The 16 hectare sand extraction area is within a 130 hectare area of State Forest, known as the McLarty site that will eventually be used for future development as a State facility.
| Date: | Friday, 04 July 2014 |
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A proposal to grant a lease for sand extraction may address ongoing shortages of building sand and limestone in the South West of the State.
The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) has called for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for potential sand extraction at a site within the Myalup pine plantation.
The proposed 16 ha sand extraction area is located within a 130 ha area, known as the McLarty Site, which is pine plantation located within the Myalup State Forest.
The site is located south of the Old Coast Road and Forrest Highway junction, about 2 km east of the Forrest Highway (formerly Old Coast Road) and 12 km west of the South Western Highway.
Department of Mines and Petroleum Mineral Titles Executive Director Ivor Roberts said the proposal was to establish a sand quarry using authority provided under Section 19 of the Mining Act 1978.
“The clause enables the Minister for Mines and Petroleum to exempt land from the Mining Act and call for expressions of interest for the grant of a lease over that land,” he said.
“The proposed quarry will only go ahead if suitable applicants are identified through the EOI process and if so, the site could provide sand for up to 20 years or more.”
If the McLarty site goes ahead it will address an ongoing shortage of building material supplies which are contributing to rising costs for future development in the South West.
The first stage of the proposed sand extraction site will eventually accommodate the State’s Baldivis Explosives Facility, which is to be relocated from the current site in Karnup in Perth’s southern metropolitan area.
The relocation will enable future housing development to help meet the needs of WA’s growing population, as well as to help accommodate the growing needs of the mining industry.
The McLarty site facility will have the same use as the existing facility which has been in operation since the 1980s.
The main use of the current Baldivis facility, which has coexisted with neighboring residential landowners for decades without incident, is to manufacture and store explosives and store ammonium nitrate, including storage of fireworks such as those used for Australia Day celebrations.
The Baldivis facility is scheduled to be relocated by December 2016.
The Expression of Interest (DMP530614) for the proposed McLarty sand extraction site is available on the Tenders WA website.
Further information on the proposed sand extraction is available at the DMP website.
More information about the Baldivis Explosives Facility is available at the DMP website.
Information about the relocation project is available at the LandCorp website.
