Critical Minerals put East Gippsland on the global map

East Gippsland’s Fingerboards resource could make a major contribution to the global supply for heavy rare earths and present a major new export opportunity for Australia.

Samples from the Fingerboards area, analysed as part of rescoping work for the Fingerboards Critical Minerals Project, indicates the area is rich not only in zircon but it

contains a globally significant deposit of heavy and light rare earths.

This includes more than 7% of the global supply of rare earths Dysprosium and Terbium (DyTb) and 1.4% of Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr).

Global demand for these rare earths is surging, primarily because they are essential components for magnets used in renewable energy infrastructure and electric vehicles.

In fact, if the Fingerboards Project were in production today, it could help put over 3 million EVs on the road annually or help bring online over 10 GW of new wind power each year, enough to power more than 5 million homes.

With China currently dominating global critical minerals supplies and having recently placed a number of minerals under export control, including dysprosium and terbium, Australia’s status as a reliable supplier for critical minerals has put East Gippsland on the global map.

Fingerboards Resource Analysis

• 7.1% of the global supply in the Heavy Rare Earths Dysprosium and Terbium (DyTb) essential for the production of high-performance permanent magnets, especially for applications such as wind turbines, electric motors, and hard disk drives.

•  1.4% of the global supply in the Light Rare Earths Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr) used in ultra-strong permanent magnets with uses in renewable energy infrastructure, electric vehicles, drones, robots, consumer electronics and industrial applications.

• 7.2% of the global supply of Zircon used in ceramics, dental products such as implants and crowns, aircraft and defence components, electronics and specialist paints and varnishes.

Source: Adamas Intelligence, April 2025