The second part of the Sun Metals Mission is to be the most environmentally responsible zinc refinery in the world.

Being situated close to Cleveland Bay, the Muntalunga Range and the Sandfly Creek floodplain, we are committed to protecting this surrounding sensitive natural environment through continuously monitoring and improving our performance across all aspects of the operation.

We take pride in our stormwater management system with all stormwater falling within the refinery being collected for reuse.  Waste water generated through the refining process is treated on site and also reused throughout the refinery.  This capture, treatment and reuse of stormwater and process water not only protects the surrounding environment but also significantly reduces our use of valuable town water supplies.

Sun Metals operates an integrated and sophisticated network of monitoring programs that monitor the refinery’s performance.  This monitoring network includes:

• A comprehensive Receiving Environment Monitoring Program (REMP) which monitors the water quality, sediment quality and ecological condition of the freshwater wetlands and estuarine environments within the Sandfly Creek area and Cleveland Bay;
• Continuous SO2 monitoring;
• Groundwater, surface water and sediment monitoring;
• Dust monitoring;
• Weather information including air temperature, rain, wind speed and direction, humidity and barometric pressure.

Our environmental monitoring programs inform our operational decisions and management strategies and support us in developing improvement initiatives and identifying future development opportunities.  Our commitment to identifying, understanding and continuously improving our operations is implemented through our Environmental Management System which is independently certified to ISO14001 requirements.

To find out more about our unique surroundings and monitoring network, click on the interactive map.