Silica Resources Australia (SRA) is a public, unlisted, critical minerals company that is fully independent and 100% Australian owned. SRA was formed specifically to be the owner of the Mourilyan Silica Sands Project (the project).

The project is a high-purity silica flour processing mine and facility.  There are two stages to the project – stage 1 and stage 2.

• Stage 1 will mine silica from a brownfield former quarry site and has a mining lease in place.
• Stage 2 will encompass an expansion of the Stage 1 project and depth of the extraction; and will also involve an additional area located adjacent to Stage 1. The stage 2 project will be subject to a number of government approvals, environmental consultations, technical studies, and landholder discussions. This process will ultimately determine the exact location and size of the project. This stage will also involve a port expansion to build common user infrastructure at the Port of Mourilyan.

The stage 1 and stage 2 of the project are located between Mourilyan Harbour and Kurrimine Beach in the Cassowary Coast Regional Council area. The nearest town of significant size is Innisfail (population 10,000 people).

Stage 1 is expected to start extracting silica in the second half of 2024.

Stage 2 is anticipated to start operating in 2028, subject to approvals and a final investment decision.

Stage 1 is on freehold land with an existing mining lease.

Stage 2 is located on freehold land and state land.

The project is located on freehold land and state land, of which the Mamu people have Native Title determination.

The cultural heritage plan is being developed in consultation with the local Indigenous groups and the Native Title holders, as required by legislation.

Stage 1 has an existing mining lease, which sets out certain standards for extraction.

Stage 2 approvals will be guided by the state government and will be known in more detail as the process starts.  There will be a large body of work undertaken such as ecological studies, social studies, and water resource studies.

The project will likely require EPBC referral. This will be confirmed as environmental and technical studies are undertaken.

The project will position Australia as a major exporter of silica flour to the Asia-Pacific Region including Japan and the US.

Silica flour is used in products to manufacture glass, solar panels, the automotive industry and technology manufacturers.   

The core products will be used to make solar wafers, ceramics, fibreglass, solar panels, and high-grade glass coverings. Commercial by-products include foundry sand and construction sand, for the South East Asian, Australian and US markets.

Critical minerals are minerals that are vital for modern economies but can be scarce or at risk due to various factors. This can include limited geological availability, political instability in producing countries, or trade issues.

Australia is a major player in critical minerals for a few reasons:

• Large Deposits: Australia has some of the world’s largest deposits of critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements https://www.industry.gov.au/mining-oil-and-gas/minerals/critical-minerals.
• Global Leader in Production: Australia is already the world’s top producer of lithium and a major producer of other critical minerals https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals/critical-minerals.
• Economic Opportunity: The growing demand for critical minerals presents a significant economic benefit for Australia through mining and processing these materials.
• Economic stability – Australia is a stable political and economic trading partner.

Overall, Australia’s critical minerals resources position it well to be a key supplier in the global clean energy transition and other technological advancements.

Silica, itself, isn’t explicitly listed as a critical mineral in Australia. However, silicon which is made out of silica flour, is considered critical.

• High-grade Silica Sand is Crucial: While silica (quartz and sand) is abundant, high-purity silica sand, used to make silicon, is much rarer and sought after for its specific properties in electronics and solar panels,
• Silicon Makes the Critical Minerals List: Australia recently added silicon to its critical minerals list due to its role in computer chips and the global supply chain issues.

So, although silica isn’t directly listed, the high-grade silica required to make silicon is an Australian critical mineral.

Stage 1 mine life, under the existing mine lease, is anticipated at nine years.

Stage 2 mine life is anticipated at over 50 years.

Stage 1 –  3.53 million tonnes

Stage 2 –  45.25 million tonnes

Over the project’s lifetime, the royalties generated to the Australian economy are expected to be over $45 million dollars.

An independent EY economic report has shown, stage 1 and stage 2 of the project is anticipated to support over 180 jobs over a 10-year period.

This projection is comprised of:

• 50 direct Full Time Equivalent (FTEs)
• 130 indirect FTEs

SRA will look to employ 82 FTEs through contract services by the 5th year of operations.

The project will utilise the Port of Mourilyan for export and will develop its own common user infrastructure.

As part of the approvals process the project is required to consult with the community and will require input from technical studies.  This will inform what the site will look like at the end of the project.

In stage 1 there will be increased traffic on the Murdering Point Road, Stephenson Road, and Mourilyan Harbour Road. The project team will work with the community to minimise any impacts. Safety is our priority at all times.

SRA is acutely aware of silicosis issues and has designed the project to remove the risk where possible.  SRA is committed to the highest global mitigation standards. The project will produce silica flour in a controlled environment and it is shipped in bags in containers. Silica sand will have a size of 75 microns or above. Silicosis is a risk where airborne silica dust less than 4 microns is inhaled into the lungs.

In addition we will use a wet process to further mitigate any risk of silicosis.

The project will have routine testing to ensure particle sizes remain within acceptable limits and dust controls will be used throughout the operations

Over the project’s lifetime, the royalties generated to the Australian economy are expected to be over $45 million dollars. In addition the project will:

• Employ local people, contractors and suppliers
• Develop common user infrastructure at the port which will benefit other companies and the economic output of the Cassowary Coast region.

In addition we will use a wet process to further mitigate any risk of silicosis.

The project will have routine testing to ensure particle sizes remain within acceptable limits and dust controls will be used throughout the operations

SRA has met with the Mamu board and is committed to continuing to work with the Mamu people and all Indigenous stakeholders, to maximise employment benefits and community development opportunities from the project.

The project team has contacted all landowners where known access is required. You will receive a land access notification request asking for your permission to access your property. Access may be required for technical studies or other assessments. The project team wants to work with landholders to negotiate access. It is the preference for all access to be through negotiated agreement with landowners.

Any disruption to the public marine facilities at the Port of Mourilyan will be minimal.  It is not anticipated there will be any changes to facility access as a result of the project.

Dr Graham Lauridsen BVSc has been engaged as an independent scientific cassowary specialist. Dr Graham is a veterinarian by training and is well known to the Cassowary Coast community for his many decades of work with the cassowary. This includes being instrumental in setting up the Garners Beach and Barrine cassowary rehabilitation centres, conducting cassowary behavioural studies (including movement patterns) and providing veterinary care to injured cassowaries.  Dr Graham won the 2016 Citizen of the Year award for the Cassowary Coast Regional Council area.

Dr Graham will review key documents for the project including traffic management plans, sustainability reports and will be involved in the mine rehabilitation planning.

The stage 1 area is a grassed cow paddock and quarry site.  Cassowaries have not been known to frequent the stage 1 area but could potentially, although unlikely, travel through the area if seeking a fruiting tree or moving from one habitat area to another.

Stage 2 is subject to significant environmental assessments and the mine planning will consider avoiding areas of cassowary habitat.

In its planning the project team, with Dr Graham’s guidance, is looking at how to minimise any impact on the cassowary, including:

• A no dogs policy on site. Dogs and vehicles are the biggest killers of cassowaries.
• Significantly reducing vehicle movements to the Port of Mourilyan and enforcing speed limits through vehicle monitoring.
• Not building large fences around the project site which will restrict the movement of the cassowary. Large fences can cause the cassowary stress either by changing its preferred transit over the landscape or by injuring themselves by trying to penetrate the fencing.     The existing wire cattle fencing will be retained, which cassowaries are known to pass through with limited concern.
• Mine rehabilitation planning will focus on how the mined land can be progressively rehabilitated to a state that is nature positive from its current state; with a focus on vegetation corridors for cassowaries.
• Educating workers and contractors on the importance of not feeding cassowaries (which will help keep them away from roads and humans), keeping to the speed limit and what to do if they have any cassowary interactions or see an injured cassowary.

Silica is in the form of sand and the mining process uses an excavator and dump truck.

No.  Mining on site will only use fresh clean water which is recycled through our processes on site.

No.  As the project does not use any chemicals or heavy metals and the process is extracting sand with an excavator.

The water used on site is in a closed-loop system and recycled through the process.

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Phone:             1800 1 SILICA (174 542)

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Website:          www.silicaresources.com.au