Staff make submissions to public inquiry supporting their own submission

Those submissions supporting VHM Ltd's mine plan are among the 179 already made public as part of the Environment Effects Statement which is heading to its public inquiry phase late in March.

Opponents of the plan are questioning why the company would need to support its own 4000-page EES and whether they had originally identified who they worked for?

Those submissions today contains the opening explanation:

"This submission is made to replace my earlier submission which didn't clearly identify that I am a VHM shareholder and employee."

VHM Ltd, an ASX-listed company, is proposing to open cut cropping country it has already bought on the Cannie Ridge, south of Swan Hill.

The mining company wants to extract valuable rare earths from just below the surface for 25-30 years to extract five million tonnes of mineral sands every year.

Those mineral sands are in demand for the permanent magnets used in wind turbines and electric vehicles.

Most of the submissions, many of them from local farmers, are solidly opposed to the plan.

VHM Ltd is in the process of applying for all the permits it needs to start mining on its Goschen project from next year, and the EES is a key part of that.

Mine Free Mallee Farms spokesman Craige Kennedy said local farmers were also surprised by the VHM Ltd staff submissions.

"We will leave it up to the Inquiry and Advisory panel to determine the legitimacy of the proponent's board members, staff and shareholders making submissions of support," he said.

"It would seem to challenge the integrity and credibility of the EES process."

A spokeswoman for VHM Ltd said the company understood it could make further submissions during the EES public exhibition stage.

Mr Kennedy said it was encouraging to see the "overwhelming majority of submissions were in objection and it is indicative of community sentiment around this proposal on prime agricultural land".

The EES submissions can be accessed here.