Proposed mining for rare earths elements in the Limestone Coast is facing opposition from local producers and residents.
Many sections of the community are concerned about how mining would impact production in one of the state’s key agricultural regions.
It’s a battle between protecting the Limestone Coast’s high-value agricultural resource, finite water assets, and rich cultural heritage and the federal government’s plan to develop critical mineral industries as part of the Future Made in Australia policy announced in this year’s budget.
A coalition of regional agricultural and business leaders called The Limestone Coast Sustainable Futures Association (LCSF) has been formed to inform the community about the invasive nature of rare earth strip mining, which it believes would threaten the economic viability of the food and fibre sector and jeopardise biodiverse value, including underground water resources, and has called on the state government to intervene and halt all mineral mining proposals in the region and to undertake an independent scientific evaluation to prove there was no detrimental risk.
According to LCSF, exploration licences for rare earth minerals now covered more than a third of the Limestone Coast, stretching from Keith to Mount Gambier, and the immediate concern related to AR3’s (Australian Rare Earths) plan to shortly apply for a mining licence for a tenement 35 kilometres south-east of Naracoorte.
The [Naracoorte] News spoke to AR3, the mining company under the spotlight.
AR3 chief executive officer Travis Beinke said the company was seeking to build a new industry with the local community for the benefit of the state while helping Australia secure supply of critical minerals that were in demand and essential to the clean energy transition.
Mr Beinke said that he believed the rare earths industry could successfully operate alongside the agriculture industry with mutual benefits.
“This new industry is an opportunity to educate and skill local young people, enabling them to find employment and ultimately stay and raise their families in the region where they were raised,” he said.
“AR3 supports local business, and a rare earth mine will require local goods and services. Putting more money into the local economy will help this region thrive for generations to come, providing many social benefits.
“Exploration drilling results over the past four years have established Koppamurra as a globally significant rare earths resource. It is one of the most advanced ionic clay rare earths projects in Australia.
“These critical minerals are vital in the production of electric vehicles and wind turbines as Australia lowers carbon emissions.”
The CEO outlined that they have continued a program of technical and environmental studies with results reported back to the Koppamurra Landholders Reference Group (KLRG).
“These include groundwater, soils and geochemistry, air quality, ecology, flora and fauna, as well as specialist studies on noise and vibration, traffic, and transport.
AR3 established the KLRG in 2022 to continue an open conversation with key stakeholders.
Mr Beinke said the KLRG included members of the LCSF who have provided valuable feedback in KLRG meetings.
“AR3 is pleased to have recently received a $5 million federal government investment to progress the Koppamurra Project, which the company will match.
“The next steps are to conduct metallurgical testing, undertake a prefeasibility study, and build a demonstration plant.
“The federal government investment is a vote of confidence in the Koppamurra Project. The prefeasibility study will comprehensively evaluate the project from technical and environmental perspectives.”
He said the company would not apply for a mining licence unless they were completely satisfied that they could operate a mine in an environmentally sustainable way.
“The preferred mining method of progressive heap leaching and rapid rehabilitation will be fully investigated in our prefeasibility study.
“It uses less water and electricity, making it the most environmentally and economically sustainable option for the project.
“AR3 is looking at rapid rehabilitation that returns farming to the land in a much shorter timeframe than traditional mining practices.”
LCSF said controversial mining practices posed a threat to the future productivity of local agricultural industries due to lost soil profiles, risk to underground water resources, loss of biodiversity, and ultimate impact to community well-being.
LCSF chair and local farmer Todd Woodard said the region’s highly productive agricultural land delivered one-third of the state’s farming GDP and needed to be protected from controversial strip-mining activities.
To support long-term regulatory reform, the LCSF has demanded the state government undertake an independent vulnerability assessment to comprehensively evaluate the risks and ultimate impacts of proposed strip-mining operations on the local environment and long-term consequences on economic and social well-being.
Mr Woodard said this detailed, evidence-based research was critical to ensure strip mining activities would not compromise agricultural production and impact local jobs or jeopardise environmental or cultural value.
He said urgency was building for the state government to prove mining would not impact the long-term productivity or water security in the region, with the need for tighter regulatory controls on mining proponents to deliver greater transparency on their project plans.
However, Mr Beinke says the rare earth resource was contained in clay and not in the topsoil.
“The topsoil and subsoils are set aside during mining and returned in the same order during rehabilitation,” he claimed.
The CEO said the company aspired to leave the land in a more productive and resilient state than it was prior to mining.
“We will continue to work with landowners to investigate where we may be able to improve soil quality during the rehabilitation phase of the operation.
“Australia has one of the strictest mining approval processes and regulatory frameworks in the world. AR3 will simply not be granted a mining licence by the South Australian government if we cannot meet these strict approval and regulatory frameworks.
“We will continue to provide updates on our studies and seek feedback. AR3 is confident that we can secure a mining licence, paving the way for a new industry that will help secure supply of minerals critical to the energy transition as well as create investment and jobs in an environmentally sustainable way.”
Minister for Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis said the government was very supportive of rare earth mining.
“It is an important national sovereign capability that South Australia can help the nation with,” Mr Koutsantonis said.
He said there was a monopoly of rare earths forming, and it was important that democratic nations had access to it.
“These are important minerals that can help military applications and scientific applications, and of course industrial applications,” the minister said.
“So, it’s important that we have a diversity of supply across the world, not having it concentrated in one place is very important, strategically, for our national sovereignty.”
Mr Koutsantonis said every state needed to “explore its natural wealth”.
LCSF had raised an SOS called “#SaveOurSoils” last December to fight mining developments in the region.
“Our soils are our lifeblood—we are rallying as a community, fighting to protect the long-term sustainability of our food and fibre industries and its extensive value chain, which would be devastated by the projected short-term gains of these opportunistic mining companies,” Mr Woodard said.
“The proposed style of mining is one of the most aggressive forms of mineral extraction,” he claimed.
He said the process took everything in its path from the surface trees, vegetation, and infrastructure, digging down to extract from the clay base, devastating the soil structure, macrominerals, and biology of the earth.
“Whilst existing frameworks are in place under the Mining Act to manage mining activities, rural Australia is littered with examples of malpractice and irreparable damage leading to disturbing environmental and economic outcomes.
“There is no compensation adequate to restore the land back to its original state, and the government must provide a higher level of protection, committing to pause mining activities in the Limestone Coast until a thorough independent risk assessment is made,” he further claimed.
The [Naracoorte] News is yet to ascertain the feedback the campaign has received since launch.
The group has requested the government to initiate a study that would investigate rare earth mining impact on:
- Water resources of the Lower Limestone Coast, including prescribed wells area (confined and unconfined aquifer).
- Investigate the process and effectiveness of rehabilitation techniques in the local landscape.
- Understand the long-term impact on the topography and unique geology of the landscape, such as the ability to drain water and sustain wetlands and groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
- Impacts to unique flora and fauna and key cultural assets, including red gum eucalyptus trees.
- Public health risks of exposure to radioactivity involved with the extraction of rare earths, including water, terrestrial, and airborne exposure.
- Measure the long-term economic and social impact of mining activities versus the existing food and fibre economy, both state and local.
- Explore options for rare-earth element recycling to reduce reliance on strip mining activities to support the state’s renewable transition.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte News.