PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government has reinforced that the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA), in South Australia, would remain open for mineral exploration and development activities.
Resources Minister Matt Canavan noted on Monday that while defence requirements would continue to take precedence in the WPA, other potential activities in the area would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
“The government is committed to coexistence in the WPA,” Canavan said.
His statement comes on the release of a review by Dr Gordon de Brouwer into coexistence arrangements in the WPA, which made 12 recommendations to ensure WPA coexistence arrangements remain fit for purpose over the coming years.
The recommendations included building on the success of the current arrangements, the development of a collaborative co-design process to determine the feasibility of a more flexible grid-based arrangement, the geological and economic analysis of the mineral, energy and groundwater resources in the region, and a further review of the WPA by 2025.
Canavan said that the review gave clearer guidance to non-defence users seeking to access the WPA and proposed appropriate security measures and safeguards.
The WPA is estimated to host known resources valued at about A$5.9-billion, with possible future mines estimated to have a combined net present value of between A$6.4-billion and A$19-billion, based on scenarios provided by Geoscience Australia.