Chemical manufacturer and supplier CSBP has commenced community consultation for an expansion of its ammonium nitrate facility in Kwinana, projected to cost up to $500 million.
The company plans to consult with local communities for 10 weeks as part of it's front end engineering and design study into the project.
The company is seeking approval to increase ammonium nitrate production capacity to up to 936,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) via a proposed expansion of the existing ammonium nitrate production facility at its Kwinana industrial complex, 40 kilometres south of Perth.
CSBP's chief executive (Chemicals) Ian Hansen said that the release of the PER represented a significant milestone for the project and provided an important opportunity for the community to provide feedback.
"The PER provides information about the proposed expansion as well as any anticipated environmental effects and the proposed environmental management plans that would apply to an expanded facility," Mr Hansen said.
"I would encourage anyone interested in this project to review the document and provide their comments and feedback."
Mr Hansen said that while CSBP was seeking approval to increase production capacity by up to 416,000 tpa to allow for potential debottlenecking opportunities during the life of the plant, it anticipated the proposed expansion would initially deliver an additional 260,000 tpa of ammonium nitrate production capacity, bringing overall production capacity to 780,000 tpa.
"As the major supplier of ammonium nitrate to the Western Australian explosives market, we are looking to increase production to meet forecast demand for explosive-grade ammonium nitrate from the State's growing iron ore mining sector," Mr Hansen said.
CSBP expects to conclude the 12-month front end engineering and design (FEED) study into the ammonium nitrate expansion project early in 2011. The project will be subject to Wesfarmers Board approval following the conclusion of the FEED study, and regulatory approvals being secured.
While the FEED study will provide more precise project costs, initial estimates price the proposed expansion at between $450 and $500 million.
