VRX Silica (ASX: VRX) welcomes confirmation from the WA Minister for the Environment, the Hon Matthew Swinbourn MLC, that he has determined the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia’s (EPA) assessment of the Arrowsmith North silica sand project was adequate and further assessment was not required.
The Minister had been asked to consider an appeal against the EPA’s report and recommendations in favour of conditional implementation of the Arrowsmith North development proposal. The appeal was lodged with the Office of the Appeals Convenor (OAC) in late January and triggered an investigation by the OAC, which submitted its report and recommendations in relation to the appeal to the Minister in early May 2025.
The Minister yesterday advised VRX that he had considered the information available, including the EPA response to the appeal, the appellant’s submissions, VRX’s response to the appeal, advice from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and the OAC’s report and recommendation.
The Minister allowed the appeal in part and accepted the OAC’s recommendations to amend conditions addressing dieback. VRX had previously considered and accepted the amendment.
The determination by the Minister is final and cannot be appealed.
This positive determination by the Minister is an important step in the environmental approvals process as VRX moves towards development of Arrowsmith North.
Arrowsmith North, 270km north of Perth, contains a globally significant deposit of high-quality silica sand that will enable VRX to produce more than 2Mtpa of silica sand for the foundry, container glass and flat-glass markets in Asia. Arrowsmith North has a JORC Proved and Probable Ore Reserve of 221Mt @ 99.5% SiO2.
