PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Dubbo zirconia project has received development consent from the New South Wales Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC), owner Alkane Resources reported on Tuesday.
MD Ian Chalmers said that the approval was a significant milestone for the project, enabling Alkane to move ahead with applications for the environmental protection licence, mining lease and other permitting in order to secure project financing and advance project development.
“We recognise there are a number of important steps before construction begins, but we are delighted to achieve development consent for the Dubbo zirconia project, and are looking forward to taking the next steps towards establishing this globally significant operation.”
Chalmers said that the project would not only mean a transformation for Alkane, but would have a significant impact on the region, creating some 300 jobs and strategically important resource exports for Australia.
The project was expected to extract 19.5-million tonnes of rare metals and rare-earth ores from an opencut mine, over a 20-year mine life, at a rate of one-million tonnes a year.
Alkane was also proposing to establish a processing facility to produce 75 000 t/y of concentrate, which would be transported to either Port Botany or Newcastle for export.
The mine would require an initial investment of A$1.06-billion, and would employ 400 people during construction and 250 staff during operations.