Muchea Silica Sand Project

Muchea

The Muchea Silica Sand Project is located 50km north of Perth and, like the projects at Arrowsmith, is strategically located close to bulk transport routes, reliable energy supplies and adjacent to the Brand Highway and a rail connection to the Kwinana Port, suitable for bulk shipping.

Muchea is one of the few world-class silica sand projects with an outstanding grade of 99.9% SiO2 purity. This level of purity, and critical low-iron content, is perfectly suited to supply sand for the booming ultra-clear, solar panel flat glass industry.

Muchea has a total Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 208 MT at 99.6% SiO2, and an Ore Reserve of 18.7 MT at +99.9% SiO2. Muchea has a low CapEx of $40m required to build the 2Mtpa operation, which is expected to yield $3.3bn in revenue over the initial 25-year mine life.

Muchea comprises one granted Exploration Licence, two Exploration Licence Applications, one granted Mining Lease, three granted Miscellaneous Licences and one Miscellaneous Licence Application for an area of 74.4km².

Image 1: Exploration licences and mining area at the Muchea Silica Sand Project.

Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves

Mineral Resources

Ore Reserves

Comparison to Previous Year

The Mineral Resource announcement for Muchea, including JORC Table 1 information, can be found here.

Muchea’s substantial ultra-high purity, low iron content silica sand deposit, and proximity to reliable energy and transport infrastructure, make it a perfect location to establish a solar panel glass manufacturing plant.

Energy makes up almost 80% of the glass manufacturing input cost, and Muchea’s exposure to a strong domestic gas industry (including two major gas pipelines) and the Mid-West Renewables Hub, together with access to underutilised rail and road transport infrastructure, are ideal preconditions for a glass manufacturing industry.

The establishment of a glass manufacturing industry would create new highly skilled jobs and attract more than $1bn in international investment to regional areas.

Arrowsmith Silica Sand Projects Muchea Silica Project Boyatup Project
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