Environmental Consultation, Reporting & Notification Portal
FOR ACCESS TO REAL TIME DATA PLEASE CLICK HERE
This webpage publicly presents information about our environmental plans and performance consistent with our commitment to transparency.
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1. Consultation on our environmental plans and projects
1.1. Environmental Management Plans
At Nyrstar Port Pirie, we prepare a range of plans covering environmental management. The following plans are available on request.
- Community Engagement Plan
- Dust Management Plan
- Lead in Air Monitoring and Reporting Plan
- Ground Level Particulate and Sulphur Dioxide Monitoring and Reporting Plan
- Lead in Air Monitoring and Reporting Plan
1.2. Environment Improvement Programme
Nyrstar’s Environment Improvement Plan is approved by the EPA SA (Environment Protection Authority). This plan is available on request.
1.3. Proposed Site Trials or Process Changes
Pre-Treatment Plant Trial
From July 2021, Nyrstar will conduct a Pre-Treatment Plant trial to implement, validate, verify and monitor control measures intended to further optimise the process stability and improve dust control to enable sustainable operation. The plant would operate 24-hours per day and seven-days per week to test its environmental performance (dust emissions) under the prevailing northerly wind conditions during the proposed trial period. One of the objectives is to verify the effectiveness of environmental control measures under various weather conditions.
The Pre-Treatment Plant trial will utilise a strand that is designed to accept high temperature material. The goal of the process is to remove chemically bound water while retaining sulphur in the dried material. This material will then be a supplementary feed for the blast furnace to ensure stable operation while providing a valuable sulphur source for the blast furnace.
The benefits of this include:
- Improved emission stability from a Blast Furnace operating at optimal rate with consequent lower emissions of lead-in-air;
- Consumption of an additional 400 tonnes/ day of Paragoethite (PG) which would reduce stockpiled volumes by an additional 146,000 tonnes per year allowing quicker depletion of stockpiles; and
- Employment opportunity for 30+ people, further improving the community employment rate.
Lead Grid & Lead Paste treatment
Starting June 2024, Nyrstar will embark on a trial to explore the treatment of recycled materials, specifically focusing on the components recovered from used Lead-Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling. This trial is aimed at assessing both the environmental and process feasibility of incorporating these materials into our primary smelting operations.
The materials in question, Lead Grid and Lead Paste, are by-products of the lead-acid battery recycling process. Their typical compositions are as follows:
Lead Grid: 85-89% Lead (Pb)
Lead Paste: 74-76% Lead (Pb)
These materials result from the separation of used batteries, where the metallic and plastic components are isolated, and the lead-containing paste is subsequently washed and filtered. The end products, Lead Grid and Lead Paste, present us with clean sources of lead that are significantly free from the impurities usually found in mined concentrates.
Our proposed trial will integrate these recycled materials into the feed blend for the Primary Smelter feed at the Port Pirie Operation. This initiative is not only a testament to our commitment to advancing the circular economy but also aligns with our dedication to responsible environmental stewardship.
The secondary lead processing industry has a robust presence both domestically and internationally, with established methodologies for recycling used batteries. By refining and utilising these processes, we can contribute to reducing waste, lowering emissions, and conserving natural resources.
Upon the successful completion of this trial and the verification of our processing strategies, we anticipate adopting the treatment of Paste and Grid at a commercial scale.
Please contact us by email on PortPirie.Environment@nyrstar.com to find out more.
2. Environmental Performance Reports
The following reports provide an overview of our environmental performance:
- Quarterly Environment Report
- Annual Environment Report
If you would like more information please feel free to contact us on:
PortPirie.Environment@nyrstar.com
3. Community Notifications
Monitoring data is publicly available on: Port Pirie Monitoring Portal click here
3.1. Water Quality Notifications
Any exceedances of the wastewater metal limits are notified on the Port Pirie Monitoring Portal click here
Nyrstar notifies for the purpose of section 4.4.1 of the Licence that, on 15 June 2024, the concentration of the analyte Copper (Cu) at the 1M Flume wastewater discharge point exceeded the relevant Wastewater Discharge Notification Value.
3.2. Air Quality Notifications
Nyrstar is in compliance with its EPA Lead in Air (LIA) licence conditions. Nyrstar has both LIA limits and targets.
3.2.1 Lead in Air
Annual Average
On 30 June 2024, the 12-month average TSP Lead in Air concentrations were below the limit criteria in EPA Licence No. 775.
Nyrstar notifies for the purpose of section 1.2.2(a) of the Licence that the 12-month average TSP Lead in Air Target was exceeded in the 12-month period to 30 June 2024 at the Ellen Street and Boat Ramp monitoring station.
Three Month Average
Any exceedances of the 3-month average TSP Lead in air concentration targets are notified on the Port Pirie Monitoring Portal click here.
Nyrstar notifies for the purpose of section 1.3.2(a) of the Licence that the 3-month average TSP Lead in Air Targets were exceeded in the 3-month period to 30 September at Ellen Street and Pirie West Primary School monitoring stations. The 3-month average TSP Lead in Air concentrations at the other two monitoring stations were below the licence target criteria.
3.2.2 Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Investigations
Nyrstar acknowledges reports of sulphur odours in the community. Nyrstar has identified and rectified the issue and will continue closely monitoring sulphur dioxide levels.
Daily Average
Any exceedances of the 0.08 ppm 24-hour average investigation trigger are notified on the Port Pirie Monitoring Portal click here
Annual Average
There were no exceedances of the 0.02 ppm 12-month average investigation trigger last quarter.
3.2.3. Dust (PM10) Investigations
Daily Average
Any exceedances of the 50 micrograms per cubic metre daily average dust (PM10) concentration are notified on the Port Pirie Monitoring Portal click here.
4. Contact for more information
We are happy to share this information with the community to promote transparency and engagement. For more information on any of the plans or reports listed above, or if you would like more information about any of the data or notifications referenced here, please contact:
