New owner of CBH Group’s Tampu bin reveals project plans for grain receival site 35km north of Beacon

The exploration company set to transform CBH Group’s Tampu bin into a storage facility for kaolin has revealed its project will employ 10 to 30 people but won’t require rail to get its product to port. The bin, 35km north of Beacon, was last week revealed to have been sold to ASX-listed Corella Resources after being listed for sale by CBH in August last year. CBH Group has declined to say whether any of the other two bins it has listed for sale or 10 bins available for lease have been transferred to any third parties. The receival site hasn’t been used to store grain for at least 10 years. In an exclusive interview with Countryman, Corella Resources managing director Tony Cormack said the company hoped to release a feasibility study after completing core drilling late last year. He said he envisioned the project would be up and running within two years, after first pegging the tenement in 2019 with a friend from university and discovering the “highest purity kaolin” in WA. “Kaolin has historically been used for paper and paper coating, ceramics, and these days it is being used in more advanced technology and higher value applications,” Mr Cormack said. “There are two strong markets we see in batteries and LEDS… we have been on a mission to target the highest purity kaolin we could in WA. It turned out that was located in Beacon.” The deposit is located 2.5km from the Tampu bin, making the former CBH grain receival site an attractive option, Mr Cormack said. The number of jobs created could range from 10 people - if Corella trucked the mined kaolin as-is to Fremantle Port - or between 20 and 30 if it screened the product on-site. However, Corella has no plans to use the nearby grain rail line from Beacon to Burakin, and on to Fremantle Port where it plans to ship its product from. Mr Cormack said just one or two trucks would leave the site each day, when production ramped up. “The capital cost of getting product out… we wouldn’t get that back because we wouldn’t be moving enough tonnes. To make rail viable, you need to be moving tonnes,” he said. “What we are proposing at Tampu is not an iron ore-scale mine… we are talking about a shallow mine above the water table. It will effectively look like a large farm dam in a paddock.” After spending considerable time in Beacon – including a six-week stint last year – Mr Cormack said the community spirit of the far-flung town was his favourite part of the job. “It is a very good community and I have met some amazing people there,” he said. “We want to bring something different to the local area, different from farming. “We will provide a different option for employment at different times of the year.” Mr Cormack revealed Corella had been eyeing off the Tampu bin for some time but had been told by CBH it would have to wait until the site went out to tender in August 2022. The company plans to firstly use the site for accommodation while it works through development and environmental approvals in the next two years. “Having that base so close to the project, right from day one it is a win for us,” Mr Cormack said. “We have bitumen road, we have three phase power, so this facility is a great purchase.” With a feasibility study set to be launched in the next 12 months, Mr Cormack said he couldn’t foresee any major hurdles – labelling it the “simplest pit” he had dealt with in his career. The feasibility study will also help to determine how many jobs the project creates. Kaolin is a clay, made of 50 per cent silica and 38 per cent clay, meaning some screening is required before the processing stage. “There are a few options,” Mr Cormack said. “We can dig it out, and put it on a ship… or we can fine screen the silica to leave the clay as a product. “I am envisioning we potentially do the screening on site and then take a screened product via truck to Fremantle Port.” Screening on site would boost job numbers from about 10 to between 20 and 30. Shire of Mt Marshall president Tony Sachse, who lives in Bencubbin, welcomed investment in the local area. “It is a commercial arrangement and the Shire could never favour one applicant over another,” he said. “But if it can be used for a purpose, the council would support it being used rather than vacant. “Economic development is fantastic for the area… whether that is in agriculture or mining.” Mr Sachse said mining activity was ramping up across the Wheatbelt, and farmers and local communities were open to learning about potential economic benefits. “As far as employment and economic development… councils are generally supportive (of mining) as long as all of these guidelines are met,” he said.