Toro Energy has joined Vimy Resources in gaining state government approval for its uranium project expansion plans, however Environment Minister Albert Jacob is yet to make a decision on the more contentious Yeelirrie uranium mine proposal put forward by Cameco.
Perth-based Toro plans to mine two additional deposits at its Wiluna project (Millipede and Lake Maitland), build processing infrastructure and a haul road.
The extensions build on the project’s already approved plans for a processing facility and two deposits.
“Ministerial consent represents the state government’s primary environmental approval,” Toro said in a statement.
“Toro will now seek to complete the federal government assessment process by March.”
The expansion proposal was backed by the Environmental Protection Authority in September last year, subject to a number of strict conditions.
While Toro’s proposal received EPA and government blessings, Canadian company Cameco is still awaiting Mr Jacob’s final say on the fate of its proposed Yeelirrie uranium mine in the Goldfields.
Last month, Mr Jacob sided with the EPA and rejected appeals by Cameco over the mine, but he is yet to announce his final decision on the proposal, which will take into account both the EPA report and broader commercial and economic considerations.
Around the same time, Mr Jacob approved Vimy Resources’s proposed Mulga Rock uranium project, subject to a number of conditions set by the EPA when the watchdog recommended the proposal’s approval in August.
