Community feedback drives changes to the Fingerboards

Gippsland Critical Minerals (GCM) work to rescope the Fingerboards Critical Minerals Project is making good progress with the announcement of a series of initial design changes to address community feedback and help develop a better project for East Gippsland.

Twelve initial design changes were shared at the first meeting of the GCM Community Reference Group (CRG), held in Lindenow in March.

As part of the meeting, we conducted a tour of the Fingerboards site to help the group understand our plans and provide feedback.

Key questions raised by the CRG focused on why the Fingerboards area was chosen as the site for the project, the mining methods and the approval process. Key concerns raised included potential impacts on water supply, mature trees and native vegetation.

The 12 changes we announced are big decisions that aim to minimise or mitigate these and other issues and are a direct response to the feedback we have received. The changes also aim to address the findings from the 2021 EES process.

We also shared the changes at community webinars. GCM’s presentations shared with the CRG are available on our website.

Fingerboards Project - Key Initial Design Changes

Prioritising Australian interests

• Prioritising onshore processing of Fingerboards critical minerals and rare earths to support jobs and national security.

Mitigating dust and noise concerns for local horticulture

• No mining within 1.5 kilometres from the Lindenow Valley horticultural area.

Reducing noise, dust and truck traffic

• Slowing the rate of mining from 1500tph to 900tph and spread over two smaller mining units to reduce noise, dust and truck traffic at any one location while extending the life of the mine to 22-years.

• Using ‘in-pit’ dozers to reduce dust and noise caused by moving dirt ‘on-surface’ with trucks.

Prioritising the return of mined land to pasture

• New rehabilitation strategy in response to farmer feedback to prioritise a return to pasture vegetation along with native grasses.

Showing and testing for the community

• Undertaking a demonstration pit to show the community what the mine will look like and test our approach to rehabilitation.

Preserving the Fingerboards Junction

• Maintaining the historic junction and fewer road relocations will help preserve local history and conserve more large trees.

Reducing truck movements on public roads

• Examining options for a new process plant location so that concentrate is moved on private roads.

Improved long-term community water security

• As a legacy benefit of the mine, improved dam infrastructure will support irrigation for local horticulture during drought periods.

Improved environmental and safety outcomes

• New co-disposal and below-ground tailings approach preserves vegetation in the Perry Gully and eliminates the need for centrifuges as well as above-ground tailings dam storage risks.

More initiatives to reduce dust

• New purpose-built concentrate storage shed will replace previously proposed open-air stockpiles to reduce dust.

More protections for biodiversity and native vegetation

• No mining the Perry, Simpson and Lucas Creek gullies and conservation areas established to protect biodiversity and native vegetation.

More details on GCM’s Initial design changes for the Fingerboards Project are available on the GCM website.