VRX Silica (ASX: VRX) has provided its June quarter activities report.
VRX is a Western Australian based pure-play silica sand exploration and development company with five high-value, advanced, very long-term silica sand projects in Western Australia, a Tier 1 mining region – Arrowsmith North, Arrowsmith Central, Arrowsmith Brand, Muchea and Boyatup. Each project can be run independently and supply high-grade silica sand to many diverse markets.
The Company has multi-decade scale contiguous sand deposits on granted Mining Leases with secure tenure and a combined +1.4Bn tonne Mineral Resource11 of 99.6% to 99.9% SiO2 grade silica sand.
Major Advance In Arrowsmith North Environmental Approvals Process
In June 2023 VRX announced that the Environmental Review Document (ERD) for Arrowsmith North had been accepted by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) for publication and a four-week Public Environmental Review (PER).
The PER process commenced on 19 June 2023 for a four week period and included a requirement for VRX to respond to all comments received. This PER and response process are the final steps before the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia (EPA) prepares an assessment report including recommendations to the Western Australian Environment Minister on whether the proposal should be approved.
Environmental approval for Arrowsmith North is crucial and linked to VRX’s ability to secure other necessary approvals for mining. The PER milestone therefore is a significant step in Arrowsmith North’s approvals process.
VRX has proposed a unique method for rehabilitation of the mined area that provides for the best possible outcome for regeneration of native vegetation.
The ERD seeks approval for a development area that has the potential to underpin a project lasting up to 30 years, underscoring the enormous economic contribution that could flow to the Irwin Shire in particular and Western Australia more broadly.
VRX has previously received confirmation from the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for an accredited assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act). Accredited assessment means the Commonwealth can rely on environmental assessments undertaken by the EPA for the purpose of its approval decisions under the EPBC Act on proposals that may have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance.
VRX has conducted extensive environmental studies on its silica sand projects over a number of seasons since 2017 in anticipation of requirements of the State and Commonwealth environmental regulatory authorities to undertake approvals assessments. These surveys commenced shortly after the tenements were acquired and the number and extent of these surveys have expanded following further consultation with these authorities. The Company has initially concentrated on gaining approval for development of Arrowsmith North.
The Arrowsmith North proposal was referred to the EPA for assessment under Part IV, Section 38 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) (EP Act) in March 2021. The referral was reviewed and in May 2021 the EPA determined that the Proposal would be assessed at a ‘Public Environmental Review’ or PER level, with a requirement for a four-week public review period.
The Company submitted an Environmental Scoping Document (ESD) to the EPA for assessment in September 2021. The ESD was approved in March 2022.
In May 2022 VRX lodged with the EPA the first-draft ERD for the proposal. The ERD is a document required under the PER process. The ERD was prepared according to the EPA’s Administrative Procedures Manual and other guidance documents and amendments. The ERD is a comprehensive summary of the proposal’s environmental setting, the physical elements of the proposed mine and infrastructure, operational elements, the extent of impacts on the environment and the proposed rehabilitation and closure plan. VRX received a number of requests for further information and provided a final ERD to DWER in May 2023, which was accepted by DWER on 8 June 2023.
The final ERD, which comprises a 341 page summary and 32 appendices detailing a comprehensive environmental impact description of the proposal, was published by the EPA for a four-week PER period, commencing on 19 June 2023.
An important feature of the proposal is the implementation of progressive rehabilitation using the unique Vegetation Direct Transfer (VDT) method, which is estimated to result in the best restoration of the vegetation and habitats within the mine area.
The VDT methodology can be viewed at:
https://vrxsilica.com.au/miningandrehabilitationmethodology/
Following completion of the four-week PER period, DWER will compile public submissions for the Company to review. The Company will then prepare a response to public submissions for consideration by the EPA.
Importantly this stage of the environmental approvals process for Arrowsmith North will establish the credentials for the use of VDT in Kwongan Heath, which is the vegetation encountered at Arrowsmith North and also for the grasses and sedges within Banksia Woodland at our other projects.
The ERD and further information on the proposal is available on the EPA website at:
https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/proposals/arrowsmith-north-silica-sand-project
A copy of the ERD is also available on the VRX website at:
https://vrxsilica.com.au/arrowsmith-north-erd-documents/
Arrowsmith Brand Mineral Resource Estimate
In May 2023, VRX announced an extension of its known JORC 2012 compliant Resources at Arrowsmith area with a new Resource at its new Arrowsmith Brand Silica Sand Project, located 270km north of Perth.
The new Resource is contiguous and south of Arrowsmith North and bounded to the south by the Brand Highway road reserve.
The combined Resources at Arrowsmith now provide a future pipeline of additional production utilising some of the infrastructure to be developed at Arrowsmith North.
Whilst development of Arrowsmith Brand is not a current priority, extended timelines are now commonplace for mining approvals and this project has the potential to expand production to meet ever increasing demand for silica sand products.
The silica sand at Arrowsmith Brand is similar to Arrowsmith North, with testwork to-date from samples within this Resource has indicated similar products can be produced. Following the production of the preliminary estimate at Arrowsmith Brand, VRX has lodged an application for a Mining Lease.
The Arrowsmith Brand Mining Lease Application M 70/1418 has an area of 1,994 Ha and predominately within Exploration Licence E70/5027, partially within E70/5109 and is contiguous with the granted Arrowsmith North Mining Lease M70/1389, Figure 2 below. The Mining Lease was granted subsequent to the end of the quarter on 18 July 2023.
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