Never trust the mining warden or an agent of earth regulation in Victoria. Their record in the protection of the community from corrupt mining operators is abysmal.

Mineral sand mining companies in Victoria have marketed themselves as the producer of rare earths. The separation of rare earth requires massive quantities of water, electricity and sulphuric acid. No mineral sand mining company in Victoria has ever separated rare earths to market.

The Commonwealth may decide that the company cannot continue their operation. Most mineral sand mining operations in Australia are abandoned before they reach the end of mine life. In Victoria mining projects are never rehabilitated.

The State of Victoria allows Chinese owned mining companies to export rare earths direct to China. This is in conflict with the Commonwealth critical minerals strategy.

Mining companies often leave radioactive tailings dumps on the surface. The EPA are likely to require the land owner to bury these tailings at their own cost.

At most locations the company will extract millions of tonnes of saline groundwater. The company will walk away and this saline water will sit in above storages on the farm land.

The mining company will never restore the road network they damage. Your local council will be required to reconstruct the roads at ratepayer expense

Each mineral sand mine can consume up to 3000 ha of high production cereal farm land. This land will be lost to production forever. There is no feasible method to restore mine pits back to cereal production.

and/or they were not consulted sufficiently about it, even if the change was in the public interest."

"ISDS rules in some trade agreements enable foreign investors to claim billions in compensation from governments if they can convince an international tribunal that a change in law or policy would reduce their future profits ...

that a change in law or policy would reduce their future profits and/or they were not consulted sufficiently about it, even if the change was in the public interest."

"ISDS rules in some trade agreements enable foreign investors to claim billions in compensation from governments if they can convince an international tribunal ...

Although the technologies to process rare earths in less environmentally harmful ways exist in theory, they are rarely used because of cost “I doubt they could maintain their production costs if they took such steps,” says Craig Hart, a lecturer at John Hopkins University who focuses on rare earths"