22 September 2008
ASX ANNOUNCEMENTS PLATFORM
MIDWEST COMMENCES PUBLIC COMMENT
PERIOD FOR KOOLANOOKA/BLUE HILLS DSO MINING PROJECT
Midwest Corporation Limited (ASX:MIS) has today released its Public Environmental Review (PER) document for its Koolanooka / Blue Hills Direct Shipping Iron Ore (DSO) mining project, located east of the Mid West town of Morawa for public comment.
Members of the community are invited to make submissions throughout the six-week public review period, scheduled to close on November 3.
The PER document has undergone an extensive review with Western Australia?s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) prior to its release.
Midwest?s CEO Bryan Oliver said the Company was focused on providing comprehensive information on the project to all stakeholders including the community and government.
?We?re committed to ensuring a high level of awareness of our operations and what they mean for the sustainability of the Mid West region and local communities,? Mr Oliver said.
?Midwest?s team has spent many months compiling the PER documentation and releasing the information for public comment represents an important milestone in the company?s next phase of development.?
The Koolanooka mine site is located approximately 160 km south east of Geraldton and 20 km east of Morawa, and the Mungada East and Mungada West mine sites are located 60 km to the east of Koolanooka.
The Koolanooka/Blue Hills DSO mining project is expected to run for up to five years, with development scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2009..
The project involves the recommencement of open pit mining activities at Koolanooka, with similar activities commencing 1.5 years into the project at the Mungada East and Mungada West pits at Blue Hills.
?Importantly, most of the work will be conducted in existing disturbed areas, previously mined by the Geraldton Operations Joint Venture (GOJV) from 1966 to 1972,? Mr Oliver said.
?We?ve been working with the local shires to ensure that the project will have a positive impact on the community and we?re confident we can work together to deliver ongoing benefits for the region,? Mr Oliver said.
?We recently held community open days in Morawa and Perenjori as part of our engagement process, and we?re planning more community meetings during the public comment period for the PER,? Mr Oliver explained.
The PER for Midwest?s Koolanooka / Blue Hills Direct Shipping Iron Ore (DSO) mining project describes the proposal, examines the likely environmental effects and the proposed environmental management procedures.
It is available for review at www.midwestcorp.com.au, and local community members can view a hardcopy at the Morawa and Perenjori public libraries.
For further information, please contact:
Bryan Oliver Warrick Hazeldine
Chief Executive Officer Purple Communications
Midwest Corporation P: +61 8 9485 1254
P: +61 8 9266 2033 M: 0417 944 616
E: whazeldine@purplecom.com.au
***
Issued by
Purple Communications
Level 3, 28 Kings Park Road, WEST PERTH WA 6005
Ph: 08 9485 1254 Fax: 08 6263 0455
purple@purplecom.com.au
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and content filtering.