MRC refused mining right for West Coast mine

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has refused to extend Australian junior Mineral Commodities’ mining rights application for its Tormin mineral sands mine, on the West Coast near Lutzville.

In an attempt to accelerate early access to identified resources to extend its mining operations at Tormin, the company’s local subsidiary, Mineral Sands Resources (MSR), submitted the application in April.

MSR mandated environmental consultant SRK Consulting to manage the process, with areas covered by the Section 102 application including both the beaches to the north of the Tormin mine and the inland strand located on the company-owned Geelwal Karoo farm.

The National Environmental Management Act authorisation forms part of the Section 102 application and deals with identifying listed activities, which impact the environment and require authorisation.

The final scoping report was submitted to the DMR in June. However, MSR claims that the processing of the report was significantly delayed within the DMR and that the recent refusal of the integrated environmental authorisation application was issued without the submission of a full environmental impact assessment.

“We are assessing the reasons for the refusal and will consider lodging an appeal to the appealing authority, the Department of Environmental Affairs or potentially making a new application for an integrated environmental authorization,” it said in a statement.

The company also has four current prospecting rights under application, which are still being processed by the DMR.

In a further development and in an attempt to assist in the permitting process and demonstrate the additional socioeconomic benefits that the Tormin mine would continue to provide through the extension of mining and prospecting rights, the company recently met with the Minerals and Petroleum Board Sub-Committee and requested assistance.

Meanwhile, MRC also announced that it had been awarded six new exploration licences and entered into a joint venture in Western Australia on another exploration tenement. The company is targeting lithium, channel iron and gold/copper deposits.

The Yandeyarra lithium prospect is located in the Wodgina pegmatite and greenstone district, which is less than 50 km away from three lithium/tantalum projects under development and in production.

At the Doolgunna JV, MRC has the right to earn up to 90% in the tenement by committing A$40 000 for past expenditure and undertaking exploration work over a two-year earn-in period. The tenement has numerous mesothermal-style gold stockwork systems and has produced numerous coarse gold nuggets from quarts reefs over the past 100 years. The tenement used to be known as the Revere project.

In addition to gold targets, there is also a strong target for volcanogenic massive sulphide copper/gold systems, the company stated.

At the Cave Hill prospect, near the Andy Well mine, MRC will target copper and gold. The company intends to drill a number of exploration holes to investigate historical copper and gold anomalies.

MRCH has also lodged an exploration licence over a number of channel iron deposits in the Ashburton Shire in the Hamersley range, south-east of Onslow.