Gippsland Critical Minerals (GCM) says it is doing all it can to ensure community health is the top priority amid concerns about the proposed mineral sands Fingerboards project, which is being developed to produce minerals for advanced technologies.
East Gippsland residents have raised concerns about dust from the re-scoped Fingerboards Project containing monazite and thorium—which are radioactive—as well as silica, which causes lung disease.
The project is planned for Glenaladale, a rural town in Victoria.
GCM said it was “speaking to as many stakeholders as possible” about their concerns.
One major commitment is a 1.5 kilometre buffer zone to protect agricultural areas in the Lindenow Valley.
In October last year, GCM confirmed the Allan Labor government renewed its retention and exploration licenses to develop the project.
Mineral sands, including titanium, are used in high technologies like aircraft engines, cars, sports equipment, and wrist watches.
GCM said it was working hard on implementing dust-minimisation practices, with the potential emission of toxic materials a key concern that residents raised about the previous Kalbar Resources proposal.
“Our intention is to develop a project that can co-exist with local agriculture,” GCM said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
GCM added it was looking at ways to reduce the project’s environmental impact.
It plans to create a mining schedule over the mine’s 20–22-year lifespan to coordinate land use with farmers, and says it is also consulting nearby landowners and community members to get their views and incorporate it into their plans.
The organisation said the project would create more than 200 full-time equivalent jobs over the life of the mine, including new apprenticeship and training programs.
GCM’s Michelle Wood said her organisation was fully aware it had to approach this project differently from the scrapped Kalbar Resources proposal.
Farmer Continues Fight Against Site
One of those worried residents is semi-retired vegetable grower John Hine, who told The Epoch Times this month that he and many others in the region “have had enough” of opposing another project.Hine fought the previous Kalbar Resources proposal, which proposed to develop the same mining site.
It was ultimately scrapped by Victoria’s then-Planning Minister Richard Wynne, who said the project “would pose a significant risk to the environment and valuable horticultural industry.”
“This toxic material, we can’t afford to have that in this area. How ... can the government turn around and re-licence the mine? It’s just got us dumbfounded,” Hine said.
“We’ve had enough. We fought for eight years ... Dust will travel [from the site for] 10–40 kilometres without any issue.”
Meanwhile, Victorian Nationals Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said there was still some time to go regarding whether GCM’s Fingerboards Project would go ahead.
“[GCM] have got until December to decide if they want to proceed any further,” he told The Epoch Times.
Previous Proposal Faced Overwhelming Opposition
Hine said members of the East Gippsland community previously expressed their collective desire to have the mineral sands mine at Glenaladale stopped through a petition to former Premier Daniel Andrews, which picked up almost 4,000 signatures.He also highlighted how about 900 of the 910 submissions to the original Environmental Effects Statement, which assesses the environmental impacts of mining proposals, were opposed.
“Only seven wanted the mine and they all had an economic interest either in shares, wanting a job, or wanting to sell land to the company,” he said.
Hine said the people who opposed to the mine did everything they could to be highly informed of all the issues.
The Epoch Times contacted the office of Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny, and Energy and Resources Minister Lily D’Ambrossio for comment.
