Federal approval of the project under the EPBC Act is still to come, as are some secondary approvals of licences and permits, but Vimy said it expected these would be delivered before March 2017.

The company started preliminary works on the site in September with consent of Jacob – developing a water bore and upgrading existing roads at the project site, 240km northeast of Kalgoorlie.

Vimy managing director and CEO Mike Young said he was pleased to have been able to deliver on a commitment to secure the approval before the end of 2016.

“This is the most significant step in de-risking the project from a regulatory approvals standpoint,” he said.

“We look forward to starting work very soon.”

The decision was an endorsement of Vimy’s claim that Mulga Rock would have no significant residual impacts on the environment if it were implemented with the required conditions, he added.

These conditions include avoiding direct impacts to two species of hakea, using a camera trapping program to monitor the presence of the Sandhill Dunnart on its permit areas and developing an aboriginal heritage management plan.

Vimy must also work to minimise groundwater impacts, developing a monitoring and management plan to manage acid and metalliferous drainage from seepage into groundwater and the reinjection of surplus water into the aquifer.

The company upgraded the size of the Mulga Rock project ore reserve by 41% in November, to 18.7 million tonnes at 755 parts per million uranium oxide for 31.2 million pounds of uranium oxide.

Vimy had $A13.4 million in cash at the end of the September quarter after part of the funds from a $22 million placement were received.

Shares in Vimy were up 4.4% or 1c to 24c in morning trade, valuing the company at $66.6 million.