Employees 

Project Managers

Our diverse team comes from a range of backgrounds including botany, applied science, biology, environmental management, environmental science, geology, hydrogeology, aquatic ecology, conservation, zoology, agriculture and soil science. We offer a skilled team who can ensure a quality product, excellent service, timeliness and accuracy.

Senior Scientists/Principals

Our Service Group Leaders are leading consultants in their respective fields. Their focus is to meet our clients’ needs by remaining at the forefront of knowledge in relevant disciplines.

Clients

Outback Ecology works with resources companies in all regions of Western Australia, including:

• Kimberleys (diamonds, nickel)
• Pilbara (iron ore, oil and gas, gold)
• Murchison (gold, base metals, vanadium)
• Goldfields (gold, nickel)
• South-west (mineral sands, bauxite, nickel)

We work with clients both in Australia and internationally.

1. Aquatic Ecology
   The Aquatic Ecology team has a comprehensive database of the biota and chemistry of inland waters in Western Australia, and provides a range of services related to salt lake, creek and freshwater ecology, and subterranean fauna - stygofauna and troglofauna. Our experienced team has skills in sediment and water sampling, and in taxonomy and community dynamics of algae (including diatoms), cyanobacteria, aquatic macrophytes, subterranean fauna (stygofauna and troglofauna), aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, riparian vegetation, and cryptogamic crusts.
   
   
2. Rehabilitation and Ecosystem Function Analysis
   Outback Ecology has been an industry leader in the establishment and application of Ecosystem Function Analysis (EFA) on rehabilitated landforms on mine sites throughout Australia. With monitoring programs established at over 40 active and closed mines sites since 1999, Outback Ecology has applied the principals of LFA in the Pilbara, Kimberley and Goldfields of Western Australia as well as arid Victoria, tropical and arid Northern Territory, Queensland and rangeland South Australia. The complete EFA monitoring technique includes Landscape Function Analysis (LFA), vegetation dynamics, erosion and habitat complexity measures. This holistic approach was designed to better represent the developing natural and rehabilitated ecosystems.
   Features of the Outback Ecology EFA monitoring program are listed in the following:
• Our methods, and their continued improvement, are reviewed and endorsed by David Tongway, as is our reporting approach
• We have developed our report and methodology in consultation with regulators, and involve regulators in a rehabilitated mine site training days
• Full safety analysis for each site and appropriate OHS planning and procedures
• Standardised data entry templates and QA methods employed, to ensure data integrity
• Thorough assessment of data, and trends over time, with a view to documenting ecosystem development, and for comparison with trends in surrounding rangelands
• The availability of 9 years of background EFA data from approximately 40 mine sites in WA as a reference
  
  
3. Flora and Fauna Services
   The Flora and Fauna teams at Outback Ecology developed from a strong commitment to providing quality ecological information to a range of resources sector clients. The group continues to deliver a broad range of ecological and land management services to a diverse client base. We have experienced staff who are competent with terrestrial baseline surveys, vegetation and habitat mapping, targeted flora and fauna species searches, short range endemics, management plans, conservation assessments, threatened and priority species management plans and fauna translocation.
   
   
4. Soils and Landforms
   The soils team at Outback Ecology works closely with the mining industry in the key areas of:
• Soil and waste characterisation for soil profile reconstruction and rehabilitation planning
• Design, construction, rehabilitation and monitoring of soil covers for tailings and hostile wastes 
• Tailings investigations and rehabilitation research
• Planning and cost optimisation for waste landform design (through Landform Solutions, a joint venture with DumpSolver P/L)
  
  
5. Tailings Decommissioning and Closure
   The Tailings Group at Outback Ecology supply quality environmental studies and closure planning to the mining sector. The group forms a significant part of the company and provides a broad range of tailings management services and offers expertise in staged closure investigations and rehabilitation trials, TSF closure planning, design and implementation of TSF closure programs, and post-closure monitoring and reporting for TSFs.
   
   
6. Environmental Management
   Environmental approvals, management and compliance services are provided to a range of clients, predominantly in the mining sector. Services range from new project environmental approvals through to annual reporting and auditing of mine sites for environmental compliance. The Environmental Management Group within Outback Ecology also offer temporary environmental officer support, on short or long term contracts, for companies with limited environmental resources at site. Team members offer a diverse range of skills and have a combined experience of over 50 years in the Western Australian Mining Industry
   
   
7. Mine Closure
   The Mine Closure team at Outback Ecology provide quality mine closure planning advice and strategies to a large range of clients within the mining sector. Our services include:
   • Planned mine closure strategies including ‘progressive rehabilitation and closure systems’
   • Accelerated mine closure strategies in the event of unplanned or temporary mine closure
   • Strategies for progressive liability reduction
   • Legal compliance registers
   • Establishment and supervision of rehabilitation and closure activities
   • Quality assurance of closure works
   • Completion criteria establishment and auditing