Environmental stewardship
Work to develop the Fingerboards Project has been under development for over a decade.
Gippsland Critical Minerals recognises the need to do things differently to create a successful project and its development has been re-scoped to reduce and mitigate environmental impacts and include a major commitment to community consultation and benefit sharing.
GCM aims to set the standard as a sustainable and environmentally-responsible mining project that successfully co-exists with East Gippsland’s agricultural and horticultural industry, the local community and Traditional Owners.
Rehabilitation plans include restoring some mined areas as native grassy woodlands
Our approach to environmental management
Establishing buffer zones
GCM will establish a 1.5km buffer zone to reduce the impact of the project on biodiversity, native vegetation and old growth trees. It also offers greater protection for gullies and the terrace landscape and minimises noise and dust impacts.
Re-examining mine processing to reduce impact
GCM will continually seek to iterate and improve its mining methodology to incorporate technical advances in mineral sands mining, minimise environmental and other impacts and allow for continuous backfill and land rehabilitation.
Conducting new technical studies
GCM plans to undertake new studies and using the best available information and evidence to identify how we can re-baseline to prevent, minimise, mitigate or remediate impacts specifically from dust and noise, and to better protect native vegetation and biodiversity. The studies will be undertaken by qualified independent experts. Where necessary, to provide surety to the local community and government, we will seek independent involvement and peer review.
Seeking out community input to identify opportunities to improve
Engaging with stakeholders during planning and operations to identify further opportunities to improve local outcomes.
Reducing water usage and minimising waste
GCM will undertake further studies to investigate ground and surface water to strengthen our understanding of water availability and opportunities to minimise water requirements in mining operations. GCM will work to ensure the efficient use of water, energy and other natural resources is embedded into design and operational practices with a focus on reducing waste and maximising recycling.
Restoration and Rehabilitation
GCM is committed to rehabilitate the mining area including restoring land for future agriculture use and as native grassy woodlands.
Reducing emissions and offsetting climate impacts
GCM intends to focus on opportunities to use renewable energy, implement low carbon solutions and use carbon offsets to reduce climate impacts in the extraction of the minerals, recognising critical minerals and rare earth elements are a vital part of enabling Australia’s transition to net zero.
First Nations engagement is central to our approach
GCM plans to conduct further studies, working with Traditional Owners, on local cultural heritage values. Listening and engaging Traditional Owners will also be an essential part of ensuring the project’s approach to environmental management benefits from traditional knowledge systems.
GCM has also adopted leading national and international standards for environmental and social sustainability
Call us on 1800 791 396 or email contactus@gippslandcriticalminerals.com
We want to hear from you
Gippsland Critical Minerals is committed to open engagement and communication. Whether you have a question, a suggestion, or simply want to learn more, we want to hear from you.