A bombshell landed right at the end of a public hearing in Swan Hill yesterday afternoon discussing plans for a mineral sands mine south of the northern city.
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At 2.57pm, a financial update from mining firm VHM Ltd's to the Australian Stock Exchange went public.
VHM is the "proponent" in these hearings running for 21 days across six weeks.
The government inquiry resumes its third week of investigations into the planned mine which has been opposed by grain farmers and several environmental groups.
The ASX update was explained as part of the company's regular business under the terms of its exploration licence to update the market on its work.
It was a highly technical 41-page update on the company's work to define the extent of the mineral sands and rare earths it wants to open-cut mine in the Cannie Ridge region.
But coming in the middle of the public hearings caught many people unawares.
Chair of the government appointed Inquiry and Advisory Committee which is holding the hearings, Michael Kirsch, asked VHM's lawyers whether the ASX advice meant the company didn't want to continue with its current application, or wanted to change it?
"No," he was clearly told.
It was still a bombshell.
After the company had produced a 4000-page Environment Effects Statement for its flagship Goschen mine application and spent years and millions of dollars to reach the current stage, the mere suggestion it could be abandoned rocked the hearings.
Mr Kirsch was asked by an environment group's representative whether it could be further discussed.
Mr Kirsch said it was better for people to read the company update, and bring any further questions to the hearing today.
VHM Ltd wants approval for an open cut mine to extract hard-to-find minerals - neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium - which are necessary to create the magnets critical for the renewable industry.
VHM says it is gearing up to begin construction of the mine later this year.
Yesterday's hearing was largely taken up with submissions from the Environment Protection Authority which is chiefly concerned about possible mine impacts on groundwater and expert evidence on dust.
The ASX advice came right at the end of those submissions as the hearing wound up for the day.
While VHM says it is pushing ahead with its plans for its initial Goschen mine, it has other discoveries it may want to proceed with in the future.
VHM has combined two exploration areas it now calls "Area 2", 3.5km north west of the proposed Goschen mine.
The company's says its mineral estimates for a section of Area 2 were first estimated in 2019.
Subsequent assay results have lifted the company's total inventory tonnage by six per cent.
In a statement to the ASX, VHM chief executive officer Ron Douglas said: "The addition of Area 2's mineral resource estimate provides further upside for the company's global resources, and these results demonstrate the valuable characteristics of the rich mineralisation found in Victoria's Murray-Darling Basin."
VHM's share price began the hearings at about 50 cents per share and rose to 52 cents after yesterday's ASX announcement.
The public hearings continue in Swan Hill today with local councils and the Victorian Farmers Federation scheduled to make presentations.
A site visit to VHM's Kerang warehouse is planned for Friday.
The panel is to provide its report to the government within 40 days after the hearings end.
There is no timeline on the government's final decision for the project.
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
