PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The South Australian government will assess the Hawsons iron project as a possible Major Project, subject to a state-run process and the determination of assessment requirements towards Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) obligations.
ASX-listed Hawsons Iron’s next step will be to lodge a formal development application with supporting information.
MD Bryan Granzien on Monday welcomed the declaration by South Australia’s Minister for Planning Nick Champion, in response to the application.
“Significantly, this declaration reflects the importance and scale of the Hawsons iron project within South Australia and its potential as the global steel industry aggressively pursues pathways to decarbonise,” he said.
Once the formal application has been submitted, it would then be forwarded to the State Planning Commission to determine the assessment requirements for the preparation of an EIS.
The South Australian declaration follows the federal government’s decision in April to renew the project’s status as a Major Project for three more years in recognition of its potential to supply high-grade, quality magnetite for the production of low emissions steel.
The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment has also similarly declared the project a State Significant Development.
Hawsons is currently undertaking a bankable feasibility study on the project, focused on the development of a 20-million-tonne-a-year project, and based on a mineral resource of some 400-million tonnes. Completion of the study is scheduled for December this year, and Hawsons Iron is targeting first production by the second half of 2024.