BALANCING SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS

DevEx Resources’ activities are directed towards establishing reliable, economic uranium resources through activities conducted through its technology development and exploration business units. In conducting these activities the Company seeks to meet the principles of sustainable development.

The Company recognises that sustainable development requires social, environmental and economic impacts to be balanced in all its operations and it maintains a strong internal emphasis on monitoring social and environmental performance. To this end we have developed a sustainable development policy outlining the values and principles to which the Company seeks to adhere. These principles include:

“Developing partnerships that enhance the social and economic development of local communities;” and to “Preserve the future land use of all our sites through biodiversity management and rehabilitation of all land disturbed in its exploration and development activities…”

In these early stages of DevEx Resources’ development the Company’s commitment to sustainable development is focused on:

  • Safe, efficient project activities;
  • Sound Environmental Management;
  • Open and consultative Community Relations activities;
  • Support of Uranium Industry groups in establishing Uranium as a sustainable energy solution; and
  • Appropriate returns on investment.

Click here to download a copy of our Sustainable Development policy.

Environment

DevEx Resources understands that responsible environmental management is essential to sustainable business success.

DevEx Resources has the objective of maintaining Leading Practice environmental management at all of its operations and have committed resources towards achieving this objective.

To help achieve excellence in environmental performance DevEx Resources will:

  • Comply with all environmental laws and regulations as a minimum, with best practice environmental management our target;
  • Provide appropriate training to all employees and contractors to enable them to fulfill their environmental responsibilities;
  • Communicate with relevant government agencies and communities on environmental issues and develop open relationships;
  • Establish programs to control and manage all environmental risks;
  • Implement strategies to minimize and manage all hazards; and
  • Establish measurable environmental objectives to monitor and continuously improve our environmental performance.
  • Comply with all environmental laws and regulations as a minimum with best practice environmental management our target;

Since 2008 the Company has been rehabilitating legacy areas of the Nabarlek Mineral Lease (MLN962) which the Company acquired in June 2008. The rehabilitation activities at Nabarlek have been concentrated on three main aspects:

Weed management and revegetation:

During the 2008 dry season local indigenous workers undertook a grid survey over the entire disturbed site to accurately determine weed types and distribution to provide resource planning input for subsequent work.

The management of the mapped weeds has focused on reducing the weed seed bank available for subsequent growing periods through a combination of chemical control and wet season burning.

Revegetation of selected areas of the MLN has been carried out with approximately 9,000 seedlings planted (Figure 8).

Figure 8 – Revegetation at the Nabarlek Mineral Lease

Infrastructure removal:

Two water management ponds from the original rehabilitation works have developed into a water source for weeds. The ponds have been re-contoured and seeded with native grasses and a contaminated site survey performed on the second pond. Results of this survey showed the location to be free from contamination and the pond has been scheduled for re-contouring works.

The historic Nabarlek camp site was rehabilitated during the 2010 following approval of criteria by the NT Government. Completion of this work meets one of the key commitments DevEx Resources had made to the various stakeholders.

Environmental monitoring:

DevEx Resources has implemented an environmental monitoring program to monitor and assess the success of legacy site rehabilitation.

Other Exploration Projects

Best practice environmental management is undertaken at all of DevEx Resources’ other projects. Rehabilitation of exploration works is completed at the end of each field season in consultation with key stakeholders.

Click here to download a copy of our Environmental policy.

Safety

DevEx Resources Limited strives to maintain a safe and healthy working environment for all employees and contractors.

Occupational safety and health is therefore an integral part of DevEx Resources’ philosophy and management systems. The policy has been developed to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and will be reviewed regularly with the aim of continually improving safety and health in the workplace. DevEx Resources will ensure adequate resources are available to implement the policy.

The objects of the policy are to:

  • Prevent work place accidents and disease;
  • Protect employees from safety and health hazards which may arise out of their work by providing and maintaining safe work places, plant and systems of work;
  • Have employees understand that they have a positive responsibility to ensure their own safety and the safety of others and comply with proper instructions; and
  • Establish and maintain proper programs to meet the policy.

The objectives of the safety and health policy are to:

  • Establish and maintain work practices which are safe and reduce the risk to health;
  • Provide training, re-training, information, instruction and supervision of all employees to enable them to perform their duties safely; and
  • Develop procedures for hazard identification, risk assessment and to implement measures to control the risk.

The policy includes, but is not limited to:

  • Induction;
  • Safe work systems and practices;
  • Hazard identification, risk assessment and control procedures;
  • Accident / incident reporting, recording and investigation;
  • Provision of personal protective equipment; and
  • Rehabilitation.

Click here to download a copy of our Workplace Health and Safety policy.

Community Relations

DevEx Resources strives to make community and stakeholder engagement an integral aspect of its business.

At the core of the Company’s community relations activities is the belief that open and effective communication with stakeholders set the basis for a good business relationship.

Having assumed the environmental responsibility for the Nabarlek Mineral Lease, DevEx Resources has engaged local stakeholders in the planning of rehabilitation and exploration work on the MLN. The Company has successfully obtained agreement from key stakeholders on the closure criteria for the site.

There are several regulatory bodies and community groups with stakeholder interest in the within the Alligator Rivers region which encompasses the Nabarlek and Headwaters Projects. Key stakeholders include:

  • Traditional Owners
  • Northern Land Council (NLC)
  • Department of Resources, NT (DoR)
  • Office of the Supervising Scientist (SSD)
  • Jawoyn Aboriginal Association

The Company maintains regular and open communications with key stakeholders where plans for exploration and rehabilitation work are tabled and discussed. The Company is committed to ongoing engagement with these groups to achieve agreement on legacy rehabilitation issues.

A prime example of how the Company meets key commitments to stakeholders is the rehabilitation of the old Nabarlek Mine camp site. Remnant camp infrastructure was destroyed over 20 years due to cyclonic activity during the northern Australia wet season. The site has now been rehabilitated and will form an integral part of the local community’s re-engagement with the land.