PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A mining lease has been granted for the Muchea silica sands project, in Western Australia, ASX-listed VRX Silica reported on Thursday.
The mining lease covers 1 008 ha, including the development area, and would span for a period of five years.
“The grant of the mining lease is a significant milestone for VRX Silica and a major step forward in our journey to becoming a global, long-life supplier of high quality silica sand,” said MD Bruce Maluish.
“Demand from potential customers for long-term supply of silica sand from the Muchea project is strong. With the mining lease secured, we look forward to stepping up negotiations to finalise sales contracts for high quality silica sand products and secure the necessary funding for the project’s A$32-million development,” said Maluish.
The bankable feasibility study on the Muchea project has set an initial production target of 48.3-million tonnes from the project over a mine life of 25 years. The company intends to mine solely from the probable ore reserve of 14.6-million tonnes for the first nine to ten years of the mining operation.