Independence Group Sustainability Report 2019

To minimise the impact of land clearing activities we actively plan the work in consultation with landholders, including Traditional Owners and pastoralists. Consultation is typically about the flora and fauna likely to be affected, the potential for the accidental introduction of pests, the potential for the accidental disturbance of ethnographic sites of significance, soil disturbance, and prompt remediation once access is no longer required. We carefully manage and monitor our land clearing activities in accordance with approved conservation management plans and other environment management plans required by Australian or State government environmental protection legislation. We also apply our own land and biodiversity standards that provide clarity to our teams on the required land management practices, aligned to best practice industry guidance. Although the extent and effects of land clearing can be measured, there is no current Australian standard metric available for habitat degradation. In future IGO will look to apply other generally accepted measures such as erosion, salinisation, soil acidification, water quality, and the presence and prevalence of invasive species, to help us measure our performance. Once exploration is complete, and providing no economic mineral resource is found, the tracks are rehabilitated. The method of rehabilitation varies depending on the habitat disturbed, but more often than not, it includes ripping up of the tracks and returning topsoil and dead vegetation that was stockpiled during the original clearing. We then leave it to nature; the naturally occurring seed in soil germinates and in a few years the tracks are covered in regrowth. In FY19 we disturbed 386.78ha of land predominantly for the purpose of developing simple dirt access tracks to enable our exploration activity. During the year we rehabilitated a total of 170.53ha. We progressively rehabilitate unused land at the Nova Operation as soon as we determine the land is no longer required for mining activities. In FY19 no progressive rehabilitation works were completed as all land previously available for rehabilitation had already been rehabilitated. To date, the Tropicana Operation has cleared 3,380.27ha of vegetation to accommodate mining, the open pit and exploration disturbance. Invasive pest species Invasive species are animals, plants, parasites or disease-causing organisms that establish themselves outside their natural range and become pests. Invasive species have a major impact on Australia’s environment, threatening biodiversity, and reducing overall species abundance and diversity. They represent one of the more potent, persistent and widespread threats to the environment. Native species are directly affected by invasive species through predation, displacement, competition and hybridisation. Invasive species can also have enormous harmful effects on the health, viability and functioning of ecological communities, ecosystems and landscapes, through both direct and indirect disruption of ecological services such as soil stabilisation, pollination and seed dispersal, and effects on fire frequency and intensity. They alter habitat and reduce biodiversity and can adversely affect ecosystems. Within the context of the locations in which IGO operates in Australia, the key invasive pest species include the feral cat (Felis catus) and European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) , and plant species Onion Weed (Asphodelus fistulosus) , Ward’s Weed (Carrichtera annua) , Maltese Cockspur (Centaurea melitensis) , Marsh Mallow (Malva parviflora) and Doublegee (Rumex hypogaeus) . Predation by cats and red foxes has contributed to the extinction of many mammals in Australia, and this pressure continues to contribute to the decline of threatened mammals. During FY19, we completed limited feral cat trapping activities at our Nova Operation. We also supported the trial of the Felixer, a cat trapping innovation, that employs sensors and advanced algorithms to automatically identify feral cats and foxes by their unique shape and instantaneously administer a poison onto their fur. Going forward we will complete a study to better understand the population dynamics of the feral cat population. Although none of the weed species found at the Nova Operation are listed as Declared Pests under the Australian Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 or are Weeds of National Significance, we complete regular weed management activities. Activities include weed monitoring, control spraying and weed hygiene inspections on all earth- moving machinery brought onto site. 40 — IGO SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 SECTION 3 RESPONSIBLE OPERATIONS