Donald Mineral Sands
Proponent: Donald Mineral Sands Pty Ltd (Astron Limited)
Status
The Minister for Planning has released his Assessment under the Environment Effects Act 1978 which concludes the EES process. The Assessment has been provided to statutory decision-makers to inform approval decisions on this project.
Ministers Assessment - Donald Mineral Sands (PDF - 1.6 MB)
Project History
On 2nd December 2005, the Minister for Planning determined that the proposed Donald Mineral Sands Mine required an EES.
The project requires approvals under the Mineral Resources Sustainable Development Act 1990 and the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Australian Government Minister accredited the Victorian EES process as the means for assessing the relevant impacts under the EPBC Act.
Assessment Guidelines for this EES were finalised and issued in May 2006 following consideration of public comments.
Donald Mineral Sands EES Assessment Guidelines (PDF - 284 KB) Donald Mineral Sands EES Assessment Guidelines - Location Maps (PDF - 1.1 MB)
The EES was placed on exhibition for public comment for six weeks, from 4 February until 14 March 2008.
EES Inquiry Panel
An Inquiry was appointed by the Minister for Planning to consider the project. It held five days of public hearings before preparing its report, which was submitted on 15 September 2008.
Donald Mineral Sands EES Panel Report (PDF - 1.3 MB)
Project Description
Astron Limited propose to mine and process the Donald mineral sand deposit north-east of Horsham in western Victoria. The deposits occur in an area 10 km long and 5 km wide, located across the boundary between the Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack Shires.
The shallow, unconsolidated fine-grained sand sediments contain accumulations of titanium and zirconium minerals. The valuable minerals will be separated into a heavy mineral concentrate and non-valuable minerals will be returned to a restored soil profile during land rehabilitation (for agriculture).
For additional information on the project proposal contact Donald Mineral Sands Pty Ltd.
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