Mallee farmers call for a fairer mine hearing

Another local was delayed by the unseasonal wet roads in the Lalbert district and was still to arrive.

They wanted to gather as many people together as possible for the picture so the world would know their mining intrusion was not in an unpopulated area of the Mallee.

They came with multi-generations and fire in their bellies.

These are farm families who either neighbour the proposed first mine, or the others planned for the future.

Some of them have already received offers to sell their land.

VHM Ltd wants to scrape mineral sands from about 20-30 metres below their beloved Cannie Ridge to supply overseas processors with the "big four" rare earths.

These hard to find minerals - neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium - are necessary to create the permanent magnets critical for wind turbines and electric vehicles:

They are four of the "critical" minerals listed on the Australian and United States critical minerals lists as enablers for an electrified future.

Permanent magnets are in demand as they produce their own magnetism without the aid of electricity.

These folk have until January 17 to comment on an Environment Effects Statement the mine company has made public on its development application for the mines.

Mine Free Mallee Farms Inc spokesman Craige Kennedy says it was unfair to ask farmers who have been working on a rain-delayed harvest to prepare complex submissions during their busiest time of the year.

The environmental investigation (EES) they were asked to respond to contained around 4000 pages of often technical information by midnight on Wednesday.

But their pleas to the Victorian Government have been rejected.

A spokesman for Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said: "Public exhibition of the EES is a formal opportunity for the community to provide feedback about the Goschen Mineral Sands Project and its potential effects.

"Exhibition is occurring for 40 business days, longer than the typical 30 business day timeframe to account for the Christmas-New Year period."

An added complication is that VHM has applied for a mining licence as well, that deadline for submissions is February 2.

VHM has told shareholders it plans to extract five million tonnes of ore each year with this first mine having at least 20 years of life.

The busy-ness of an around-the-clock mining operation in a quiet broadacre region alarms the locals.

"The company is now at detailed engineering design, with first production expected in 2025," the company said.

VHM has already bought up the farm land it needs for this first "Goschen" mine, leaving its neighbours and those in the path of future proposed mines worried about their future.

First, they wanted others to know the proposed mine is not at Goschen, located about 35km southwest of Swan Hill, and best known as home of a mighty TV transmission tower.

The farmers say the Cannie Ridge boasts some of the most productive cropping country in the southern Mallee so the loss of the land will hurt more than if it was somewhere else.

VHM says the name "Goschen" was chosen following a review of historical drill hole data in the area and this formed part of the Goschen Exploration Target.

"Goschen, the locality was part of this and hence the name," a VHM spokeswoman said.

"Goschen locality is within VHM's retention licence."

We have also learned this week of two other similar mineral sands proposals in the Wimmera.

Astron Corporation, a mining company incorporated in Hong Kong, wants to supply the Wimmera's rare earths from its Donald mineral sands project to a new partner Energy Fuels in the US.

Australian company WIM Resource Pty Ltd has as its flagship project the Avonbank Mineral Sands Project, 15km north-east of Horsham.

The Horsham mine has just been through its own EES process and is waiting on a government decision to proceed.

Astron Corporation says it is looking to change the company's incorporation back to Australia.

"Astron's head office is based in Melbourne, and our largest shareholder is a New Zealand family," a company spokesman said.

"In total, Astron has more than 650 public shareholders, of which over 600 are Australians."

An increasing number of farmers and rural communities complain the country is shouldering a too heavy burden with the nation's drive to renewable energy.

Transmission Company Victoria this week announced it had bought a 360 hectare (890 acre) farm at Tragowel, near Kerang, to host its terminal station for a price believed to be around $2.2 million.

TCV is charged with building the controversial VNI West project, high voltage power lines to connect renewable projects in the state's west to cross across the Murray River near Kerang and join the power gird with NSW.

The Tragowel farm is about 50km to the south-east of the Cannie Ridge.

Farmers fear the loss of productive agricultural land.

Don is fiercely protective of his family's cropping country.

Couple stands their ground.