Sun Metals is committed to achieving very high performance standards against all regulatory and environmental responsibilities. Regular reviews of practices and procedures are carried out to ensure that efficient and practical measures are utilized to improve plant and environmental performance and minimize impacts. SMC is committed to continuous improvement and environmental considerations are taken into account at the planning stage of all development work. Greater than 99.5% of the sulphur dioxide generated in the roasting process is converted to high grade sulphuric acid resulting in low SO2 emission concentrations from the acid plant. Emissions are below 1 kg per tonne of acid produced, which is well below the 2 kg per tonne standard. Low SO2 emissions are further verified by two ambient air monitoring stations which are 5 kilometres west/southwest of the plant. The Heleen Downs station measures ambient ground level SO2 and total suspended particulate along with wind speed and wind direction. This station is operated jointly with the Queensland Environment Protection Agency who has continuous and direct access to the station and who manages the daily performance. The EPA reports results monthly and this report is available to all interested parties. There are no wastewater discharges from the refinery and all stormwater is retained on site in a 450 megalitre double lined storage pond. Process wastewater is treated in a nanofiltration/reverse osmosis plant with filtrate reused in process and concentrate disposed of by evaporation in a lined evaporation pond. Design of the stormwater system is based on containment of runoff from a 1 in 100 year wet season. Stormwater reuse is based on rates determined from modelling carried out using 110 years of historical rainfall data. Stormwater is reused in process or for irrigation of landscaped areas within the site. Ponds used for the storage of waste material on site are double lined with polypropylene geomembrane. Ponds are provided with leakage detection sumps, which enables the rate and quality of leakage occurring between the liners to be measured. In addition, a series of groundwater monitoring bores have been installed around the ponds to determine if any contamination of ground water is occurring. Measuring leakage at the pond and groundwater adjacent to the ponds is considered best practice for waste retention ponds on site. Environment training of operators is included in the program for a Certificate in Metalliferous Mining. This training provides operators with an understanding of the monitoring carried out and the cause/effect relationship that exists between operations and the receiving environment. SMC is required under its Environmental Licence to develop and implement an Environmental Management System (EMS). SMC has produced a draft EMS that has been reviewed by the regulatory authority. This system is being implemented in stages with procedures in place for a number of activities.