VRX Silica (ASX: VRX) has provided and update on the the environmental approval process for the Arrowsmith North silica sand development proposal.
On 9 January 2025 the Company announced that the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia (EPA) had published its Assessment Report (Report) for the Proposal and recommended to the Minister for Environment that the Proposal may be implemented, subject to conditions that had been accepted by VRX following consultation with the EPA.
Publication of the Report triggered commencement of a three-week review period during which appeals against the content and recommendations in the Report may be submitted to the Office of the Appeals Convenor for the State Government.
VRX has received notice from the Office of the Appeals Convenor that on 30 January 2025 an appeal was lodged by the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA). The appeal contains a number of grounds for appeal in respect of the Report and the Proposal.
The appeal will be investigated by the Office of the Appeals Convenor on behalf of the Minister for Environment, which will involve obtaining comments from the EPA, the Company and any other public authorities or individuals with an interest in the subject matter of the appeal.
Once investigations have been completed, a report will be prepared by Office of the Appeals Convenor for the consideration of the Minister for Environment. The Minister will then determine the appeal, the details of which will be communicated to all interested parties and consider whether or not to approve the Proposal under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986.
The Company has an opportunity to respond to the matters raised in the appeal by 3 March 2025. There is no statutory timeframe for completion of the appeal process.
The Proposal was subject to a four-week Public Environmental Review (PER) period that was completed in July 2023. A summary of the PER submissions was received by the Company from the EPA in September 2023 and, following a lengthy consultation process with various stakeholders, including the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER), and the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the Company’s Response to Submissions (RtS) from the PER process was lodged with the EPA in May 2024. The RtS was supported by a comprehensive, peerreviewed Rehabilitation Management Plan, an Offset Strategy and reports from several additional studies undertaken by the Company. It was accepted and published by the EPA in November 2024.
Submissions were received from the CCWA during the PER process and responded to by the Company in the RtS.
VRX will now prepare its response to the matters raised in the appeal.
During the appeal process, the Company will continue to progress the approval required from DCCEEW for the Proposal as well as additional permitting approvals processes that run in parallel during the environmental approvals process.
Arrowsmith North has the potential to support a new, long-term industry for Western Australia with substantial benefits to the State and Mid West region including long-term direct and indirect employment opportunities and royalties. The project has considerable support from a range of stakeholders, including local indigenous groups, local shires, the Mid West Development Commission, the Mid West Chamber of Commerce & Industry and State and Federal Governments. It boasts robust economic metrics for the supply of multiple silica sand products for a growing Asian market.
