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Atlas Iron

Subterranean Ecology has been a consistent provider of troglofauna and stygofauna services to Atlas Iron Limited including Atlas’s flagship mine site at Pardoo and multiple other projects including Abydos, Mount Webber, Mount Dove and McPhee Creek. This rapidly growing Western Australian miner is targeting production of 12 Mtpa by end of 2012 and 22 Mtpa from North Pilbara alone by 2015.

Pardoo DSO Project

Subterranean Ecology was commissioned by Atlas Iron to survey troglofauna at the Pardoo project site in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. This assessment followed immediately after the EPAs recommendation that Rio Tinto’s Pannawonica Expansion Project should not be approved because of the risk to troglofauna. 

Troglofauna - Schizomid

Subterranean Ecology’s survey at Pardoo detected a new species of pseudoscorpion from inside Atlas Iron’s proposed pit at the South Limb deposit. The EPA recommended that additional surveys be undertaken to attempt to locate the species outside the impact area.

Subterranean Ecology’s surveys showed that the distribution of troglofauna species in the Pardoo project area was not restricted to the mineralised deposits of mining interest, and that no species were threatened with extinction as a result of Atlas Iron’s proposed operations.

The landmark study Subterranean Ecology undertook for Atlas proved to be an important test case – in contrast to the Pannawonica project it withstood EPA and public review and was a key element of the approvals process for the Pardoo project.
Open Cut Mine