Developing strong & successful monitoring partnerships with WA Goldfields’ mining operations: Genesis Minerals case study

Customer: Genesis Minerals Limited

Country: Australian

Application: Mining

Background

Genesis Minerals Limited is an Australian Stock Exchange-listed gold mining company with a portfolio of open pit and underground mineral resources, as well as a processing facility, in the prolific Leonora District Goldfields in Western Australia.

Their Tower Hill site is located approximately 2 km south of Leonora. As part of its submission to secure an expansion of the existing Tower Hill pit to begin Stage 2 of mining at the site, Genesis is currently undertaking a feasibility study.

Due to the proposed Tower Hill development’s proximity to the Gwalia processing facility and the residential towns of Leonora and Gwalia, the impact of dust and particulate on the environment and local population is a potential concern. A 12-month baseline dust monitoring plan was developed for Genesis by Environment Technologies & Analytics Pty Ltd, with verified data to be used in a dust impact modelling assessment as part of Genesis’ application to regulators – the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER).

The Challenge

To support its application to extend its mining operations and maximise its capacity at Tower Hill, Genesis needed to implement a baseline environmental monitoring system that could generate accurate, real-time data. Following its acquisition of Dacian Mines in 2023, Genesis was already operating a MetOne powered by Acoem E-BAM system at its Laverton site for regulatory compliance, but this was the first time it would be undertaking baseline monitoring at this particular location. Genesis was looking for a high quality, flexible and cost-effective monitoring partner that could provide a wholistic dust and PM10 particulate measurement system and meteorological station. Requirements included installation and commissioning of the equipment, ongoing maintenance and calibration, remote data capture, and data analysis and reporting – with real-time information provided to its environmental modelling team. The successful company would also need to factor in extreme temperatures and environmental conditions, availability of WiFi coverage and solar versus mains powered solutions.

Solution

In early 2024, Acoem’s WA mining specialist and Technical Sales Executive, Stuart Rietkerk began discussions with Genesis’ Environmental Superintendent, Ben Elliott – to better ascertain Genesis’ exact needs. Acoem provided Genesis with an initial quote that offered a range of options. Each tailored solution was designed to address Genesis’ immediate and longer-term requirements and allow the company to leverage a combination of rental and purchased monitoring equipment to lower costs, be more environmentally efficient and provide a better return on investment.

A hybrid rental/purchase arrangement proved to be the preferred solution that suited Genesis’ application, allowing it to extend rental periods as needed and to purchase rental equipment post rental-period at a greatly reduced rate.
Commissioned in May 2024, the integrated Acoem system at Tower Hill consists of:

a reference-standard, mains-powered BAM 1020 with a PM10 inlet and CR310 data logger with 4G modem for remote communications co-located in a compact, insulated aluminium enclosure with an ES-642 dust monitor – to provide real-time data and determine the K factor for two additional ES-642s so they can be calibrated against the BAM to give more accurate reporting levels
an ultrasonic wind direction/wind speed sensor on a 4-metre mast mounted on the enclosure
two complementary near-reference standard, nomadic ES-642 nephelometers as stand-alone, portable stations that can be moved around the site via a forklift or light vehicle. The ES-642 remote dust monitors provide real-time PM10 particle concentration measurements using a highly sensitive forward scatter laser nephelometer with a measurement range of 0 to 100 mg/cubic meter
monthly maintenance and calibration by expert Acoem field technicians
ongoing, real-time data capture, analysis and reporting by Acoem’s Environmental Reporting Services team.

The Outcome

Rather than a supplier-customer relationship, Acoem and Genesis Minerals have built a trusted partnership based on transparency and flexibility.
When asked why Genesis Minerals chose to work with Acoem, Ben Elliott mentioned “the careful attention to detail, flexible quotation process and a thorough understanding of the company’s needs” as major drivers of the decision process.

Ben also noted the communication and support provided by Stuart throughout the project. Since the commissioning, Genesis has been particularly impressed with “the quality and reliability of the equipment, its fit-for-purpose capabilities and the high level of technical excellence and customer service delivered by Acoem service technicians on site.”
The data Genesis’ environmental modelling company has received from the monitoring stations has been validated, and once this 12-month baseline project is completed and the pit expansion is granted, Genesis is hoping to retain Acoem for its ongoing compliance monitoring at Tower Hill.