General News
15 June, 2024
Rail loop may ease road load
Astron Corporation is open to a suggestion from Wimmera VFF that a siding at Minyip off the main rail line could take materials from the Donald-Minyip mine directly to ports.
Wimmera VFF president Ryan Milgate said farmers in his organisation were pushing for a Minyip train connection rather than have material trucked 55km to Dooen Freight Centre, then to ports.
Mr Milgate said there was adequate space for a rail siding at Minyip and would reduce the number of heavy vehicles on rural roads, save road wear and tear and prove a safer option for all road users.
Astron Corporation chief executive Tiger Brown, speaking from Melbourne, said he was unable to comment on "tonne axle loadings" for rail lines between the Wimmera and Geelong and whether those lines now met standards required for the transport of heavy metals.
Mr Brown also said he wanted landowners to know that the company placed as much emphasis on land rehabilitation as it does on its mining efforts.
"We take seriously the rehabilitation of mining land back to cropping land," Mr Brown said. "That's one of the key pillars of mining."
Soil sampling was underway now in order to achieve that.
"It's not an exact science but we'll follow the experts who know the land."
Mr Brown is also pushing for mine workers to live in the area, becoming part of the local community and not in the Wimmera on work days only.
He expected a 62-unit accommodation centre at Minyip to be ready when needed.
Mr Brown expects all details to be ironed out in time for mining to begin in 2026 and estimated mine value at about $150 million annually for the next 40 years.
Plans are to mine 7.5 million tonnes of ore annually, which would produce about 250,000 tonnes of heavy metal concentrate with up to 8000 tonnes of rare earth concentrate.
Mr Brown said the mine was still to raise about $250 million before work could start.
"We think this is just a 'box ticking exercise' but we still have to go through the hoops," he said.
Astron recently announced a $183 million first-phase investment from US uranium mining giant Energy Fuels to hand that company a 49 per cent mine share.
It also announced a first-stage partnership with Sedgman Pty Ltd, a member of the CIMIC Group.
Sedgman is a leading Australian engineering and construction firm with extensive experience in mineral processing, selected after a competitive tender process.
This will be followed by detailed designs for the plant and purchase of equipment.