Gippsland Critical Minerals is addressing residents worried that the project will release toxic substances into the air.
Gippsland Critical Minerals (GCM) says it is doing everything it can to ensure community health is a top priority amid concerns about the proposed Mineral Suns fingerboard project.
East Gippsland residents raised concerns about dust from a re-scoped fingerboard project that contains monazite and thorium (which is radioactive), as well as silica that causes lung disease.
The project is planned for the country town of Grenaladale, Victoria.
GCM said it would “talk to as many stakeholders as possible” about their concerns.
One major commitment is a 1.5-kilometer buffer zone to protect the agricultural areas of Lindenow Valley.
Last October, GCM confirmed that the Alan Labour Government had renewed its retention and exploration licenses to develop the project.
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Mineral sands containing titanium are used in high-tech technologies such as aircraft engines, cars, sports goods, and wristwatches.
GCM withstands potential emissions of toxic substances and is an important concern raised by residents about the previous Kalbar resource proposal, GCM said.
“Our intention is to develop projects that can coexist with local agriculture,” GCM said in a statement in the Epoch Times.
GCM added that it is considering ways to reduce the environmental impact of the project.
Plans to create a mining schedule over the 20-22-year lifespan of farmland to coordinate land use and to consult with nearby landowners and community members to gain feedback and incorporate it into the plan. I’m also planning on doing that.
The organization said the project will create more than 200 full-time equivalent jobs over the mine’s lifetime, including new apprenticeships and training programs.
Michellewood of GCM said she is fully aware that her organization must approach the project in a different way than the proposed discarded culver resources.
“The license has been updated for improved projects to protect local agriculture and employment in Lindenow Valley,” she said.
Farmers continue to fight the site
One of the concerned residents is John Hein, a semi-retired vegetable grower. He said this month that he and many others in the area would oppose another project, “it’s enough.”
Hine fought against the previous Kalbar Resources Proposal, which proposed to develop the same mining site.
It was eventually discarded by Victoria’s then-Planning Minister, Richard Wynn. He said the project “substantial risks to the environment and the precious horticultural industry.”
“This toxic substance, we can’t afford to have it in this field. How… can the government turn the mines around and re-approve them? Hein said.
“We had enough. We fought for eight years… The dust travels 10-40km without any issues (from the site).”
Meanwhile, Tim Bull, a member of Victorian Nationals at Gippsland East, said there is still time to see if GCM’s fingerboard project will move on.
“(GCM) had to decide whether they would go further until December,” he told the Epoch Times.
“And if that’s the case, you’ll have to go through all the rigorous environmental tests you’ve experienced last time (using Kalbar Resources).”
Previous proposals faced overwhelming opposition
Hein said members of the East Gippsland community had previously expressed their collective desire to halt the petition to former Prime Minister Daniel Andrews, earning nearly 4,000 signatures.
He also highlighted that 900 of the 910 submissions to the original environmental impact statement assessing the environmental impact of the mining proposal were opposed.
“Only seven people wanted the mine, they all wanted stocks, jobs, or sell the land to the company,” he said.
Hein said those who opposed the mines did everything they could to appreciate all the issues.
The Epoch Times reached out to Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny Bureau and Energy and Resources Minister Lily Dabrosio for comment.
