The West Australian government has given its final approval to the first multi-billion dollar iron ore project in the state's mid-west.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett will now be asked to tick the environmental approval given by the WA government to the Gindalbie-AnSteel iron ore joint venture, at Karara, east of Geraldton.
AnSteel, China's second-largest steel maker, was given federal government approval earlier this year to take a substantial stake in Perth-based Gindalbie Metals Limited, increasing its stake from 12.6 per cent to 36.28 per cent.
If the joint venture's Karara operation receives final approval, it will become the first major iron ore development in the state's mid-west and build pressure for a new deepwater port at Oakajee, near Geraldton.
The Karara project is expected to cost more than $2 billion and to generate more than 1,500 jobs during the construction phase, with 500 ongoing jobs once the site is established.
A Gindalbie spokesman said production from the site was expected to be well in excess of the previously forecast 8 million tons per annum (Mtpa).
He said a recent assessment of a total of 2.4 billion tons of ore was five times greater than an estimate made two years ago.
"As a result, we can justify far greater production that we'd originally planned," he told AAP.
Gindalbie managing director Garret Dixon said the WA government's approval cleared the way for a fourth-quarter start to on-site construction and development.
It will be a major integrated iron ore project producing both DSO ore and high-grade magnetite concentrate "over several decades", Mr Dixon said.
Importantly, approval of the joint venture's applications to mine the Terapod deposit and the Blue Hills North deposit meant the joint venture could proceed with its 2Mtpa hematite phase of the project.
Mr Dixon said he expected a month-long process in gaining final environmental approval for the project, about 225km east of Geraldton.
"The Karara iron ore project is the first major iron ore project to be developed in the midwest and will open up opportunities for the region to be developed as the next iron ore province," Mr Dixon said in a statement.
"This result represents years of hard work and dedication by the Gindalbie team.
" ... with this final state approval, Gindalbie and AnSteel are now in a position whereby we can focus on the construction phase of the project and start to realise the potential that Karara has to add serious value to the joint venture partners and to WA.
"When you consider the multitude of jobs this project will create, the government revenue it will generate, the infrastructure that is being developed and our long-term expansion plans, this really is a project of national significance."
Source: WA Today
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