Independence Group Sustainability Report 2019

MINE CLOSURE Closure planning is an essential process that occurs at all stages of a mine’s life cycle. Planning for mine closure must consider social, economic, physical and biological parameters that can change over time, particularly when the planning horizon extends past a decade. Poor planning for closure at the initial mining stage can significantly add to the complexity and cost of closure. IGO’s planning and cost provisioning for closure of mines starts during exploration and project development and extends across the operation’s life cycle. In accordance with our Common Management System Standard - Acquisition, Divestment and Closure, we develop and maintain a closure plan for each project to ensure we are prepared and understand the cost of closure. The closure plan also outlines the process for developing and obtaining agreement on completion criteria that will demonstrate successful post-closure outcomes. Engagement with stakeholders both internal and external to IGO is a critical part of the planning process. The potential impacts of closure are an ongoing consideration in our engagement with governments and local communities, including how closure can affect our support of community development initiatives and local business. In recognition of the potential impacts of mine closure to the environment, community and the economy, we have increased our effort in the closure planning process. Both the Nova and Tropicana operations have approved mine closure plans, developed in accordance with Western Australian regulation. Mine closure plans are live documents that are continually updated throughout the life of the operation. We continue to investigate and refine closure strategies at all our operations in accordance with our Group Environment Standard – Mine Rehabilitation & Closure and the Group Finance Standard – Provisions for Mine Closure. The revision of these plans follows a structured approach, incorporating both external regulatory requirements as well as meeting internal standards to ensure adequate stakeholder engagement throughout the planning process. Finally, revised mine closure plans enable provisions for the estimated cost of rehabilitation, decommissioning and restoration relating to areas disturbed by our operations throughout the year. These are reviewed, and if required, updated annually. The Nova Operation has a current mine life to 2026, after its reserves were updated in FY18. IGO submitted an updated mine closure plan to the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety in December 2018, following approval for the construction of a permanent waste rock dump at the site. During FY19, our closure planning activities for the Nova Operation included the refinement of final landform designs for the TSF and waste rock dump. Closure objectives and completion criteria were established, based on additional vegetation assessment and the selection of suitable reference sites. We also conducted erodibility testing and erosion modelling for the TSF and waste rock dump. The Tropicana Operation has a current estimated mine life of ten years, based on Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources as at 31 December 2018. In June 2018, IGO ceased mining at the Long Operation after 16 years of operation, placing the mine into care and maintenance. IGO is proud of both the way we assisted those employees who lost jobs as a consequence of the mine ceasing operation and our consultation MINE PLAN – DEFINE DOMAINS MINE CLOSURE PLAN CLOSURE COST LIABILITY REPORT INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CLOSURE COST ANALYSIS DEMOLITION AND EARTHWORK SCOPE FINAL LANDFORMS ENGINEERED DESIGNS COMPLETION CRITERIA (BASIS OF DESIGN) DEVELOPMENT REGULAR ENGAGEMENT 46 — IGO SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 SECTION 3 RESPONSIBLE OPERATIONS