GCM in association with AECOM, the lead environmental consultant for the rescoped Fingerboards Project, has appointed consultants for two new studies on soils and economics. SLR has been appointed to lead the soils assessment and Korda Mentha will lead the economic study, which are being undertaken as part of GCM’s impact assessment work.
Soils
Conducted by SLR, the soils assessment will establish a detailed baseline and evaluate potential impacts on, and from, soil within and adjacent to the Project area. The study will characterise existing topsoil and subsoil conditions, define the physical and chemical properties of local soils and overburden materials, and describe how these materials are expected to behave during construction, operations, rehabilitation and post-closure.
The assessment will then identify the practical controls required to avoid, minimise and manage soil related impacts throughout the life of the Project. These findings will directly inform GCM’s rehabilitation strategy by specifying how soil profiles should be reconstructed to achieve long term stability and support agricultural productivity after mining. The aim is to ensure the site can be responsibly rehabilitated to a condition that meets or exceeds pre-project capability for productive agricultural use.
The work done through the Mining and Rehabilitation Demonstration Pit (MRDP) will be a key input into the soils study.
Economic
Conducted by KordaMentha, the economic assessment will evaluate how the Project’s economic profile interacts with the East Gippsland, Victorian and national economies. The methodology is well established, widely used by government agencies and commonly applied to mining and resources projects of similar scale.
The modelling will quantify how different industries and regions are expected to respond to the Project. These outputs will support GCM in developing strategies that maximise local economic benefits and mitigate any potential challenges for East Gippsland’s agricultural, horticultural and tourism sectors.
More resources
Scopes for both new assessments, alongside existing summaries covering air quality, land and visual, water acquisition, noise and vibration, agriculture and horticulture, surface water, radiation, and social impact, are available on our Monitoring and Studies page.
The scopes of these studies will be checked against any formal scoping requirements determined by the Department of Transport and Planning following a public submission process undertaken as part of EES Referral considerations.
Other important project information and community resources, including the Annual Summary of Quarterly Reports, can be found on our News and Resources page.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, or need help locating a particular document, please reach out at contactus@gipplsandcritcialminerals.com. We want to ensure the East Gippsland community has clear, accessible information at every stage.
