Sandy Ridge regulatory approval progress update

  • Tellus lodges Development Approval (DA) Application with the Coolgardie Shire Council
  • Tellus lodges the Sandy Ridge “Safety Case” with the relevant WA Government Authority
  • Tellus continues its preparation towards regulatory compliance

Tellus is pleased to announce that it has passed another important regulatory milestone for the proposed Sandy Ridge project. Tellus has lodged its Development Approval (DA) Application to the Coolgardie Shire Council and the Mid-West Wheatbelt (Central) Joint Development Assessment Panel and its “Safety Case” document with the relevant West Australian (WA) Government decision making authority (DMA).

The DA is supported by the project’s Public Environmental Review. The DA submission formally commences the process of seeking Development Approval under the relevant WA planning regulations.

We believe the proposed Sandy Ridge Facility will contribute to the Shire of Coolgardie’s Strategic Directions Plan 2012-2021’s objectives by:

  • diversifying the economic opportunities in the Shire of Coolgardie,
  • attracting and retaining residents to the Shire of Coolgardie,
  • sourcing materials and services locally,
  • providing training and employment opportunities for local residents, and
  • introducing Tellus as a new participant into the Shire of Coolgardie’s resources sector forum alongside existing established companies.
Fig 1: Tellus’ Development Approval Application

Tellus also lodged its “Safety Case” document with the relevant West Australian (WA) Government decision making authority (DMA).

Tellus’ safety case is underpinned by a multibarrier system comprising man-made and natural barriers and relies on multiple fail-safe mechanisms. For example:

  • man-made barriers (active controls): Includes engineered design, build, operational, closure controls, assurances and insurances and waste management procedures that meet Government regulatory requirements; and
  • natural barrier (passive controls): Includes geography, geological, climatic and seismic factors, that combined are superior to any active controls.

The key components of Tellus’ Safety Case for Sandy Ridge are illustrated below in Figure 2.

Fig 2: Key components of Tellus’ Safety Case for Sandy Ridge

About Tellus Holdings:
Tellus Holdings Ltd (“Tellus”) is an infrastructure development company in the business of creating economic, social, and environmental value from waste, clay and salt resources. This dual revenue model involves mining the commodities kaolin clay and rock salt in thick dry remote beds which creates world’s best practice geological repositories. The voids created by mining are then used to store equipment, archives and waste using a multi- barrier system as part of an integrated safety case. Tellus plans to permanently isolate hazardous waste using environmentally sound management (ESM) principles that protect the environment and human health. Tellus also uses long-term storage to supports the circular economy by placing like-with-like materials for operational safety reasons and to create opportunities for the future recovery of valuable materials. Tellus’ business model mirrors overseas solutions operating in the UK, Europe and North America. Tellus is developing the proposed Sandy Ridge facility in Western Australia (WA) and the proposed Chandler facility in the Northern Territory (NT). Both Sandy Ridge and Chandler were awarded Major Project Facilitation Service by the Australian Government and Chandler was awarded Major Project Status by the NT Government.

For further information:
Visit: www.tellusholdings.com.au or contact:

Duncan van der Merwe
Managing Director
Tel: +61 (0)2 8257 3395

Cameron Morse
FTI Consulting (Media)
Tel: +61 (0)8 9485 8888

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