Approval snapshotVRX has conducted extensive environmental...

Approval snapshot

VRX has conducted extensive environmental studies over the Company’s silica sand projects over a number of seasons in anticipation of requirements of the State and Federal environmental regulation authorities to undertake approvals assessments. These surveys commenced shortly after the tenements were acquired and the number and extent of these surveys have expanded following further consultation with these authorities. The Company has initially concentrated on gaining approval for development of the Arrowsmith North project.VRX has received confirmation from the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DWER) for accredited approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Accreditation of the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia’s (EPA) assessment processes means that the Commonwealth can rely on environmental assessments undertaken by the EPA for the purpose of its approval decisions under the EPBC Act on proposals that are likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance. If the EPA assesses a proposal at the level of Public Environmental Review (PER), as is the case for Arrowsmith North, separate assessment by the Commonwealth is not required.The Environmental Scoping Document was lodged with the EPA in September 2021 and approved in April 2022.During May 2022 the Company lodged the Environmental Review Document (ERD) with the EPA for Arrowsmith North. The ERD document is required under the EPA’s public environmental review process and will be released for public review following the review by the EPA and other relevant authorities. The ERD was prepared according to the procedures in the EPA’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA; Part IV Divisions 1 And 2) Procedures Manual (EPA, 2021b). The ERD is a comprehensive summary of the project environmental setting, the physical elements of the mine and infrastructure, operational elements, the extent of effects on the environment and the proposed rehabilitation and closure plan. The Company received a request from the EPA for further information on 4 July 2022 and the response was submitted on 12 July 2022. The Company awaits EPA confirmation that the document will been released for public review.The indicative timetable for the development of Arrowsmith North anticipates final EPA approval in December 2022, with the six-month construction phase scheduled to commence in January 2023 subject to Ministerial Consent.An important feature of the EPA Proposal is the proposed rehabilitation methos to use the unique VDT method which is estimated to result in the best restoration of the mine area vegetation and habitat