activities will commence. This will include the

compilation of necessary Background

Information Documents (BID’s), advertisements,

site notices, and notification letters.

The issues raised during this phase will be collated into a stakeholder database and an

issues report will be generated.

Scoping Phase

The Scoping Phase brings together the issues

received during stakeholder engagement, and the planning phases of the Environment Impact

Assessment. During this phase all issues and comments identified are evaluated, and the

“Scope” of further studies is determined.

The Scoping Report will describe the stakeholder engagement process and will have the Issues

Report attached for review by the Authorities. In addition, the Scoping Report will:

� Describe the proposed development and

reasonable alternatives;

� Describe the property on which the activity

is proposed to take place;

� Describe the environment (at a screening

level) that may be affected by the activity

and the manner in which the physical,

biological, social, economic and cultural

aspects of the environment that may be affected by the proposed activity;

� Identify all legislation and guidelines that

have been considered in the preparation of the Scoping Report;

� Describe the environmental issues and

potential impacts that have been identified;

� Indicate the methodology that will be

adopted in assessing the potential impacts that have been identified, including any

specialist studies or specialised processes

that will be undertaken;

� Detail the stakeholder engagement

process; and

� Include all proof of stakeholder

engagement.

A draft copy of the Scoping Report will be made available for stakeholder review, prior to

finalisation and submission of the report.

Environmental Impact Assessment

The EIA Report will include:

� A detailed description of the proposed

development;

� A description of the need and desirability

of the proposed development and the

identified potential alternatives to the

proposed activity;

� A description of the environment that may

be affected by the activity and the manner

in which physical, biological, social, economic and cultural aspects of the

environment may be affected by the proposed development;

� A summary of the findings of the specialist

studies;

� A summary of the methodology used in

determining the significance of potential

impacts;

� A detailed assessment of all identified

potential impacts, including a comparative

assessment of identified land use and

development alternatives;

� Identified mitigation measures;

� Copies of all specialist reports will be appended to the EIA report; and

� Any further information that will assist in

decision making by the Authorities.

Specialist Studies

The following specialist studies have been

identified thus far:

� Traffic impact assessment;

� Air quality impact assessment;

� Health risk assessment;

� Technical Review; and

� Noise Impact Assessment.

Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

The EMP will contain the following information:

� Information on the proposed management or mitigation measures that will be

undertaken to address the environmental impacts that have been identified in the

EIA Report, including environmental impacts or objectives of:

o Planning and design;

o Pre-construction and construction

activities;

o Operation or undertaking of the

activity;

o Rehabilitation of the environment; and

o Closure, where relevant.


� A detailed description of the aspects of the

activity;

� An identification of the persons who will be

responsible for the implementation of the EMP;

� Where appropriate, time periods within

which the measures in the EMP must be

implemented; and

� Proposed mechanisms for monitoring

compliance with the EMP and reporting

thereon.

Stakeholder Review prior to Submission

Once completed, the draft report including the

environmental impact assessment and management programme, will be made available

at public places for stakeholder review. Comments from stakeholders will be utilised to

finalise the report for submission to Authorities.

Submission and Decision-making

The report will be finalised and submitted to the

various Authorities for decision-making. Their decision will be provided in a written Record of

Decision (ROD). Once the ROD has been received, an advertisement will be placed in a

local newspaper, notifying the public of the ROD and where it will be available to view.

Relevant Authorities

The authorities responsible for administering and

implementation of the above legislation are:

� The Gauteng Department of Agriculture,

Conservation and Environment;

� The Midvaal Local Municipality

� The Sedibeng District Municipality

� Department Environmental Affairs and

Tourism; and

� The Department of Water Affairs and

Forestry.

How can you get involved?

� Register as an Interested and Affected

Party by completing the attached

comment response form;

� Propose ideas to solve problems that arise

during the consultation process;

� Voice your concerns about proposals and

their potential impact; and

� Assist with information that will contribute

to a thorough study.

The Roles and Responsibilities of the Stakeholder

Registered stakeholders have the right to bring to the attention of the competent authority any issues that they believe may be of significance to the consideration of the application. The rights of stakeholder are qualified by certain obligations, namely: 1. Stakeholders must ensure that their comments are submitted within the timeframes that have been approved by

the GDACE, or within any extension of a timeframe agreed by the applicant or Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP);

2. A copy of comments submitted directly to the competent authority must be served on the applicant or EAP; and 3. Any direct business, financial, personal or other interest that they might have in the approval or refusal of the

application must be disclosed. The roles of stakeholders in a public participation process usually include one or more of the following:

• Assisting in the identification and prioritisation of issues that need to be investigated; • Making suggestions on alternatives and means of preventing, minimising and managing negative impacts and

enhancing project benefits; • Assisting in or commenting on the development of mutually acceptable criteria for the evaluation of decision

options; • Contributing information on public needs, values and expectations; • Contributing local and traditional knowledge; and

• Verifying that their issues have been considered. In order to participate effectively, stakeholders should: • Become involved in the process as early as possible; • Register as a stakeholder; • Advise the EAP of other stakeholders who should be consulted; • Contribute towards the design of the public participation process (including timeframes) to ensure that it is

acceptable to all stakeholders; • Follow the process once it has been accepted; • Read the material provided and actively seek to understand the issues involved;

• Give timeous responses to correspondence; • Be respectful and courteous towards other stakeholders; • Refrain from making subjective, unfounded or ill-informed statements; and • Recognise that the process is confined to issues that are directly relevant to the application.

Figure 2: Location of the proposed Alternative AlloyStream Manganese Project Sites

REGISTRATION / COMMENT FORM

PROJECT REFERENCE NO: ESC 167

AlloyStream Manganese Plant - EIA

PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN THIS FORM SO THAT WE HAVE YOUR COMPLETE

CONTACT DETAILS

Closing date for comments: 30th September 2007

PARTICULARS OF STAKEHOLDER Name

Postal

Address

Post code:

Street

Address:

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Tel: E-Mail

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COMMENTS DATE:

If you are aware of any people who should be contacted in this process, please

provide their details here:

Please add additional pages if required.

Return to: Konrad Kruger

Cymbian Enviro – Social Consulting Services

PO Box 1676

Cresta

2118

Tel : (011) 678 6680

Fax : (086) 656 3883

Email : [email protected]