Resources Victoria has approved a Mining Licence for WIM Resource's Avonbank project, 15 km northeast of Horsham. The project will mine heavy minerals sands, including zircon, titanium and rare earth elements.
"The approval in such a significant cropping area demonstrates that the planning system is failing farmers" said Cam Walker, campaigns co-ordinator with Friends of the Earth.
"The planning system, where each project is assessed in isolation of other proposals, demonstrates that the current approach is simply not fit for purpose in a place like north western Victoria".
"Across NW Victoria, a series of large critical minerals developments threaten farming, landscapes, local economies and ground and water supplies. There are five main projects currently planned. More than 42,000 hectares of farm land are currently under retention licences. There are legacy issues from older mines, which have not been properly rehabilitated. Dr John Russell, an independent researcher/ soils expert says that to date, every mine he has investigated, where the mining operator claimed to have restored the land post-mining, showed land severely compromised in its productive capacity".
While each of these projects are subject to an assessment and approvals process, there has been no attempt by the regulator or the state government to understand the cumulative impacts of these projects combined across an important food production area.
Avonbank will be right next to a major food processing facility. The fact that such a project can be approved without properly considering the likely impacts on this facility is an indication that the state's regulatory system is failing farmers, food production, land and water.
"Faced with continual incremental impacts as individual projects are assessed and approved, the only responsible option for the state government is to announce an immediate halt on any further assessment or approval of any aspect of critical minerals projects. The moratorium must remain in place until there has been an independent and comprehensive analysis done of the cumulative impacts of all the planned projects".
"Unless we have a clear understanding of the cumulative impacts of these projects, we run the risk of losing large areas of important cropping country".
"With a state election less than 2 months away, this is an issue that deserves much more attention. We call on all parties - especially those who claim to represent the interests of rural and regional communities - to back the call for a moratorium on all critical minerals projects" concluded Mr Walker.
