12 Oct (NucNet): Western Australia’s minister for the environment has approved Toro Energy’s Wiluna uranium project with first uranium sales targeted for 2014, the company said.
The decision to grant the approval follows more than three years of community consultation, environmental and technical studies, and assessment by government agencies, Toro Energy said in a statement.
Toro Energy said it is now waiting for completion of the federal government’s assessment of the project. The company also said that, subject to the federal government decision, it will advance its proposed financing of the project.
The project consists of two uranium resource deposits and is the most advanced uranium project in Western Australia, Toro Energy said. It is situated 30 kilometres south of Wiluna in central Western Australia.
The aim is to process 1.3 million tonnes per annum of ore to produce approximately 820 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate, the statement said. Project life is expected to be in excess of 14 years.
Toro Energy said the environmental impact of the Wiluna project has been assessed by both Western Australian and federal government agencies and the public has been provided with four opportunities for input since 2009.
In May 2012, the Environmental Protection Authority recommended approval of the Wiluna project to Western Australia’s minister for the environment, saying the project met environmental approval requirements and should be allowed to proceed, subject to certain conditions.
