BHP : Mt Arthur Coal Annual Review FY23

Thomas Mitchell Drive

Private Mail Bag No. 8

Muswellbrook, New South Wales 2333

Australia

T [phone] F [phone] bhp.com

Please note that the following Annual Review is awaiting

endorsement from the Regulatory Authorities

Expected Endorsement/Approval Date: 5th April 2024

BHP Group Limited ABN 49 004 028 077, BHP Group Plc. registration number 3196209 and their respective subsidiaries are members of the BHP Group. The BHP Group is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

Mt Arthur Coal

Annual Review FY23

29 September 2023

ANNUAL REVIEW FY23
Table of Contents
1	Statement of Compliance	7
2	Introduction	10
3	Approvals	13
4	Operations Summary	14
	4.1	Mining Operations	14
	4.2	Other Operations	14
	4.3	Employment Details	15
	4.4	Next Reporting Period	15
5	Actions Required from Previous Annual Review	16
6	Environmental Performance	17
	6.1	Noise	17
	6.2	Blasting	21
	6.3	Meteorological Data	22
	6.4	Air Quality	23
	6.5	Biodiversity	27
	6.6	Visual Amenity and Lighting	40
	6.7	Aboriginal Cultural Heritage	41
	6.8	European Cultural Heritage	42
	6.9	Contaminated Land and Hydrocarbon Contamination	43
	6.10	Spontaneous Combustion	44
	6.11	Bushfire	45
	6.12	Greenhouse Gas and Energy	45
	6.13	Waste Management	46
	6.14	Public Safety	47
7	Water Management	47
	7.1	Water Balance	48
	7.2	Erosion and Sediment	49
	7.3	Surface Water	52
	7.4	Ground Water	56
8	Rehabilitation	62
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ANNUAL REVIEW FY23
	8.1	Buildings and Infrastructure	62
	8.2	Topsoil	62
	8.3	Landform Design	63
	8.4	Other Activities	67
	8.3	Rehabilitation Activities for Next Reporting Period	74
9	Community	75
	9.1	Community Engagement	75
	9.2	Community Investment	77
10	Independent Audit	78
11	Incidents and Non-compliances	102
12 Activities during Next Reporting Period	105
Appendix 1 - Surface Water Quality Monitoring Results	107
Appendix 2 Ground Water Monitoring Results and Groundwater Level Drawdown Analysis	110
Appendix 3 Community Complaints	111
Appendix 4 Annual Coal Transport Report FY23	118
Appendix 5 Rehabilitation Plan & and Monitoring Results	126
Appendix 6 Baiting & Weed Management Reports	127
List of Figures
Figure 1: Mt Arthur Coal mining leases, approved disturbance boundary and offset areas	11
Figure 2: Mt Arthur Coal locality plan	12
Figure 3: Air quality, blasting, noise and meteorological monitoring locations	20
Figure 4: Waste disposal from Mt Arthur Coal FY23	46
Figure 5 Riparian Vegetation and Channel Stability Monitoring Locations	51
Figure 6: Groundwater and surface water monitoring locations	54
Figure 7: Topsoil spreading at OPD emplacement	64
Figure 8 Bulk shaping and topsoil spreading at the Saddlers North emplacement	65
Figure 9 Rehabilitation Area Nomenclature	70
Figure 10 Relocated Tiger Orchid (Cymbidium canaliculatum)	71
Figure 11: Comparison of complaints received during current and previous financial years	76

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ANNUAL REVIEW FY23
List of Tables
Table 1: Annual Review title block	6
Table 2: Statement of compliance	7
Table 3: Non-compliance summary	7
Table 4: Mt Arthur Coal management contact details	10
Table 5: Mt Arthur Coal's existing statutory approvals as at 30 June 2023	13
Table 6: Production summary	14
Table 7: Actions required from FY22 Annual Review and additional requirements for FY23 Annual Review	16
Table 8: Monthly attended night-time noise monitoring results in decibels	17
Table 9: Attended noise monitoring results in decibels in comparison to previous years	18
Table 10: Summary of blast monitoring results	22
Table 11: Comparison of annual average deposited dust results	23
Table 12: Summary of TEOM PM10 monitoring results using validated data	25
Table 13: 24-hour PM10 exceedances and calculated Mt Arthur Coal incremental impact for statutory TEOMs	26
Table 14: Summary of total suspended particulate results	26
Table 15 FY23 rehabilitation monitoring sites	28
Table 16: Summary of native and introduced flora species within 20 x 20 m plots and condition scores across FY23
rehabilitation sites	29
Table 17 MS1: Comparison between reference site and benchmark values	30
Table 18 MS1 assessment against phase and domain specific criteria	30
Table 19 MS1 data comparison to draft completion criteria	31
Table 20 VB6: Comparison between historic data, reference site and benchmark values	32
Table 21 VB6 data comparison to draft completion criteria	32
Table 22 VB6 assessment against phase and domain specific criteria	32
Table 23 VB4: Comparison between historic data, reference site and benchmark values	34
Table 24 VB4 data comparison to draft completion criteria	34
Table 25 VB4 assessment against phase and domain specific criteria	35
Table 26 VB5: Comparison between historic data, reference site and benchmark values	37
Table 27 VB5 data comparison to draft completion criteria	37
Table 28 VB5 assessment against phase and domain specific criteria	37
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ANNUAL REVIEW FY23
Table 29 Pest animal control program results for FY23	40
Table 30: Summary of spontaneous combustion at Mt Arthur Coal in FY23	44
Table 31: Water take for FY23	48
Table 32: Riparian vegetation assessment - FY23 RARC and CSIRO Assessment Results	50
Table 33: Summary of statutory surface water quality monitoring results	55
Table 34: Groundwater Level Trigger Exceedances	57
Table 35: Groundwater Quality Trigger Exceedances	60
Table 36 Topsoil stockpiles maintained in the reporting period	62
Table 37 Mt Arthur Coal pasture seed mix	65
Table 38: Mt Arthur Coal rehabilitation claimed for FY22	66
Table 39: Mt Arthur Coal rehabilitation summary	66
Table 40 Diversity Tube stock mix used in McDonalds South	67
Table 41 Diversity ground cover seed mix used in MacDonalds South	68
Table 42 Box Gum Woodland Mix used in MacDonalds South diversification	68
Table 43 Alternative Growth Media Trials	73
Table 44: Summary of IEA Non-Compliances and Recommendations	78
Table 45: 2020 Independent Environmental Audit Non-compliance Recommendations and Actions	79
Table 46: 2020 Independent Environmental Audit Improvement Recommendations and Actions	91
Table 47: Mt Arthur Coal's performance against targets for FY22	105

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ANNUAL REVIEW FY23

Table 1: Annual Review title block

Document Details

Name of Operation	Mt Arthur Coal
Name of Operator	Hunter Valley Energy Coal Pty Ltd
Project Approvals	PA 09_0062 (MOD 1)
PA 06_0091
Name of holder of project approvals	Hunter Valley Energy Coal Pty Ltd
Mining Leases	CCL 744, CL 396, ML 1358, ML 1487, ML 1548,
ML1593, ML1655, ML 1739, ML 1757, MPL 263
Name of holder of mining leases	Hunter Valley Energy Coal Pty Ltd; Mt Arthur Coal
Pty Limited
	WAL 917, WAL 918, WAL 1296, WAL 18141, WAL
Water Licences	18247, WAL 41495, WAL 41556, WAL 41557, WAL
	18175
Name of holder of water licences	Hunter Valley Energy Coal Pty Ltd
Forward Program Commencement Date	1 August 2022
Forward Program Completion Date	30 June 2025
Annual Review Commencement Date	1 July 2022
Annual Review Completion Date	30 June 2023

I, Hannah Farr, certify that this audit report is a true and accurate record of the compliance status of Mt Arthur Coal for the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 and that I am authorised to make this statement on behalf of Hunter Valley Energy Coal Pty Ltd.

Note.
•	The Annual Review is an 'environmental audit' for the purposes of section 122B(2) of the Environmental Planning and
	Assessment Act 1979. Section 122E provides that a person must not include false or misleading information (or
	provide information for inclusion in) an audit report produced to the Minister in connection with an environmental audit
	if the person knows that the information is false or misleading in a material respect. The maximum penalty is, in the
	case of a corporation, $1 million and for an individual, $250,000.
•	The Crimes Act 1900 contains other offences relating to false and misleading information: section 192G (Intention to
	defraud by false or misleading statement-maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment); sections 307A, 307B and 307C
	(False or misleading applications/information/documents-maximum penalty 2 years imprisonment or $22,000, or
	both).
Name of authorised reporting officer	Hannah Farr
Title of authorised reporting officer	Manager HSE - Mt Arthur Coal
Signature of authorised reporting officer
Date		11/09/2023

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ANNUAL REVIEW FY23

1 Statement of Compliance

A statement of Mt Arthur Coal's compliance with its project approvals and mining leases is presented in Table 2 with four identified non-compliances during the reporting period being discussed in Table 3.

Table 2: Statement of compliance

Were all conditions of the relevant approval(s) complied with?

PA 09_0062

EPL 11457

EPBC 2011/5866

EPBC 2014/7377

ML

YES

NO

YES

YES

YES

Table 3: Non-compliance summary

Relevant

Condition

Description

Compliance

Comment

Report

approval

Summary

Status

Reference

EPL

O2.6

Missing quarterly

Non-compliant

Written records of required STP quarterly

Section 11

11457

STP records

(Administrative)

inspections misplaced.

EPL

Noise exceedance

Non-compliant

Misalignment between EPL and PA led to

R4.2

noise exceedance in October 2021 not

Section 11

11457

not reported to EPA

(Administrative)

being reported to EPA.

EPL

M2.3

<100% data capture

Non-compliant

Communication error with device sending

Section 11

11457

at Discharge Point 6

(Low)

data to Water NSW and BHP systems.

EPL

M2.3

<100% data capture

Non-compliant

Communication error with device sending

Section 11

11457

at Discharge Point 6

(Low)

data to Water NSW and BHP systems.

<100% data capture

Non-compliant

Monitor servicing; technical issues /

EPL

equipment malfunction; invalid data; and

M2.2

at dust Monitoring

Section 11

11457

(Low)

power outages all contributing to minor

Points

data loss.

Airblast overpressure exceedance of

Blast incident

Non-compliant

120.6 dB was recorded at Sheppard Ave.

EPL11457

L6.3

overpressure

Exceedance was notified to the DPE and

Section 11

(Low)

exceedance

EPA. DPE determined no breach of

approval occurred.

Note: Compliance Status key for Table 3

	Risk Level		Colour code			Description
	High		Non-compliant		Non-compliance with potential for significant environmental consequences, regardless
					of the likelihood of occurrence
	Medium		Non-compliant		Non-compliance with:
			➢	potential for serious environmental consequences, but is unlikely	to occur; or
					➢	potential for moderate environmental consequences, but is likely	to occur
	Low		Non-compliant		Non-compliance with:
			➢	potential for moderate environmental consequences, but is unlikely to occur; or
					➢	potential for low environmental consequences, but is unlikely to occur
	Administrative		Non-compliant		Only	to be applied where the non-compliance does not result in any risk of
	non-compliance				environmental harm (e.g. submitting a report to government later than required under
					approval conditions)
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ANNUAL REVIEW FY23

Acronyms

Acronyms
AHMP	Aboriginal Heritage Management Plan
ARA	Annual rapid assessment
BioMP	Biodiversity Management Plan
BMP	Blast Management Plan
CASA	Civil Aviation Safety Authority
CCC	Community Consultative Committee
CCL	Consolidated coal lease
CHPP	Coal handling and preparation plant
CL	Coal lease
CRD	Cumulative rainfall departure
DAWE	Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
DoEE	Former Federal Department of the Environment and Energy is now part of DAWE
DPE	NSW Department of Planning and Environment
DRE	Former Division of Resources and Energy
DRG	Former Division of Resources and Geoscience
EA	Environmental assessment
EIS	Environmental impact statement
EL	Exploration licence
EMS	Environmental management system
EPA	NSW Environment Protection Authority
EPBC	Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
EPL	Environment Protection Licence
FY	Financial year
GPA	Ground pasture assessment
HRSTS	Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme
HSE	Health, Safety and Environment

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ANNUAL REVIEW FY23

HVEC	Hunter Valley Energy Coal (Mt Arthur Coal)
IROC	Integrated Remote Operations Centre
MAC	Mt Arthur Coal
ML	Mining lease
MOP	Mining Operations Plan
MSC	Muswellbrook Shire Council
NGER	National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007
NRAR	Natural Resources Access Regulator
NSW	New South Wales
OEH	NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
PA	Project Approval
RACI	Responsible, accountable, consult and inform
RAW	Rapid assessment walkover
ROM	Run of mine
RR	NSW Resources Regulator
UAV	Unmanned aerial vehicle
VPA	Voluntary Planning Agreement
VWP	Vibrating wire piezometers

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