EPA approval for Mulga Rock

Monday, 15 August 2016

Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has today recommended Vimy Resources' Mulga Rock uranium project for approval by the state's environment minister.

The EPA's endorsement of Vimy's plans to mine up to 1360 t U3O8 (1153 tU) per year at the project, 240 km east-northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia's Great Victoria Desert, follows an environmental impact assessment process which included a 12-week public review period. The EPA board examined the proposal and tested it against six key environmental factors including potential impacts to flora, vegetation, terrestrial fauna, human health and the environmental quality of inland waters. The EPA's process also included a site visit, discussions with Vimy and the consideration of public and government agency submissions.

EPA chairman Tom Hatton said each proposal received by the EPA scrutinised on a case-by-case basis. "In this instance, the EPA has recommended the Mulga Rock Uranium Project be approved subject to a suite of stringent conditions," he said. The authority recently recommended that another proposed uranium mining project, Cameco's Yeelirrie, should not go ahead on the grounds that it failed to adequately protect underground fauna.

The 14 conditions recommended by the EPA include the preparation of environmental management plans to ensure that impacts on the conservation of significant flora, vegetation and terrestrial fauna are minimised. Vimy will also be required to prepare plans to ensure impacts on Aboriginal heritage sites are minimised and to monitor and manage the quality of soil and groundwater. The EPA has also recommended conditions on aspects related to the eventual rehabilitation and decommissioning of the mine. It concluded that radiation exposure to mine-site workers and the public would be within acceptable limits for human health.

The project will require final approval from both the state and Australian federal environment ministers before it can proceed. It is being assessed under a bilateral agreement under which the federal environment minister relies on the environmental impact assessment processes carried out at the state level, so the Western Australian assessment report will help to form the basis of the final assessment and decision at the federal level.

Vimy CEO Mike Young said the EPA had undertaken a very efficient and thorough assessment, describing the EPA's approval as a "fantastic" outcome. He said the company could see no reason why the state and federal ministers would not agree with the EPA's assessment.

The EPA's report to the Western Australian minister for the environment is now open to public appeal for 14 days, ending 29 August. Vimy said that it "expects that there will be appeals" but anticipates a final decision by the end of the year.

"We can see the end of the approvals process," Young said. "This de-risks perceptions and is a very significant step towards achieving the conditions required for the final investment decision."

Mulga Rock is described by Vimy as the third largest undeveloped uranium deposit in Australia. The project has a total of 76.2 million pounds (29,310 tU) of indicated and inferred uranium resources in four deposits, which Vimy intends to mine by shallow open-pit methods, with a central processing plant. Cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc metal concentrates will be extracted after the uranium has been removed, and sold separately. The project has an expected mine life of 16 years.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News