Atlas Iron (now incorporated into HanRoy) operated the Pardoo Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) Project.  Mining below the groundwater table resulted in the requirement for dewatering.  Groundwater modelling identified the potential for groundwater drawdown, and therefore, impacts on groundwater dependent vegetation (GDV).  The project was approved with conditions, including the need to undertake monitoring of GDV.  Monitoring was undertaken annually from 2008 to 2014 and then in 2017 and 2019 by other consultants.  In 2023, Atlas required another monitoring event, and engaged FVC for the work.

The monitoring project required interpretation of another consultant’s methodologies, and locating monitoring sites, which can be a challenge, especially in the Pilbara when cattle and flooding riverine areas disrupt the pegs at permanent plots.  But the FVC team rose to the challenge, as usual.  Delivering the scope of work to the satisfaction of both Atlas and regulator.