The proposal is to excavate clay on Lots 23 and 51 Apple Street, Upper Swan, west of the Great Northern Highway and about 14km north of Midland. The property, which has been cleared of native vegetation and developed for pasture, is situated about 300 metres south-west of the fenced-off Wildlife Sanctuary at Ellen Brook Nature Reserve and less than 100 metres east of the Upper Swan townsite.

The proposed excavation site would be about 120 metres from planned extensions to the Wildlife Sanctuary for the Western Swamp Tortoise. The excavation would be for clay needed at the proponent's brickworks at Midland. The projected lifetime of the excavation is 10 years, with full scale operations to be preceded by a trial mining and monitoring phase in two to three years.