Services

From Mining and Development Approvals to caring for our coastal and marine environment, our professional team provides a wide range of services to help you deliver your project on time and on budget.

environmental services | Environmental Management Plan | EMP | Construction environmental management plan | CEMP | Environmental Monitoring | Groundwater Monitoring | Environmental Risk Assessment 

Mining Approvals

Mining Approvals

COOE provides strategic planning, advice and project management assistance from project conception to implementation and evaluation. COOE’s experienced personnel work with all levels of government to guide mining clients through approvals, licensing and compliance requirements.

Mining approvals include:

  • Mineral Claims, Exploration, Mining and Miscellaneous Purposes Licence applications
  • Environmental Impact Statements
  • Environmental Authority applications and amendments
  • Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation
  • Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Plans
  • Estimated Rehabilitation Cost applications
  • EPBC Referrals
  • Vegetation clearance applications
  • Environmental Offsets

COOE offers a suite of mining related services

Development Approvals

COOE can assist with environmental assessments, management plans and any other requirements under local, State and Commonwealth legislation for land development applications and/or approvals for subdivisions and land re-zoning. COOE has a strong team of project managers, geologists, engineers and flora and fauna specialists that have worked in a variety of development sectors.

Our Services

  • Environmental Management Plans (EMP)
  • Assessing significant environmental values
  • Erosion and Sediment Control Plans (ESCP)
  • Land Suitability Assessment (LSA)
  • Consultation with regulators and stakeholders.

COOE offers a suite of development related services

Marine & Coastal

COOE has developed and delivered quality marine and coastal studies for small to large‐scale projects across a range of industries. COOE´s experienced team of marine scientists, engineers and managers work in partnership with our clients to design and undertake baseline and ongoing monitoring programs for a range of species’ and habitat management requirements. COOE works on all reporting and paperwork associated with licence applications, environmental permitting, vessel clearances, environmental impact statements, management and monitoring plans.
Our Services:

  • Subtidal and intertidal sampling and monitoring
  • Marine flora and macro/micro fauna identification and taxonomy
  • Mangrove and estuary monitoring
  • Marine mammal monitoring
  • Physio-chemical monitoring
  • Commercial diving & ROV operation
  • Preparation of Dredge Management Plans
  • Oceanographic monitoring
  • Rocky shore surveys
  • Sediment and suspended solids monitoring

Terrestrial Ecology

COOE delivers quality terrestrial flora, fauna and habitat studies for small to large‐scale projects across a range of industries. COOE plans and undertakes baseline and ongoing monitoring programs, delivers detailed species inventories and addresses species and habitat management requirements. Our scientists analyse data within current legislation and provide cost effective planning and management strategies.

Our Services:

  • EPBC Act assessments
  • Flora and fauna studies, including: 
    • Desktop assessment
    • Ecological surveys  
    • Threatened species assessment
    • Vegetation classification and mapping 
    • Roadside flora assessments 
    • Rehabilitation monitoring
    • Stygofauna assessment and survey
  • Vegetation offset assessment and significant environmental benefit calculation
  • Licensing for animal ethics and scientific research permits. 

Contaminated Land

A variety of historical and current land uses, and naturally occurring conditions can result in land contamination, impeding development and posing a threat to human health and the environment.

COOE scientists are experienced across the spectrum of soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water investigations arising from these conditions.

Our professionals have experience in assessing Contaminants of Potential Concern (COPCs) under the National Environmental Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure, as amended 2013 (ASC NEPM) framework, across Australian and international jurisdictions, and developing cost-effective and practical investigation and management strategies across multiple industry sectors.

Our team includes Certified Environmental Practicioners and Contaminated Site Specialists, CEnvP CS 40036.

Our Services include:

  • Contaminated site assessment – Phase 1, Phase 2, Remediation, Waste Classification for landfill disposal, and beneficial reuse, including PFAS & radiological experience
  • Acid sulfate soil investigations (ASS) and management
  • Marine sediment characterisation and management for dredging, and other environmental impact assessment applications, including ASS, organic contaminants and Concentration of metals in marine sediment and seston (suspended particulates)
  • Mine waste geological assessments, Acid & Metalliferous Drainage (AMD) investigations, models, and management systems
  • Human health and ecological risk assessments
  • Regulatory liaison

Professional Hire

COOE Pty Ltd is licensed to carry on the business of an Employment Agent by SafeWork SA and can provide environmental professionals for long- term assignments or short-term secondments, fully supported (on request) by our experienced senior professionals.

This provides our clients with continuity of services during peak workloads or to cover temporary leave. Our environmental specialists will become familiar with your site, your people and your culture to ensure smooth transition into the work place and achieve the expected performance outputs.

We can also provide trained field technicians, graduates or junior environmental staff backed by technical support from our highly experienced senior professionals.

Professional hire benefits to you:

  • Minimises risk of environmental non-compliance and costly shut downs
  • Maintains continuity of monitoring programs and reporting
  • Immediate response to environmental incidents
  • Reduction in management requirements
  • Recruitment cost savings.

COOE has successfully placed long and short-term staff with companies such as Nyrstar, Port Augusta Council, RPS, Rex Minerals, Murray Zircon, Newcrest Mining, Rio Tinto and Terramin Australia.

Geology & Engineering

COOE’s experienced personnel deliver cost effective and innovative solutions to geological challenges. Our geological and engineering team work within the mining industry to provide a broad range of strategic and practical advice relating to the exploration, feasibility, construction, mining and closure phases of resource projects.

Our Services:

  • Geological mapping
  • Geological sampling, analysis and assessment
  • Regulatory environmental approvals and reporting
  • Acid sulphate soil and acid rock drainage
  • GIS and cartography
  • Engineering Design
  • Geotechnical assessment
  • Progressive rehabilitation design and mind closure

Environmental Compliance & Management

COOE is committed to managing environmental risks, maintaining environmental compliance and assisting clients to deliver on their environmental objectives. COOE provide both environmental compliance monitoring and auditing services. We develop project-specific management plans and monitoring programs, and has successfully placed long and short-term staff to assist with implementation of environmental management processes.

We can provide:

  • Environmental compliance monitoring and reporting
  • Environmental Management Plans (EMP)
  • Compliance audits
  • Statutory reporting including annual environmental reports, National Pollutant Inventory and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting
  • Data Management, procession, analysis and reporting
  • Compliance triggers tracking for timely notification to management

Current Topic: PRC Plans and ERC – Queensland Rehabilitation Reforms

The Queensland Government is working to improve rehabilitation and financial assurance outcomes in the resources sector through the delivery of a broad package of reforms. The reforms have involved updates to legislation including changes to financial assurance arrangements (provisions and calculations) and new requirements for progressive rehabilitation and closure of mines. 

COOE can assist with applications and schedules needed for the changes put forth by the Queensland Rehabilitation Reforms. For more information please click here.

Mine Closure & Rehabilitation

Our extensive provision of mine closure designs and environmental management strategies are based on best industry practice and field-tested control measures for managing identified environmental risks. 

COOE are specialists in soil amelioration and soil moisture monitoring, rehabilitation tracking (using Ecosystem Function Analysis and other specialist methods), revegetation monitoring, metal mobilisation in ecosystem studies and germination trials. 

COOE can provide leading edge technology in landform design with in‐house software programs to calculate soil and waste rock volumes, structural geometric boundaries, cost saving design and complementary cost calculation software for mine closure planning.

Our lead specialists has provided high level Mine Closure advice to the World Bank Zambia, China and PNG, researched the rehabilitation of re mud ponds in Gove NT, researched and designed the Misima PNG – mine closure plan and the remediation and closure of the tailings spill at Marcopper Mine Philippines. COOE have researched, engineered, implemented and monitored the Telfer Mesa Landform mine closure system for Newcrest Mining

Our Services:

  • All stages of mine rehabilitation from research to post-construction monitoring
  • Acid metalliferous drainage (AMD) management services: model verification, waste rock characterisation, risk assessment and management plan development and validation
  • Mine closure planning and cost calculations including developing site-specific cost calculation software and developing mine closure criteria

Environmental Chemistry

COOE offers the services of experienced environmental chemists and toxicologists for routine monitoring and site specific assessment. COOE personnel are qualified to make contaminant determinations based on the most current regulatory requirements.

Services we offer:

  • Soil chemistry for agronomic, environmental and contaminant assessments and audits
  • Sediment chemistry for marine and aquatic habitat impact assessments
  • Mine waste rock, heap leach and tailings physical and geochemical characterisation
  • Metal mobilisation in the environment from soil, water airborne dust and food to plant and animal tissue uptake and accumulation
  • Specialist investigations such as hydrocarbon and PFAS studies.

Water Quality & Aquatic Ecology

COOE provides cost effective, quality solutions to environmental challenges. Our Water Quality and Aquatic Ecology team supply strategic advice to the mining industry for water resource planning, development and management.

COOE delivers results across a broad range of projects requiring high‐level project and program management experience and technical support towards approval processes, stakeholder and regulator liaison.

Our services include:

  • Receiving Environment Monitoring Programs (REMP)
  • Surface water and sediment sampling
  • Soil chemistry assessment
  • Macroinvertebrate surveys (in accordance with AUSRIVAS)
  • Stygofauna surveys
  • Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem identification (GDEs)