Name and Location
Dubbo zirconia project (DZP), New South Wales, Australia.

Client
Alkane Resources.

Project Description
The DZP is a development project based on one of the world’s largest in-ground resources of rare metals and rare earths.

A variety of rare-earth and metal concentrates will be produced, including zirconium, niobium, hafnium, tantalum, yttrium, europium, dysprosium and neodymium.

The DZP is expected to mine 19.5-million tonnes of ore over 20 years, producing 75 000 t/y of concentrate.

The project includes:
• a small opencut mine;
• processing and refining facilities, a plant and equipment, including a 90-m-high stack;
• chemical storage areas, including a tank farm;
• waste encapsulation cells;
• water and gas supply pipelines;
• road upgrades; and
• the potential reopening of the adjoining railway line.

While the project is proposed to operate for 20 years at the proposed extraction rate, the ore deposit will not be exhausted over this period. Consequently, there is potential for additional mining in future.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The mine will require an initial capital investment of A$1.06-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The federal Department of Environment has approved the development of the DZP.

The department assessed the project’s impact on the pink-tailed work lizard (PTWL), a threatened species in the region.

The approval incorporates several conditions, including a maximum limit of ground clearance of the defined extent of the PTWL habitat, the submission of a mine-site PTWL management plan, a biodiversity offset management plan and securing the lands identified as the offset area as a biodiversity offset by legal instrument.

A comprehensive PTWL management plan was submitted as part of the environmental-impact statement to the state government.

State development consent was granted in May and, by June, the project had received development consent from the Planning and Assessment Commission.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alkane Resources, tel +61 8 9227 5677, fax +61 8 9227 8178 or email info@alkane.com.au.