General News
10 October, 2026
Dust data to go public
IN A significant win for community transparency, Silica Resources Australia (SRA) has agreed to publicly release its dust monitoring data and site locations for the Mourilyan Silica Project – following mounting pressure from nearby residents and the Kurrimine Beach Progress Association.
The company has told The Observer that results from monitoring stations at its Stephenson Road site in Kurrimine Beach and its export stockpile facility at the Port of Mourilyan will be made accessible to the public by the end of November 2026.
The move comes after community members and local progress groups voiced sharp concern over the lack of public access to air quality testing results, questioning why data regarding potential health risks was being kept behind closed doors.
Association president Michael Acheson welcomed the announcement after also receiving notification from SRA, noting that while dust concerns will remain a long-term issue, the company had taken a positive step toward meeting local expectations.
“That’s what people were asking for, so that’s a good thing,” he said. “We can only wait and see how it all sort of pans out, I guess.”
Mr Acheson stressed that the association’s ongoing role would depend directly on resident feedback as production scales up.
“It’ll come down to if people start seeing things or they’re still querying things ... then that’s when the progress association have a look at what we do,” he said.
“We’ve really got to be community led. The progress association is just the voice of the community.”
While SRA acknowledged that state regulations do not mandate the public disclosure of dust monitoring data, CEO and managing director Rob Tindall said the company was taking the step voluntarily in the interest of openness and community health.
“The safety of our people and community is our priority,” he said.
“As part of our commitment to transparency and respectful engagement with the community, we will be publicly releasing our dust monitoring data interpreted by Dr Keith Adam and dust monitoring sites.”
Concerns around silica projects typically centre on crystalline silica dust, which can cause silicosis – a chronic, irreversible lung condition – and increase the risk of lung cancer when fine particles are inhaled over extended periods.
Dr Adam, a senior specialist in occupational and environmental medicine engaged by SRA as an independent reviewer, assured locals that recent monitoring results met safety guidelines.
“The fraction of crystalline silica which is less than 10 micron is considered potentially respirable. This is the fraction that can enter the lungs and cause irritation and inflammation,” he said. “I have reviewed the SRA dust monitoring data and it shows no exceedances to the standards.”
Dr Adam said that he would provide educational resources alongside the future data releases to help community members interpret the air quality findings and understand what the figures mean for local health standards.
To further reassure residents, SRA stated that the Mourilyan project has been engineered to eliminate fine dust hazards at the processing stage.
Mr Tindall said the operation used a wet extraction process to prevent loose dust from becoming airborne, filtering out and removing all silica particles smaller than 75 microns.
Any finer material generated during processing is transferred wet into specialised ‘geotube’ bags. “SRA is acutely aware of silicosis issues and has designed the project to remove the risk where possible,” Mr Tindall said.
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