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Toro Energy has cleared a major hurdle for its Wiluna uranium project after regulators in Western Australia backed the proposed $280 million development.
The state's Environmental Protection Authority has recommended that Wiluna, Western Australia's first uranium mine, be approved for development, EPA chairman Paul Vogel said.
The proposal could meet the EPA's objectives for key environmental factors, including radiation management, transport, mine closure and rehabilitation, groundwater and water supply, surface water, air quality, flora and vegetation, fauna and habitat and Aboriginal heritage, Mr Vogel said.
If accepted by state and federal ministers in coming months, the EPA's recommendation should clear the way for Toro to make a final investment decision on Wiluna in the second half of this year.
Toro proposes to produce up to 1200 tonnes a year of uranium oxide from Wiluna, starting in late 2013.
It would become Australia's fifth operating uranium mine, but the first approved in Western Australia.
A handful of other companies, including Cameco Corp, are seeking project approvals in the state, which adopted a pro-uranium development policy in 2008 upon the election of current premier Colin Barnett.
Toro still faces challenges in funding the venture due to sharp falls in its share price since Japan's Fukushima nuclear explosion in March 2011.
The Japanese incident also prompted a slide in uranium spot prices, which are now hovering at $US52 a pound, down from a 2007 peak of around $US138 a pound.
The Perth-based company has said it wants to sell around one-third of Wiluna to help fund the development, and it has opened a technical data room to prospective partners.
