VRX Silica Limited (ASX:VRX), a Western Australia-based pure-play silica and mining player, is making significant strides toward developing its multi-decade-scale contiguous sand deposits.

VRX recently released its annual report for the period ended 30 June 2022, highlighting its extensive environmental studies and approvals progressing across all four of its high-grade silica sand projects. The company has also made progress in developing a tailings management strategy for each project.

VRX holds a combined +1.1 billion tonne of mineral resources in Australia’s Tier 1 mining region. The mineral resource grade ranges from 99.6% to 99.9% silicon dioxide (SiO₂), as shown in the table below:

Source: Company update

All VRX projects are equipped with almost identical 2mtpa processing plants employing a unique flotation process. Some of the advantages of the flotation process are:

Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®, data Source: company update

With this backdrop, let's have a look at VRX's performance in FY22:

Arrowsmith North: Moving fast towards production

During the financial year, VRX got several approvals and also completed other drafting processes related to Arrowsmith North. The project is on the verge of final approval, which includes the last stages of environmental and mining approvals, and the company is aiming to start production in 2023.

Source: Company update

During the financial year, VRX made progress across major areas. The company worked on finalising its unique processing circuit engineering and the drafting of piping and instrumentation diagrams for Arrowsmith North. It has also acquired and refurbished second-hand critical equipment required in the project.

Additionally, the company issued a tender for procuring the project’s major processing equipment and other electrical infrastructure, along with a tender for securing the project’s power supply.

In addition to all the operational developments mentioned above, the company has also submitted a Brand Highway intersection design for main roads in Western Australia.

The company has also conducted comprehensive aboriginal heritage surveys with aboriginal consultants from the Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation and anthropologists. They were conducted over the 30-year mining envelope at Arrowsmith North and access roads which found no aboriginal archaeological site.

Environmental approvals

The company has conducted extensive seasonal environmental studies during the last few years as per the environmental and ecological requirements of the state and federal authorities. However, the number and the extent of required surveys increased based on further consultation with the EPA.

The company, as highlighted above, is in the approval process with the EPA for the development of Arrowsmith North. Further, for Arrowsmith Central, the company has commenced environment approvals.

Offtake interest

Silica sand, a non-renewable resource, is generating an increasing demand during a falling global supply. The company has seen a strong interest from potential customers in the Asia Pacific region for silica sand products from all four projects.

The company has even supplied large samples from its bulk pilot plant to several potential buyers. The company has entered into an initial offtake term sheet for supplying Arrowsmith North foundry sand products to the South Korean foundry industry, subject to project approvals and pricing.

VRX claims that it is Australia’s first and only supplier of foundry sand to South Korea.

Vegetation Direct Transfer: unique and progressive rehabilitation method

VRX’s Vegetation Direct Transfer (VDT) method includes continuous rehabilitation during the mining process, thus providing a rapid and comprehensive regeneration method for the mined areas.

The method involves removing and relocating a 400mm deep and 3m x 3m sod with topsoil containing the vast majority of native flora and invertebrate fauna.

Click here to learn more about the company's other projects.