Deep Yellow Limited: Mulga Rock Sandhill Dunnart Conservation Plan Approved
Implementation of the Mulga Rock Project (MRP) was approved under Ministerial Statement No. 1046 (MS 1046) on 16 December 2016. Under Condition 2 of MS 1046, the Company was required to prepare the SDCP to manage the potential impact to the Sandhill Dunnart marsupial associated with the implementation of the project and reduce the threat to the Sandhill Dunnart posed by feral animals within the defined area.
Condition 2 of MS1046 required further that the proposed defined area of the SDCP be located outside of the MRP development envelope and within the project boundary, contain at least 6,000ha of suitable habitat and contain a local population of Sandhill Dunnart (see Figure 1*).
On approval, the SDCP was published on the Deep Yellow website for stakeholder review on 1 February 2023 and has been developed in collaboration with suitably qualified experts. The study comprised the monitoring of 50 quadrats, providing a unique long-term survey of small mammal behaviour along with other wildlife occurring in the Yellow Sand Plain region of the Great Victoria Desert.
The approval of the SDCP represents the culmination of a first-of-a-kind camera trapping program targeted at small mammals and established since 2013. Camera surveys were carried out to support permitting of the MRP and now exceeds 50,000 trap nights offering a unique insight into the ecology of the region surrounding the project (see Figure 2*).
Results from the study identified numerous positive sightings of the Sandhill Dunnart marsupials and found to occur over a large portion of the SDCP defined area, all pointing to existence of a robust Sandhill Dunnart population across the survey area.
Next steps
Deep Yellow will provide a list of all Sandhill Dunnarts and feral species sightings made in future Annual Environmental Reports to DCCEEW and in accordance with MS 1046 to the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).
Deep Yellow will also engage and share those datasets with local and national stakeholders involved in biodiversity preservation, threatened species and habitat management such as the Great Victoria Desert Biodiversity Trust, the Threatened Species Index, and research institutions.
The prolonged and extensive investment associated with the development of the SDCP will result in the preservation of a habitat supportive of the Sandhill Dunnart and deliver critical knowledge in managing and re-establishing habitat for threatened species in an Australian desert environment.
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/63P6OXQA
About Deep Yellow Limited:
Deep Yellow Ltd. (ASX:DYL) (OTCMKTS:DYLLF) (Namibian Stock Exchange:DYL) is a differentiated, advanced uranium exploration company, in predevelopment phase, implementing a contrarian strategy to grow shareholder wealth. This strategy is founded upon growing the existing uranium resources across the Company's uranium projects in Namibia and the pursuit of accretive, counter-cyclical acquisitions to build a global, geographically diverse asset portfolio. A PFS has recently been completed on its Tumas Project in Namibia and a DFS commenced February 2021. The Company's cornerstone suite of projects in Namibia is situated within a top-ranked African mining destination in a jurisdiction that has a long, well-regarded history of safely and effectively developing and regulating its considerable uranium mining industry.
Source:
Deep Yellow Ltd.
Contact:
John Borshoff Managing Director/CEO T: +61-8-9286-6999 E: john.borshoff@deepyellow.com.au W: www.deepyellow.com.au Media: Cameron Gilenko T: +61-466-984-953 e: cgilenko@citadelmagnus.com