Uranium explorer Toro Energy has expressed its disappointment with a federal government decision to extend the environmental approval process for the company’s Wiluna uranium mine until the end of March.
Toro announced today that federal Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Tony Burke, had extended the project’s assessment period until March 31.
The project received environmental approval from the state government in October after a three year assessment.
The federal assessment was previously due for a decision to be handed down today.
“Today, on the final day for the decision, Toro has been advised that the Minister does in fact want more information on some specific aspects of the project and that the time for his decision has been extended to 31 March 2013.
“The Minister has also advised that he would hope to make his decision well in advance of this date.
“Toro is very surprised and extremely disappointed by this further delay. It means that there will be a gap of up to six months between the decisions of the two jurisdictions. “
At close of trade today, Toro Energy shares were down 4.3 per cent, trading at 11 cents.
Western Australia's peak conservation body welcomed the increased scrutiny of the proposed uranium mine, saying Mr Burke's actions were prudent and responsible.
Conservation Council WA campaigner Mia Pepper said she believed the Toro project was ill conceived and the WA assessment process had been "dangerously deficient".
"The WA government has broken its promise of a world's best practice uranium industry and has failed to meet national standards," Ms Pepper said.
"Premier Barnett and the WA government now urgently need to re-examine the environmental assessment process in WA and hold a comprehensive public inquiry into uranium mining".
