Report

The Woodsmith Project - S73 Project Amendments : Planning Statement

continue to sit over the head frame chamber and shaft. While the building will remain broadly the same size as that currently approved under NYM/2017/0505/MEIA, the layout has been amended to offset the southern portion of the southern winder building (see Drawing Nos. 1121-WOB-PA-31-00009, 1121-WOB-PA-31-00010 and 1121-WOB-PA-31- 00011). This amendment is necessary to accommodate the rail logistics hub for the Service Shaft (see below). The Service Shaft building houses the winding hoist and associated equipment and will sit over the head frame chamber and shaft that will transport workers and materials underground. The Service Shaft building will increase in size from that currently approved under NYM/2017/0505/MEIA, due to the construction of a rail logistics hub, located on the east side of the building. This results in a building with maximum parameters of 98.8m x 73m and a maximum elevation of 212.74m AOD (see Drawing Nos. 1221-WOB-PA-31- 00009, 1221-WOB-PA-31-00010 and 1221-WOB-PA-31-00011). The rail logistics hub will be the central handling point for all consumables delivered to the mine and allows for the movement of materials, primarily to the Service Shaft, to occur under cover rather than the previous position, in which this would have occurred outdoors. This results in an overall reduction in the levels of noise and light disturbance. Whilst there are no proposed amendments to the shafts within these buildings, the construction headframes within both the Service Shaft and Production Shaft foreshafts used during the shaft sinking and equipping phase will be replaced with an operational configuration. This will involve using a tower crane to lift the sinking headframe out of the foreshaft, and to lower in the preassembled operational headframe at each shaft. The tower crane will be situated so it can serve both shafts from one location.

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Ventilation and Cooling System

The redesigned ventilation and cooling system, as revised from planning permissions NYM/2014/0676/MEIA and NYM/2017/0505/MEIA, is fundamental to the safe and efficient operation of Woodsmith Mine. The proposal includes the construction of a full- depth Ventilation Shaft extending to the Production Level, thereby enhancing the total underground ventilation capacity. This will ensure adequate dilution of respirable dust and other airborne contaminants and secure the required airflow and thermal conditions underground across the full range of anticipated surface weather scenarios. These same objectives cannot be achieved through the ‘shallow’ vent shaft arrangement previously permitted under application ref. NYM/2018/0470/NM. Under the revised configuration, both the Production and Service Shafts will operate as intake shafts (via the MTS), while the new Ventilation Shaft will function as a dedicated exhaust. This arrangement also provides the operational advantage of two independent fresh-air intake shafts available for emergency egress. The Ventilation Shaft will not provide access for personnel or materials, nor will it facilitate the lifting of ore. No permanent hoisting system will be installed following completion of the shaft. The alternative would be to develop ventilation elsewhere within the wider project area. The ventilation and cooling has remained at Woodsmith Mine to minimise footprint and ensure development within the previously established construction area, behind the landscape screening bunds. There is no practicable alternative to the proposed ventilation infrastructure.

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