INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2017

The Long Operation is located on the shores of Lake Lefroy approximately 3km east of Kambalda and 50km south- south-east of Kalgoorlie. The area has long been disturbed by mining and mineral processing activities with a BHP Nickel West operation to the north, west and south, Mincor Resources to the north, and Gold Fields’ St Ives Gold Mine further south. The Long Operation is comprised of both freehold land and mining leases. BACKGROUND In September 2002, IGO purchased the Long Nickel Operation, including both freehold land and tenements from WMC. It began a staged recommencement of nickel mining from October 2002 and has been operating successfully since. The Long Operation involves the underground mining of ore and waste rock. Ore is then transported off-site for processing by BHP Nickel West at their adjacent concentrator facility under an offtake agreement. Traditional stope and air leg mining methods are employed, which create voids that are mostly backfilled to prevent ground collapse, and allow access to neighbouring mining areas. The backfill used is a paste fill made from cement and tailings sourced from the St Ives Gold Mine, reducing the total tailings material on the surface to be rehabilitated. This backfill material is manufactured on site at our paste plant and flows through a pipe network underground. One of the noteworthy aspects of the Long Operation is the presence of third-party assets on the IGO property (e.g. tailings lines run from BHP Nickel West concentrator facility to the west of the Long Operation to the BHP Nickel West tailings storage facilities located to the north- east of the Long Operation). CONSUMABLES The main consumables (in order of dollar value) at Long Operation in FY17 were electricity, water, backfill (tailings), shotcrete and explosives. The Long Operation sources electricity from BHP Nickel West, which generates electricity from gas turbines located at the BHP Nickel West concentrator facility. Despite the mine extending under the western edge of Lake Lefroy, the mine itself is relatively dry. The majority of the groundwater captured underground is recycled in the mining activity. Recovered groundwater is also used in the backfill manufacturing process and the remainder is discharged (subject to license conditions) onto the saltpan of Lake Lefroy. WASTE The relatively small mass of extracted waste rock is placed in a single waste rock dump. A proportion of this material is classified as potentially acid-forming. During FY17 the Long Operation undertook two geochemical characterisation studies to increase its understanding of waste materials for waste rock and tailings. A small volume of both putrescible and hard waste is disposed off-site in the Kambalda East landfill. CASE STUDY / SAFETY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM PUT TO THE TEST Our Long Operation centres on an underground mine over 1km deep. To ensure the safety of our people, the site implements and continually updates its safety and evacuation procedures and installs mine emergency evacuation points throughout the underground workings. Emergency safety drills and emergency response support from neighbouring mines all contribute to ensuring a safe working environment for our people. In May 2017, following an underground truck fire, IGO’s procedures and people were put to the test. The fire caused the evacuation of 17 underground workers through the mine’s Emergency Egress System, successfully coordinated by our Emergency Response (ER) team. The ER team ensured that our people were evacuated quickly and without injury. Following this incident, the Long Operation initiated a major investigation into the cause of the fire. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by failure of the truck’s drive shaft, which resulted in a burst hydraulic hose spraying oil onto a hot exhaust. Although all underground trucks are fitted with an automatic fire suppression system in the engine bay, the investigation found that the truck’s transmission area was not protected. The information was captured by our safety and maintenance departments to determine if any appropriate system upgrades may be necessary on our other vehicles. IGO captured the findings and implemented a preventative maintenance review of all similar trucks in operation across our business. The investigation findings were also provided to the truck manufacturer and other mining companies, as well as the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS). 8,433t NICKEL METAL MINED IN FY17 IGO SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2017— 39