FEDERAL approval is the final official hurdle facing a proposed iron ore mine on the West Coast, but Mayor Darryl Gerrity is worried the project would be frustrated by legal challenges from environmental groups.
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The West Coast Council voted unanimously to approve the Venture Minerals mine at Riley, near Tullah, on Tuesday.
The project has already secured state approval and is undergoing federal environmental assessment.
Cr Gerrity said the project's promised 60 jobs were a "big- time" economic boost for the depressed region, where unemployment is more than 9 per cent.
But he said the injunction filed against Shree Minerals for a proposed mine near Smithton had locals concerned the Riley proposal could face similar challenges.
The Federal Court this week ruled the injunction, filed by environmental group Save the Tarkine, would remain in place until after a two-day hearing in July.
That hearing is to decide the groups's original challenge of federal Environment Minister Tony Burke's approval of the mine.
Save the Tarkine coalition spokesman Scott Jordan said the group would take similar action against the Riley mine if it got federal approval, and also intended to challenge the state's decision to grant the mining lease.
Mr Jordan said the proposed 118-hectare strip-cut mine was in an area of the Tarkine that had been recommended for World Heritage approval.
Cr Gerrity said the area had been mined in the past.
"The Tarkine is an ever- expending plot of land that's like the ever-expanding universe," Cr Gerrity said.
The government is finalising the approval of a tin and tungsten mine at Mount Lindsay, and has granted a mining lease for another project near Tullah. Both projects are run by Venture Minerals.
A pro-mining rally will be held at Tullah this weekend.