Project Overview
The Fingerboards Project
The Fingerboards Critical Minerals Project, delivered by Gippsland Critical Minerals, will responsibly develop high-grade deposits of rare-earths and critical minerals listed on the Australian Government’s Critical Minerals List.
Overview
The Fingerboards Project is located within the Glenaladale deposit in East Gippsland, Victoria, approximately 270 kilometres east of Melbourne.
Once operational, the Fingerboards Project will produce around 280,000 tonnes per year of Heavy Mineral Concentrate (HMC) containing:
- 14,000 tonnes per year of rare earth minerals (xenotime and monazite), which include about 200 tonnes of heavy rare earth oxides (dysprosium and terbium) and 1,800 tonnes of light rare earth oxides (neodymium and praseodymium). These elements are essential in high-performance magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence applications.
- 75,000 tonnes per year of zircon, used in ceramics, electronics and advanced manufacturing.
- 150,000 tonnes per year of titanium minerals (ilmenite, leucoxene and rutile), used to produce pigments and titanium metal.
Analysis by Appian Capital indicates that, if in production today, Fingerboards would contribute 40–50% of ex-China production of the world’s dysprosium and terbium oxide supply, underscoring its importance in securing diversified global supply chains.
Together, these products contribute to industries that power the clean-energy transition and support advanced manufacturing in Australia and globally.
Overview
A new project for East Gippsland
The rescoped Fingerboards Project is smaller in scope, size, scale and environmental impact than the 2021 proposed project. It provides greater certainty to the community and Government on key matters relating to:
- Water requirements and water sourcing
- Management of tailings
- Soils and rehabilitation
- Water run-off and quality of water impact
- Impact of mining on native vegetation
- Dust and air quality, including a commitment to real-time and transparent monitoring of the key concern of dust and air quality.
A new Feasibility Study is underway, based on 7.2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of shallow progressive mining using low-disturbance in-pit dozer push mining units. Ore will be slurry-pumped to an on-site wet concentration plant, using water sourced from multiple groundwater and recycled sources to produce a heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) via traditional gravity separation.
With improved mine design, sustainable water and tailings management, and close collaboration with local community and Traditional Owners, the Fingerboards Project is positioned to become a leading Australian supplier of rare earths, zircon, and titanium, delivering long-term community benefits including water infrastructure, resumption of freight rail services, regional employment and economic benefits for workers transitioning from closing timber and coal industries.
Interactive Map
Explore the project
Through an iterative design process and ongoing community engagement, GCM will deliver a best-practice, environmentally responsible project that provides enduring benefits for East Gippsland, Victoria, and Australia.
Design Elements
How the redesigned project works
Mining
Smaller Footprint, Staged Approach
The redesigned Fingerboards Project has a smaller mining and separation footprint than the 2021 proposal, with larger setbacks from the Lindenow Valley Horticultural Area and no mining in the Perry, Simpson or Lucas Creek Gullies.
Processing
Onshore processing, new tailings strategy
Minerals will be separated on-site using water and gravity to produce a heavy mineral concentrate (HMC). The remaining tailings will be co-disposed in designated cells within the mined-out pit, removing the need for above-ground tailings dams and centrifuges.
Rehabilitation
Testing rehabilitation in real conditions
We are testing rehabilitation methods through the Mining and Rehabilitation Demonstration Pit, including backfilling, soil replacement and the return of land to productive pasture and native vegetation.
Water
Diversified Water Strategy
Power
Energy-Efficient Processing Technologies
The Fingerboards Project will utilise energy-efficient technologies and infrastructure to power operations while exploring renewable integration opportunities.
Transport
Rail-first transport
We’re committed to a rail-first transport strategy designed to reduce heavy vehicle movements on local roads and support efficient freight movement through the region and off to port.
Shared Opportunity
We are invested in East Gippsland
Localised funding
$300m
Investment in the development of the mine, prioritising local suppliers
Labor force
~300+
Ongoing local jobs throughout operations
Economic Boost
$90m
Annual economic contribution through operations, wages, and supply chain
Information Sheets
Community documents
We recognise the need to do things differently and have re-scoped development to reduce and mitigate environmental impacts. Every step of the way we will be releasing our plans and activities to the public for scrutiny and engagement.
Frequently asked questions
We understand you have questions. Let us answer them.
How will you prevent dust from affecting nearby farms and communities?
GCM’s project has been redesigned to minimise dust at its source. GCM also determined that rescoping to a smaller project is one of the best ways to reduce environmental impacts, particularly in relation to dust. Key changes include:
- Reducing the mining footprint by 1,297ha to 955ha (27% reduction)
- more than doubling the distance between mining and the Mitchell River and introducing a a 1.5km ‘buffer’ or mining exclusion zone to significantly reduce the likelihood of any residual dust reaching Lindenow Valley
- Reducing the scale of the mining by 40% (from 1500 tph to 900tph),
- Reducing the size of the mining voids and filling them faster than previously proposed
- A new rehabilitation strategy prioritising the return of the land to current use rather than only native vegetation to enable faster coverage and reduce dust
- An ‘in pit dozer push’ methodology that will reduce dust generated from overburden removal, moving overburden and from on-surface trucks movements – these are the largest contributors to dust on any mineral sands project
We are also reducing the risk of airborne dust travelling as a result of wind by:
- Establishing storage sheds for the bulk concentrate
- Increasing the use of dust suppressant measures, which will be tested as part of the demonstration pit trials
- Using a changed rehabilitation strategy to accelerate ground cover establishment and the return of the land to agricultural use and native grass.
We expect these measures will dramatically reduce dust, and quantifying the impact of these proposed mitigation measures is now the subject of detailed assessments and studies. This includes a mining and rehabilitation demonstration pit in early 2026 to ensure our dust modelling and rehabilitation strategy is tested in situ.
How will water be sourced for the Fingerboards Project?
GCM’s annual water requirement of approximately 3.0 GL will be sourced from a combination of water sources, with major sources expected to be recycled water and winterfill (surface) water allocations from existing licence holders. GCM is also investigating the availability and use of groundwater from the deep Latrobe Aquifer.
We know water is important to the local community, which is why we are engaging with farmers, water authorities, councils, landholders and First Nations groups to gather feedback. The Community Reference Group has also played an important role in informing this work and our demonstration pit is also an input into the final strategies.
All water sourcing, use and potential impacts will be assessed through the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) process, with findings made publicly available.
How will GCM manage impacts on Gippsland Lakes and downstream waterways?
The Fingerboards projects will operate as a zero-discharge site. This means that any surface water affected by mining activities will be captured, retained and reused within the site, rather than released into local creeks or rivers.
A key change supporting this approach is the removal of the above-ground Tailings Storage Facility. Instead, tailings will be co-disposed directly into mined pits, significantly reducing the risk of runoff or seepage reaching downstream environments.
Together, these changes materially reduce risks to surface water quality and associated biodiversity values in the Mitchell and Perry Rivers and the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar wetland.
All impacts on Gippsland lakes and downstream waterways are being assessed as part of the impact assessment work being undertaken as part of the EES.
Will radiation from mineral sands pose health risks to workers or residents?
The naturally occurring radiation in mineral sands is low-level and carefully managed.
Radiation at high levels occurs during a type of mineral sands processing that is not going to occur at Fingerboards.
It is only during final processing, in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, almost 4,000km from East Gippsland, that any radiation from NORM would be concentrated enough to be classified as Radioactive Material (Class 7). In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, specific measures are in place to manage these outcomes at these processing locations, which are subject to strict regulatory oversight from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
To provide independent monitoring against the baseline levels at Fingerboards, the Victorian Department of Health has installed its own monitoring stations across the site.
What do you mean by 'progressive rehabilitation''?
This is sometimes called continual rehabilitation. It means that we rehabilitate as we go. That means as each area of the site is mined, it is backfilled and then rehabilitation commences. This will occur across the majority of the site.
This methodology is now common across mineral sands mining in Victoria. This is regarded as best practice for a number of reasons, including:
- Regular rehabilitation works develop and retain trained staff
- Ensures that areas done at any one time are not large
- Over time, methods are refined, equipment is optimised and readily available, and the area to be rehabilitated at closure is relatively small.
- Importantly, the Mining and Rehabilitation Demonstration Pit (MRDP) — recommended during the 2021 assessment process — will allow rehabilitation techniques to be tested at a realistic scale before full operations proceed.
What will happen to local wildlife and vegetation during mining operations?
GCM is conducting detailed ecological surveys to identify important habitats and species. However, as a first step to improve on the design of the previous project and reduce impacts, GCM has rescoped to preserve key wildlife corridors and environmental features, particularly through our gully areas. Work on our ecological studies includes baseline monitoring that has already begun and the process is being lead by GHD. You can read the scope of those studies here.
