NAURU REHABILITATION CORPORATION

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NAURU REHABILITATION CORPORATION
RESILIENT, RESOLUTE, RENAISSANCE
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NAURU REHABILITATION CORPORATION
PRESENTATION BY CEO Vinci N Clodumar, Dip. Mech
Eng.
RECOVERY OF MINED - OUT LAND
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BACKGROUND

• NAURU PHOSPHATE HAS BEEN MINED CONSISTENTLY SINCE
  1906 EXCEPT FOR A SHORT PERIOD DURING THE TWO
  GREAT WARS.
• NAURU GAINED CONTROL OF THE PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY 2
  YEARS AFTER ITS INDEPENDENCE IN JANUARY 1968
• PHOSPHATE EXPORT HAS BEEN THE BACKBONE OF NAURUS
  ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1970s TO
  THE DETRIMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN PARTICULAR
  THE FLORA AND FAUNA.

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• TRUST FUND (FUND 4) WAS ESTABLISHED BY THE NAURU
  GOVERNMENT AFTER INDEPENDENCE TO PROVIDE MONIES
  FOR THE REHABILITATION OF THE MINED-OUT LAND.
  LAND MINED PRIOR TO INDEPENDENCE WAS THE
  RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ADMINISTRATING GOVERNMENT
  THEN.
• THE ISSUE OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE
  ADMINISTRATING GOVERNMENT CAME TO A HEAD WHEN THE
  NAURU GOVERNMENT FILED A SUIT AGAINST AUSTRALIA
  IN THE ICJ IN EARLY 1990s RESULTING IN AN
  OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT BY AUSTRALIA IN 1993.
• THE TREATY THAT WAS BORNE OUT OF THE SETTLEMENT
  CREATED A REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT
  COOPERATION AGREEMENT (RADCA) BETWEEN AUSTRALIA
  AND NAURU.

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• AUSAID AND THE NAURU REHABILITATION CORPORATION
  (CREATED IN 1999) WERE APPOINTED THE COORDINATING
  AUTHORITY FOR THE RESPECTIVE GOVERNMENTS.
• AFTER A PROTRACTED DEBATE ON THE LOGISTICS OF
  DISBURSING OF FUNDS AND A WORK PROGRAM, AUSAID
  AND NRC FINALLY AGREED IN 2006 ON HOW TO MOVE
  FORWARD ON THE TWO ISSUES.
• IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR NRC SUBMITTED A FIVE YEAR
  PLAN TO AUSAID FOR THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE
  AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT WHICH WOULD REDUCE THE
  COORDINATION BETWEEN THE TWO ENTITIES TO
  MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF KPIs AND HALF-YEARLY
  REVIEWS AS PROVIDED UNDER THE RADCA AGREEMENT.
• IN NOVEMBER 2005 THE NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE
  DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY WAS FORGED BY ALL
  STAKEHOLDERS IN NAURU. REHABILITATION WAS SET
  WITH HIGH PRIORITY.

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Medium Term Work Program

• In June 2005 NRC produced a scoping document
  setting out a program of work for the first 5
  years and beyond.
• It looked at rehabilitating about 313.5ha of land
  from the center to the northern part of the
  island
• Projects 13.5 ha national cemetery, 124 ha of
  agricultural land and 176 ha of forest and park
  (conservation) area

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MTWP

• Contouring 176 ha of the land to drain rain
  run-offs into the Ewa depression for Freshwater
  reservoir that will hold about 18,000,000 gallons
  Ewa lagoon
• Build access roads
• Nursery for the propagation of local flora and
  introduce agro-forestry
• Reforestation of reclaimed land

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Land Use Plan
The Government approved in 2001 the Land Use Plan
developed during 2000 which zoned the different
application of land over the whole of topside.
The first phase of the rehabilitation program
will cover approximately 313 ha of land from the
center of the island to the north.
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Pre-requisite Tasks

• NRC engaged the services of GSSE to carry out
  soil analysis with the objective of designing
  soil profile for different land use application
  report submitted of result of soil analysis and
  proposed profile.
• Repair of certain equipment which has been lying
  dead for several years to use in the
  rehabilitation project and test blasting.

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Collecting soil samples for analysis
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Pre-requisite

• Carry out controlled blasting tests using
  existing explosives tests were carried out in
  Dec 06 and was found that new generation of
  explosives is required that would reduce the
  shattering of the rock. Contamination of
  phosphate would be a problem if the coral stone
  shatters into small stones.

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Test blasting with existing explosives results in
rocks being shattered
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Production Run

• Procurement of suitable mining equipment to carry
  out production run
• Involves the removal of coral rocks, recovery of
  residual and secondary phosphate, crushing of
  coral stones to sizes as per the designed profile
  to backfill holes non-marketable grade phosphate
  will be used as backfill
• Lay topsoil using a mixture of mulch and black
  soil to designed profile
• Reforestation of land

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Acquisition of Plant Equipment
Signing of Rental Agreement with Delta Rental for
2 x 30 mt dump trucks, crusher screen system, 1
x frontend loader, 1 x 35 mt excavator and spares.
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Loading of equipment onto barge at Brisbane port
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The loading operation took over 12 hours to
complete
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Positioning of barge to unload equipment onto the
reef at Orro, Aiwo
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Unloading of equipment on Nauru
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REHABILITATION PROCESS
Trial Pit6
STEP 1. BUILD A RAMP INTO THE PIT AND REMOVE
PINNACLES UNDER CONTROL BLASTING AS THE
EQUIPMENT MOVES FORWARD.
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Step 2 Removal of Pinnacles
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STEP 3. Excavators will work from leveled ground
to extract secondary phosphate. E.g. Trial mining
in pit3
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STEP 4. Secondary phosphate extracted would be
stored in at least 2 stockpiles. (one for depth
less than 3m and one for over 3m depth) Samples
will taken and chemical composition analysed. The
stock will also be beneficiated by removing coral
stones thru the use of sieve buckets fitted to
excavators.
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STEP 5. Rock removed from the land will be sent
to the crushing plant for crushing and screening
process into the various sizes and will be used
for backfilling voids.
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STEP 6. Top soil cover will be laid onto top of
the backfill material in accordance to the
designed profiles. Top soil will consist of the
stored black soil mixed with mulch that the Waste
Management division has been producing from
tree-cutting work and collected organic waste.
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Piles of organic waste with mulch in the
background
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Topsoil stockpile approx 600 cu m of black soil
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STEP 7 - REFORESTATION
THE MINING OF PHOSPHATE REQUIRED THE REMOVAL OF
VIRGIN FOREST AND UNDERGROWTH INCLUDING THE THIN
LAYER OF OVERBURDEN TO EXPOSE THE PHOSPHATE
DEPOSIT. THERE HAS BEEN NO FORMAL OR ORGANIZED
EFFORT TO REFOREST THE BARON LAND SINCE THE
MINING STARTED.
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REVEGETATION OF MINED OUT LAND

• THE REVEGTATION HAS OCCURED NATURALLY

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NURSERY
NRC RECOMMISSIONED ITS NURSERY UNIT IN 2007 WITH
THE AIM OF PROPAGATING TREE SPIECES THAT ONCE
COVERED THE INTERIOR OF NAURU
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Tree species for reafforestation Program

• Genus Species
• Calophyllus inophyllum (Tomano)
• Guettarda speciosa
• Morinda citrifolia
• Pisonia garndis
• Premna obutusifolia
• Terminalia catappa
• Barringtonia asiatica
• Cerbera manghas
• Erythrina varietaga coral tree

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• Ficus prolixa native bunyan
• Hibiscus tiliaceus beach hibiscus
• Morinda citrifolia beach mulberry
• Pandanus tectorius pandanus
• Pisonia grandis pisonia
• Proposed list of groundcover and shrub
• Colubrina asiatica
• Dodonea viscosa
• Scaevola sericea

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• Groundcover
• Cynodon dactylon
• Cyperus javanicus
• Echinochola utilis
• Lepturus repens
• Polypodia scolopendria
• Stylosanthes numulis
• Triumfetta procumbens

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• Food Trees
• Cocos nucifera coconut
• Pandanus tectorus pandanus
• Artocarpus altilis breadfruit
• Mangifera indica mango
• Musa cultivans plantains
• Citrus curantifolia lime

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TOMANO TREE GROWN BY GRAFTING

• THE NURSERY STAFF HAVE BEEN UNDERGOING ON-THE-JOB
  TRAINING IN OPERATING A NURSERY BY SPC AND A
  CONSULTANT ENGAGED BY NRC. MAJOR RISK TO THE
  PROJECT IS SEED COLLECTION, TREATMENT AND
  STORAGE, A SPECIALIST JOB

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UNDERGROUND WATER

• EXPLORATION OF UNDERGROUND FRESHWATER AS THE
  SOURCE OF WATER FOR THE REFORESTATION PROGRAM WAS
  UNDERTAKEN BY NRC IN 2008.
• NEARLY 30 BORES WERE DRILLED AND EXISTING WELLS
  AT THE COAST WERE ADDED TO THE LIST FOR
  MONITORING AND EVALUATION
• PRELIMINARY RESULT OF THE DRILLING ARE SHOWN ON
  THE NEXT SLIDE.

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NRC IS AT THE DOOR STEP OF COMMENCING THE CIVIL
WORKS ASPECT OF THE REHABILITATION PROGRAM. THE
REFORESTATION OF THE RECLAIMED LAND IS VERY
CRITICAL TO THE PROJECT AND IN THIS REGARD THE
NRC WILL REQUIRE ON GOING SUPPORT FROM THE
REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS SPC TO PROVIDE THE
TECHNICAL ADVICE AND TRAINING. THE WORK TO
ESTABLISH A NURSERY CAPABLE OF PRODUCING THE
REQUIRE TREE SPECIES IN A TIMELY MANNER IS A
GREAT CHALLENGE AND ONE THAT NRC WILL HAVE TO
LOOK EXTERNALLY FOR ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT.
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GOING BACK TO THE FUTURE