PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Mineral Resources (MinRes) has welcomed the Western Australian Minister for Environment’s call for a public environmental review of the proposed Jackson 5 and Bungalbin East projects, in the Yilgarn.
The company told shareholders that the Minister’s decision was consistent with the state government’s decision to classify the area containing the two projects as a lower-level conservation area, which did not preclude mining, rather than declaring the area an A-class reserve.
The Minister’s call for public opinion followed on the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommending that the projects not be implemented as they could have irreversible environmental consequences.
The EPA found that the proposed development of the two projects would disturb about 720 ha of land to develop two opencut pits, waste rock dumps and supporting mine infrastructure.
MinRes said on Thursday that the company was confident that its environmental practices could successfully balance environmental requirements with development requirements, adding that the development of mining operations at the two deposits would provide a significant boost to the state economy, with the projects providing nearly 2 000 full time equivalent positions, comprising both direct and flow-on employment.