How will waste be treated?

Both the construction and operational phases of the project will generate significant volumes of mine reject material, so we have to consider how this will be reused or considerately disposed of so that it does not compromise the environment.

Handling of reject is key to our plans and we have investigated many options with the decision being taken to dispose of the rock overburden underground within the mine voids.

We have thought carefully about water usage at the mine and plan to utilise any water from within the mine itself, collect surface run-off water and use the brown waste water from the showers blocks. The water used will go through a treatment plant on site to be re-used in the washing process and the only mains water required will be for the office facilities, including the canteen.

Also key is challenging ourselves to reduce the creation of waste wherever possible so that this also reduces off-site disposal and its associated environmental impacts, notably through road transport.

The Environmental Statement has been prepared and was submitted with our planning application.  This shows how we plan to address this important issue.