Victorian governance group to oversee mineral sands projects

A new Victorian governance group has been tasked with increasing oversight of mineral sands projects.

Farmers, land experts and the resources sector will be represented on the newly established Mineral Sands Agricultural Land Restoration Working Group.

The group will seek to strengthen the requirements for agricultural land rehabilitation for proposed mines in Victoria's Wimmera Mallee.

It will feature representatives from the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), the Minerals Council of Australia, Agriculture Victoria, Horsham Rural City Council, Yarriambiack Shire Council and local Catchment Management Authorities.

Farming and mining coexisting

Incoming VFF president Ryan Milgate said growers had long called for independent oversight of mine proposals affecting agricultural land.

"For regions looking at having a lot of mining, there needs to be some accountability and some transparency around some of the claims being made," Mr Milgate said.

"To actually have some independent oversight around that will give everyone a lot more comfort going forward."

In October, the Federal Government granted major project status to Astron Corporation's Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sands project in western Victoria.

Minerals Council of Australia Victorian Division executive director James Sorahan said mineral sands companies want farming communities to have input into their work.

"Rehabilitation is something that is part and parcel of what we do, so we want to make sure it works with regions, and we're all working together for the same outcome," Mr Sorahan said.

"These are strong farming areas, and that's something we want to protect, and mining is no threat to that."

Maintaining farm productivity

Horsham Rural City Council chief executive Gail Gatt described the working group as a step in the right direction toward improving rehabilitation guidelines.

Previous projects in the region had difficulty restoring land to pre-mine productivity levels.

Ms Gatt said the Wimmera Southern Mallee had some of the most productive agricultural land in the country.

"It's important that any mine footprint can be rehabilitated so that this productivity isn’t lost to future generations at the end of these projects," Ms Gatt said.

"This is essential to ensure food security into the future.

"Ideally, mineral sands mining shouldn’t be at the expense of prime agricultural land, and until rehabilitation processes can ensure land can be restored to pre-mine productivity, it will be a challenge for proponents to build social licence," she said.