Aspiring silica sands miner VRX Silica (ASX: VRX) has lodged an application for its second silica sand mining lease at its Muchea project, located 50km north of Perth. The application includes 92 per cent of the total previously announced mineral resource of 191 million tonnes at 99.6 per cent SiO2, but is expected to increase with deeper drilling.
Highlights:
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Mining Lease Application MLA70/1390 submitted for Muchea Silica Sand Project
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Includes Mineral Resource for silica sand within the MLA boundary of 175.2 Mt @ 99.6% SiO2
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Prior testwork demonstrates that the Resource can be processed to high-quality glass-making sand
VRX Silica Limited (VRX Silica or Company) (ASX: VRX) is pleased to announce the Company has lodged an application for its second silica sand Mining Lease at its Muchea Silica Sand Project, which is located 50km north of Perth.
The mining lease application includes 92% of the total previously announced Resource of 191 Mt @ 99.6% SiO2 (Muchea Maiden Resource of 20 November 2018) but is expected to increase with deeper drilling than the hand-auger sampling previously undertaken to estimate the Resource.
VRX Silica Managing Director Bruce Maluish said: “This application for a Mining Lease at Muchea is a very extensive application of nearly 3,000 hectares and covers the prospective Resource for very long-term future mining.” “Significant environmental studies have already been undertaken and will be finalised to lodge an application for a Mining Permit as soon as possible this year”, said Maluish.
This is the second of three Mining Lease applications that the Company will lodge in the short term with an application at Arrowsmith Central to be lodged imminently to complete the silica sand project applications.
The Company continues to field enquiries from interested customers for silica sand sales and is undertaking due diligence and testwork programs to confirm quality requirements. The Company has previously announced the receipt of Letters of Intent, “Three LOIs for Silica Sand Offtake” of 11 December 2018.
The Muchea Mining Lease Application MLA70/1390 has an area of 2,918Ha, see Table 1 below, and covers part of the Exploration Licence E70/4886, which was granted on 27/03/2017.