The Department of Environment, in Malaysia, has approved the environmental-impact statement (EIS) of ASX-listed OM Holding's (OMH's) Sarawak ferroalloy smelter, paving the way for construction to start in the second half of the year.

 

The approval of the EIS was a prerequisite for securing project financing and the start of construction, OMH said in a statement.

The approval was valid for a period of two years, within which plant construction had to start. The approval conditions required that the project adhere to industrial environmental standard emission targets, and best practice environmental control and monitoring systems, including discharge and real-time emissions monitoring, as part of the environmental management system.

 

In November last year, OMH approved a $501-million investment at the Sarawak smelter to support the production of some 600 000 t/y of ferroalloy. The production would consist of 310 000 t/y of ferrosilicon alloys and a further 290 000 t/y of manganese ferroalloys.

 

Commercial production at the Sarawak project would be executed on a phased ramp-up basis, with construction expected to start in the third quarter of 2013.

 

Production from the smelting project is expected to start no later than the first quarter of 2014, with full commercial production scheduled to be reached by the second quarter of 2015.

 

Meanwhile, OMH also reported this week that it has withdrawn from farm-in agreements with fellow listed Monax Mining and Archer Exploration, after drilling at the related project areas was unable to identify the potential for mineral resources of a scale required by OMH.

 

Instead, OMH would now focus its exploration activity on its own Northern Territory assets, including Bootu Creek, Helen Springs and Renner Springs.

 

The 2012 exploration programme would start with geophysical surveys under way in preparation for a well-targeted drilling programme. Drilling will start this month with a planned 15 000 m of reverse circulation drilling on the three tenement areas.

 

The key objective is to replace mineral resource scheduled for depletion by mining at the Bootu Creek manganese mine during 2012, and to extend the mine's operating life.