Vimy gets EPA approval for Mulga Rock uranium mine

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Perth-based resource development company Vimy Resources on Monday announced that Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) had given its approval for its Mulga Rock project, in the state’s Eastern Goldfields.

The EPA assessed Vimy’s proposal and prepared an assessment report, which has been sent to Western Australian Environment Minister Albert Jacob, who has to give his approval for the development of one of the country’s largest undeveloped uranium resources.

With an expected mine life of 16 years, the Mulga Rock project will mine up to 4.5-million tonnes a year of ore from four deposits to produce up to 1 360 t/y of uranium oxide concentrate (UOC). Located about 240 km east-northeast of Kalgoorlie, the project, which will also extract copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt, will transport the UOC by road to Port Adelaide in sealed steel drums within a secure shipping container.

The report recommends that the project’s proposal be implemented and specifies the conditions and procedures to which implementation should be subject.

The EPA has recommended 14 conditions and specified environmental management plans to ensure impacts to conservation significant flora, vegetation and terrestrial fauna were minimised, said EPA chairperson Dr Tom Hatton.

Mulga Rock is also being assessed under an assessment bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and Western Australia, under which Commonwealth Environment Minister Greg Hunt relies upon the environmental-impact assessment processes of Western Australia in assessing actions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. 

The assessment report will, therefore, help form the basis of Hunt’s assessment and subsequent decision in relation to the project.

The Western Australia EPA’s report is open for a 14-day appeal process, closing on August 29.

“We expect that there will be appeals,” the company said, noting that the Appeals Convenor aimed to have 80% of appeal reports submitted to the Minister within 60 days of receiving final responses.

CEO and MD Mike Young stated that the EPA had undertaken a “very efficient and thorough assessment and concluded that our project should be implemented and we see no reason why the state and Federal Ministers would not agree with that assessment”.

“This is a project which results in no significant residual impacts to the environment. We set out how we would manage the project to achieve that outcome and now we have a positive recommendation with conditions that require us to do what we said we would do – and of course we will exceed those expectations.”