Ivernia confirmed it had received approved recommendations of operating conditions for the mine, located near Wiluna.

It comes after the WA Environmental Protection Agency released recommendations on the operating conditions at Magellan, which were then considered by Environment Minister Bill Marmion.

Ivernia welcomed the release of the operating conditions and said it would now undertake its own detailed review of the conditions.

“We must now carefully examine the operating conditions issued by the minister and satisfy ourselves that we clearly understand the new obligations they contain and that we can adequately meet them before we confirm the timing of any restart,” Ivernia chairman Wayne Richardson said.

While the review is underway, Ivernia confirmed it could ship lead concentrate through the Port of Fremantle for five years.

In addition, the company will need to comply with actions required before transportation of any lead carbonate can occur, including completing an environmental management program, a third party evaluation of Ivernia’s sampling and analysis and an environmental risk assessment.

Richardson said the company was strongly committed to demonstrating that shipping the company’s product was both safe and appropriate.

“While a number of factors still need to be considered before making a decision to restart, we do not anticipate recommencing any shipments prior to the second quarter of 2013,” he said.

Operations at the mine were halted in April 2011 after lead was found in a sample of dried mud on the bottom of a shipping container which was to be transported from the minesite to the Port of Fremantle.

Ivernia previously stated it would need to undertake a number of activities at Magellan before operations kicked off, including mobilising contractors and undertaking the recruitment and training of a significant workforce.

While the company recently received $C6 million ($A5.9 million) from majority shareholder Enirgi Group to fund the ongoing care and maintenance of subsidiary Magellan, the company said it would need additional financing to restart the mine.

However, Ivernia could not put an exact figure on the funding requirements, which is contingent on the review of the operating conditions, finalisation of a restart plan and the expected net proceeds to be received from the sale of stockpiles.