Photo by: Bloombeg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The start of mining at the Bauxite Hills project, in Queensland, would be delayed by some six months, owner Metro Mining reported on Thursday, as the company confirmed the need for a full environmental-impact statement (EIS).
Metro earlier this month flagged that it had been verbally advised by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP) that the Bauxite Hills project would require a full EIS, despite already having received a detailed site-specific environment authority application.
Metro told shareholders on Thursday that while it was disappointed with the DEHP decision, the company would now improve the opportunities available through the EIS. This included the removal of the two-million-tonne-a-year production limit, the provision for the ability to increase the scale of the operation to improve market significance, the ability to realise economies of scale to achieve a superior financial return and facilitation of further community and stakeholder engagement.
Furthermore, Metro would request an interdepartmental review of the DEHP’s decision.
In the meantime, the company had also started commercial development of the terms of reference, the first step of the EIS process.
A February feasibility study estimated that the Bauxite Hills mine would deliver some two-million tonnes a year of direct shipping ore (DSO) product over a mine life of 21 years.
The DSO operation was expected to require a capital investment of only A$27.4-million and would deliver an internal rate of return of 88% and a net present value after tax of A$197-million.