ASX-listed VRX Silica has shifted its focus at the Arrowsmith North silica project to finalising infrastructure solutions, binding offtake agreements and project finance, MD Bruce Maluish said on Tuesday, confirming its goal of first production next year.

This comes as the Western Australian Environment Minister approved the project for development, clearing the pathway for VRX to finalise the remaining approvals and permitting.

Early last month, the Western Australian Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration approved VRX’s mining proposal for Arrowsmith North, allowing for the start of mining operations at the project subject to standard mining and closure conditions including environmental approval.

Federal environmental approval under the accredited assessment regime from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is expected in six to eight weeks.

Arrowsmith North, 270 km north of Perth, contains a globally significant deposit of high-quality silica sand underpinning a mining project that will enable long-term production.

“Arrowsmith North presents an opportunity for Western Australia to host an environmentally responsible, high-quality silica sand operation that can service the growing glass and foundry markets in Asia and underpin the establishment of a new long-life export industry in the state’s Mid West region,” said Maluish in a statement.

Globally, the silica sand market is experiencing strong growth, driven by rising demand in the construction sector – particularly for flat glass used in windows – and for automobile glass in Asia’s growing automotive industry. The foundry market is also experiencing strong growth, driven by increasing demand in established markets in South Korea, Japan and China and emerging markets in Thailand and India amid an industry-wide expansion and diminishing supplies across Asia.

Australia is currently the largest exporter of silica sand in the Asia-Pacific region. Exports are dominated by multinational groups with exports last year exceeding 3.3-million tonnes.