Diatreme moves towards 2025 approvals

Diatreme Resources is shaking off the dust of the 2024 Metallica Minerals takeover and looking forward next year to getting regulatory approvals with a view to starting operations on Cape York in early 2026. Diatreme has silica sands plays near Cape Flattery including the flagship Northern Silica Project (NSP) which the company reported has an indicated resource to 120.5Mt and a maiden measured resource of 49.5Mt. Main image: Diatreme's Northern Silica Sands Project. The company said it reinforced NSP’s position as one of the world’s largest deposits of high-purity silica sands. Related: Diatreme triumphant in Metallica takeover campaign They were relatively advanced, with a target of having key permits and approvals by the end of 2025, Diatreme chief executive officer Neil McIntyre said. Otherwise, the key environmental impact study would be in place by mid-year, he said. “We are fully funded for all of next year within our joint venture, which we put in place two and a half years ago now with Sibelco. "I think our key takeaways are, we're well funded, we're advancing well through our permitting approvals. And one of the big, big, I suppose events this year was our takeover of Metallica. “We're now in a considerable, very strong tenement-holding position - a dominant senior position - which really provides a real single, I suppose, source of interface with regulators, traditional owners, the permitting approvals, even lenders are now approaching us." Diatreme had $26 million in cash to fund its 2025 activities, where it would need to remain vigilant, Mr McIntyre said. “I think, look, the permitting and approval process is not without risks. There can be time delays, there can be requests by regulatory authorities for additional reports. “We've had time to plan this very well, so we haven't seen any potential deal breakers, whether that's vegetation, fauna, we haven't seen that yet. “But that's a process we have to engage on. And we've not been shy in pulling in the sort of expertise needed - specialist expertise to get to the bottom of those facts as well. “So we're not shy about the fact that we're in a high-environmental value area, so we have to approach this differently.” The company was in a good position, Mr McIntyre said. “You have to be patient when it comes to developing resource projects. The typical timeline from discovery is anywhere from 12 to 16 years to get to production. “I think from discovery in our Northern project, we have every expectation to have that up within four years. So that would be an extraordinary outlier. “Having said that, investors are impatient and they like to see things happen fast, but the truth is you have to step appropriately through the process.” Joint venture development partner Sibelco has a 27 per cent interest in the project.

Diatreme moves towards 2025 approvals

Industry Queensland

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