Our projects

In 2016, CO2 Australia was engaged by U&D Mining (now Sojitz Blue) to prepare a Matters of National Environmental Significance Management Plan (MNESMP) for their Meteor Downs South project, and an Offset Area Management Plan (OAMP) for the corresponding offset property.

As a means of ensuring a swift assessment and thus approval for the client, CO2 Australia invested significantly in overhauling the content of the traditionally non-committal management plans typically submitted to the Commonwealth Government at that time. As part of this overhaul, CO2 Australia incorporated measurable, repeatable and enforceable elements such as the introduction of interim performance targets and completion criteria for assessing progress toward management objectives. Not only did this overhaul facilitate the transparent implementation of an adaptive management framework into the MNESMP and OAMP, but also resulted in a reduced risk to the client by reducing ambiguity and subjectivity as to the efficacy of management implemented at their mine sites and offset areas. Consequently, the structure and content of those management plans, including the monitoring requirements drafted, were acknowledged by the Commonwealth Government as representing the new industry standard.

As part of those management plans, CO2 Australia also developed approved proprietary methods for monitoring weeds and threatened grass species, as well as adapted standard Commonwealth and State Government methods for monitoring feral pigs, rabbits, wild dogs and feral cats. These methods have since been incorporated into offset monitoring programs for numerous clients, including Sojitz since 2017. Monitoring is undertaken twice a year at each of the properties that includes habitat condition assessments, targeted surveys, photo monitoring and biomass/fuel load monitoring.

Notably, a new and yet undescribed species of grass (Dichanthium sp. affine sericeum) was discovered in 2018 by Dr Jarrad Cousin at the project site. This new-to-science species is currently in the process of being described by the Queensland Herbarium, with additional populations discovered by Dr Cousin during preliminary field assessments at other properties in the greater Springsure-Rolleston area.