With two advanced silica sand projects — Arrowsmith and Muchea — under way, Perth-based VRX Silica (ASX: VRX) has furthered its intention to actively assess other Australian projects.
Drilling has begun at the Boyatup project, located 100km east of Esperance.
The 100 air-core holes will follow up earlier work by VRX and the previous holder of the tenement which have indicated sand grades up to 99.7% silicon dioxide.
Drilling expected to take up to 10 days with assay results to follow in late April.
Drill results will support a initial resource estimate
The company expects the drilling program will allow it to publish a maiden mineral resource.
It will also produce bulk material for metallurgical testwork that will allow an evaluation of product quality.
Managing director Bruce Maluish said the company is able to use expertise developed at Arrowsmith and Muchea to judge the quality of the deposit.
“Early work here indicates the in-situ sand here is finer than our other projects and can produce a different product for a different market,” he continued.
“This in turn would expand the market for our silica sand products.”
Boyatup is connected to the Esperance bulk port via a sealed road which by-passes that city.
The Esperance bulk port is capable of handling Cape sized vessels of up to 200,000t.
Vegetation at Boyatup will lend itself to good environmental treatment
VRX adds that the vegetation at Boyatup lends itself to the company’s unique environmental rehabilitation technique, known as vegetation direct transfer or VDT, that will be used at Arrowsmith and Muchea.
VRX says its vegetation direct transfer method lends itself to rapid and extensive regeneration, with the rehabilitation being carried out on a continuous basis as mining progresses.
The proposed transfer method removes a 400mm-deep sod, with the topsoil containing the vast majority of the native flora and invertebrate fauna being preserved.
The near-surface humus and its microbial content remain intact.
VRX says it will use no chemicals, and produce no dust, while processing the mined silica sand.
The sand will be beneficiated to a glass-quality product for export.
A “substantial” amount of the water used at the project will be recycled, with a goal of 95% of the water being reused.
