PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian government has given environmental approval for ASX-listed Northern Minerals to develop its Browns Range heavy rare earths project.
The environmental clearance marked the completion of the Browns Range project’s primary environmental assessment process.
MD George Bauk told shareholders on Tuesday that the grant of environmental approval paved the way for the development of the project.
“Receiving the primary environmental approval is a significant step forward in the project’s development and clears the path for Browns Range to become the first significant dysprosium producer outside of China.”
Northern Minerals was hoping for a 2016 production start at Browns Range, after a June prefeasibility study estimated that the project would have a net present value of A$446-million. The study was based on a conventional mining operation involving both opencut and underground operation, with Browns Range expected to deliver about 279 000 kg/y of dysprosium, over a mine life of ten years.
Bauk said that the company’s focus would now be on finalising the feasibility study for the project and securing offtake and financing to progress Browns Range through to construction in 2015 and commissioning in 2016.
The environmental approval now also facilitated the assessment and subsequent approval of the secondary licences, which Northern Minerals had been working on concurrently during the primary environmental assessment process.
These approvals include the mining proposal and project management plan from the Department of Mines and Petroleum, the works approval and licences from the Department of Environment Regulation and water licences from the Department of Water.
The project would not require federal assessment, as it was previously deemed as a ‘not controlled action’.