OBJECTION TO WIM RESOURCES MINERAL SANDS MINE APPLICATION

Objection to Mining Licence Application MIN008642
Submission date: 9 April 2025

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Applicant: WIM Resource Pty Ltd – Suite 2004, Level 20, 201 Elizabeth Street Sydney, NSW, 2000
Application number: MIN008642
Site location: 1.3km northeast of Dooen, 1.6km west of Jung and 8km northeast of Horsham
Approximate area of the application: 3426 ha
Date of the application: 7 March 2025
Term the licences are applied for: 38 years

Outline of the proposed programs of work

The mining licence is being sought to enable the mining and primary processing of the Avonbank mineral sands orebody.

Mining of the orebody will involve open-pit excavation, using conventional heavy earth-moving methods and equipment to extract approximately 11 million tonnes of ore per year over 30 years. A mining unit plant will operate within the pit to slurry the ore before being pumped to the secondary processing plant within the WIM Base Area.

Mined areas will be progressively rehabilitated with excavated overburden, sand tails, and soil materials to establish a safe, stable, and sustainable agricultural end land use. At any given time, the extent of Project disturbance will be less than 340 ha.

Activities ancillary to mining and primary processing that will occur within the mining licence include the establishment of local access roads, temporary soil stockpiles, contractor facilities, and laydown yards.

Grounds for objection

The map omits important details.

The map is misleading. It does not show the utilities corridor, the rail corridor (SUZ3) and the siting of the proposed WCP so close to grain handling and processing operations in the Wimmera Agriculture and Logistics Hub (WAL Hub). It presents a real risk to existing and new agribusinesses.

The viability of international company Farm Frite’s new potato processing and manufacturing plant in the WAL Hub as well as that of the other agribusinesses is a real concern if this mine, especially the location of the WCP and secondary processing in the WBA, is approved. Approval will put at risk the economic sustainability of the whole region.

These businesses are injecting real money into local towns and creating new jobs for the area now, compared to WIM Resource’s Never Never promises.

WIM Resource’s plan to occupy a large section of the WIFT with its WBA also has the potential to monopolise the site, preventing other mining companies from using the freight terminal as the WIFT Development Plan intends.

The applicant does not meet the requirements of Section 15(6) of the MRSDA for the following reasons

The applicant is a not a fit and proper person to hold a licence (determined by relevant background checks)

WIM Resource employees misled Horsham business owners about the nature of the mine and its impacts. They called it a “sand mine” not a mineral sands’ mine, which led those people to believe its impacts would be benign. Like many affected farmers, they were unaware people would lose their homes and businesses for 38 years.

WIM Resource wrote supporting submissions on behalf of these people whom they confronted in the street. The IAC had to remove these bogus submissions when this was discovered.

A 54-year-old Horsham man was arrested and has been interviewed following reports documents were fraudulently prepared and submitted as part of a proposed mining project. He has been released on bail pending further enquiries.¹

Given 38 years is almost half the life expectancy of an average Australian male born in 2020-2022 and more than half the life expectancy of an average Australian male born in 1950, it is hardly “temporary”. It is likely that the older affected farmers will be dead in 38 years so will never return to their farms, businesses and homes. This a denial of their human right to peaceful enjoyment of their home and to carry on a business.

Secondary processing outside the designated mine site area does not comply with the MRSDA.

Secondary processing including the Wet Concentrator Plant is proposed to be located outside the mine site boundaries inside the Wimmera Intermodal Freight Hub (SUZ9) adjacent to the WAL Hub. To achieve this, WIM Resource proposed the introduction of a Special Control Overlay into the Horsham Planning Scheme.

Special Control Overlay (SCO)

Horsham Rural City Council’s EES submission (Tabled Document 100) describes the WIFT as “a major intermodal freight and logistics hub for the Wimmera-Mallee region”. It is a “significant economic asset … designed to “facilitate a range of businesses and jobs for the municipality and wider region relating to freight and logistics.”²

WIM Resource’s plan to insert “bespoke controls” to allow what the Horsham Planning Scheme otherwise prohibits negates the “orderly development of the WIFT … [which] is critical to the future of Horsham as a centre for freight and logistics associated with agriculture in the region.”³ It undermines the purpose and intent of the Victorian Planning Provisions.

The Council also expressed concerns about damage to Council roads’ infrastructure and truck traffic noise, especially at night. “The extra traffic level at night will mean that these above criteria noise impacts could be significant for adjacent residents”, not just for adjacent sensitive receptors but residents in urban Horsham and along the Henty Highway⁴, which the Council submitted would have a negative impact on human health.

Council submitted: “It is unclear why the proponent is seeking to separate the processing plant from the mine area and Council seeks the Panel’s consideration of the burden and impracticality the ongoing enforcement and compliance would have on Council.”⁶ This requirement is outside “the core competencies of Council as a responsible authority.”⁷

If mine processing is allowed within the WIFT, the Horsham Rural City Council, which has no mining experience and lacks the necessary resources, will be responsible for monitoring and regulating the management of radioactive materials, dust and associated emissions as well as overall secondary ore processing. This will put the Council in an invidious position that could well be contrary to their financial risk management obligations under the Local Government Act.

The project does not comply with Section 2A Sustainable Development

Environmental Impacts

Mineral sands rare earths extraction comes at a high social and environmental cost. WIM Resource’s much-touted economic benefits of this mine regarding local jobs, royalties and net community benefits will not compensate for its negative impacts. The mine will have considerable and probably irreversible impacts on waterways, groundwater, remnant wildlife habitat (especially mature hollow-bearing trees), wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems. The project is a controlled action under the EPBC Act which attests to the ecological values under threat.

The applicant does not have an appropriate program of work

Based on sound and substantiated scientific evidence, the applicant does not have a program of work which will be able to avoid, minimise or mitigate the serious and likely irreversible environmental effects identified in Avonbank EES submissions and consultants’ reports.

Rare earths are only rare due to the difficulty of finding commercially viable sources and their intensive extraction process. The process of extracting tiny amounts of the rare earth minerals from enormous quantities of waste and unwanted product is extremely expensive and highly toxic. Rare earth prices are highly volatile and dependent on the strength of China’s economy.

“For every ton of rare earth produced, the mining process yields 13kg of dust, 9,600-12,000 cubic meters of waste gas, 75 cubic meters of wastewater, and one ton of radioactive residue. This stems from the fact that rare earth element ores have metals that, when mixed with leaching pond chemicals, contaminate air, water, and soil. Most worrying is that rare earth ores are often laced with radioactive thorium and uranium, which result in especially detrimental health effects.

Overall, for every ton of rare earth, 2,000 tons of toxic waste are produced.”⁸ WIM Resource showed photo montages of stockpiles 20 metres high!

Stockpiles

“The initial out-of-pit overburden stockpiles will remain in place for approximately 7 years for the first box cut for Block A. Its dimensions will be “approximately 700 m long x 450 m wide x 30 m high.”⁹

The out-of-pit overburden stockpile to be established for mining activities north of the Wimmera Highway will remain in place for up to 25 years.”¹⁰

“Stockpiling of soils and overburden has the potential to contaminate topsoil in nearby areas as a result of soluble or suspended soil constituents from stockpile runoff or seepage.”¹¹

“The total area occupied by overburden stockpiles will be up to approximately 80 ha; and the ore stockpile will be located in the mine pit on top of exposed ore.”¹²

“Erosion of the stockpile surface can lead to loss of soil materials for rehabilitation … The Shepparton Formation overburden is moderately structured, dispersive and contains few coarse fragments so is likely to be susceptible to water and wind erosion and this is also likely to be prevalent in a mixed overburden stockpile … These stockpiles have increased susceptibility to water and wind erosion due to their size.”¹³

WIM Resource EES reports confirm that “prescribed radioactive materials” will be produced¹⁴, which will require ARPANSA licences. No approval for handling radioactive materials at the Port destined to receive the ore has been granted. There is no contingency plan, or even an operational refinery for processing the ore in Australia, if it cannot be sold overseas.

Radioactive toxic waste and Chemicals of Concern will permanently contaminate groundwater and waterways which flow to the Ramsar Murray Darling Basin. This mine threatens the water quality of the Murray River including Adelaide’s water supply.

The Wimmera is renowned for its wind, which will blow radioactive dust from the mine site and its 20m high stockpiles over farms, homes, and the grain handling businesses barely 250m from the WBA. Water from domestic rainwater tanks will be undrinkable and crops inedible. Not only will sensitive receptors, residents, farmers, Longerenong College and the communities of Dooen and Jung be exposed to radioactive dust but anyone eating the food made from the cereal grains will be exposed to disease, even death. All the water in the world will not stop the dust. Droughts will reduce water availability so chemical dust suppression will be needed further increasing the toxic chemical load in the environment. Poorer health outcomes for country people will be borne by all taxpayers.

Photomontage of Stockpile EES Report Appendix F Landscape and Visual, p157/192

To allow our food to be contaminated with toxic chemicals and radioactive dust and water is a risk to Australia’s international reputation, as well as a risk to our national and state economies.

Does ERR want to be legally liable for this degree of environmental pollution and socioeconomic jeopardy?

The applicant is unlikely to be able to finance the proposed work and rehabilitation of the land.

Going on the experience of other junior mining companies, the applicant’s intention to do the work depends entirely on its capacity to source the necessary outside investment to fund the work including rehabilitation. Iluka’s rehabilitation estimates for a total area of 2,200ha is $460 million.¹⁵

Unable to fund rehabilitation, WIM Resource is expected to abandon the mine as did the owners of Kralcopic and Benambra mines, which both went into administration and had to be taken over by the Victorian government. Absent the ERR requirement that bond monies cover all reparation costs, the taxpayers have been left to fund rehabilitation, which is the company’s responsibility under the MRSDA. To date, neither of these two mines has been rehabilitated. In Benambra’s case, the government has spent several million dollars so far trying to stem the egress of toxic mine water into the Tambo River and on to the Ramsar Gippsland Lakes, without success.

Iluka, a large ASX-listed company, has failed to fully rehabilitate its Douglas mine. There is still significant subsidence with holes big enough to hold a 1-tonne ute. There have been no community net benefits to either Balmoral or Hamilton. Instead of being cleaned up, Pit 23 was repurposed as a toxic waste dump, which although opposed by the HRCC was subsequently approved by VCAT.

Like those surrounding the Douglas Mine, communities around WIM Resource’s mine will suffer from legacy pollution—massive radioactive waste dumps, toxic slurry pits, contaminated water and soils. Such impacts were presented as negligible risks by the WIM Resource during the EES process and dismissed by the Minister for Planning. ERR’s regulatory resources have been so reduced that their capacity to deal with these operational and legacy problems is in jeopardy. This means contamination will not be effectively controlled.

WIM Resource claims that rehabilitation trials have successfully returned the mined land to yielding crops. However, the landowner reports that although the crop looks green, the yield is lower than it was before mining. Hostile soil chemistry is identified as a risk with “potential significance.”¹⁶ Due to the destruction of the soil profile and biota, and the weathering of the stockpiled soils over years, fertile soil rehabilitation is virtually impossible.

The 2020 VAGO audit Rehabilitating Mines documents the abject regulatory failure to enforce rehabilitation. ERR was unable to advise VAGO on the number of abandoned sites but there are many. VAGO concluded that Victoria is exposed to “significant financial risk because some sites have been poorly rehabilitated or not treated at all.”¹⁷

Nothing has changed since the VAGO 2020 report. This is an indictment of our regulatory system which points to the sad fact that mine sites are not being fully and successfully rehabilitated as the MRSDA 1990 requires. WIM Resource cannot be trusted to do what other companies have failed to do. That very fact alone should be sufficient to refuse WIM Resource licence application.

The project is highly unlikely to be economically viable

Mineral exploration is inherently risky for investors. To entice investors, inexperienced junior miners have to wildly exaggerate their resource and underplay the costs.

Physical separation of the ore from the sands is challenging due to the fineness of the Parilla Sands deposits. According to Iluka, Wimmera zircon, contains higher levels of impurities than, for example, clay-based or hard rock sites. These impurities make it ineligible for sale into key markets, including the ceramics market, which accounts for approximately 60% of total zircon demand.¹⁸

Globally, the probability of success is low and profitable mineral deposits are very rare.¹⁹ Relatively few mines become economically viable and even so take decades to do so.

Darryl Cuzzubbo, during Ausbiz’s webinar, The Drill, on 2 April 2025, confirmed what others have said, that, on average, it takes 18 years from finding the ore body to production. Ever increasing mining capital and operational costs reduce economic returns on mining projects. Even the big companies, like Iluka and Gina Rinehart’s Arafura, rely on government subsidies to fund their projects which nevertheless have long lead-times for execution.

Project finance markets for junior, inexperienced companies remains tight, severely limiting their ability to access funds to develop projects to scale and to time.²⁰ Astron is a local example. Its Donald mine received EES approval in 2008 but 17 years later has not gained a Work Plan approval. WIM Resource does not have the financial capacity to fund the Avonbank project, which is very unlikely to ever become operational, let alone profitable. WIM Resource will hope for government grants to subsidise its plans. Such grants come at taxpayers’ expense, some of whom will suffer the adverse effects of the mine.

A common practice of the “penny dreadfuls”, even those listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, is to harbour an ulterior plan to onsell the licence post approval. This is really their only hope of making any money. It is not ERR’s role to facilitate such an aim which is contrary to MRSDA Section 1 Purpose “to encourage economically viable mining”.

WIM Resource Pty Ltd is a privately held, unlisted company; 40.91% of its shares are held by overseas interests (primarily China). The remaining 50.09% of shares are also probably “beneficially” held by overseas interests because the nominated shareholders and names and addresses shown do not identify the real owners and their nationalities.²¹ The motive in pointing this out is not xenophobic but that, in our current heightened geopolitical security climate, the Australian government requires that companies comply with its Critical Minerals Strategy and Made in Australia policy.

There is no guarantee Wim Resource genuinely intends to do the work.

WIM Resource is extremely unlikely to be able to finance the proposed work as well as rehabilitation of the land given its inadequate balance sheet.

China dominates the global market due to its large resource and low production costs. It is much cheaper to mine and process rare earth ores there. WIM Resource will be unable to compete with its virtually slave labour costs and non-existent environmental standards. Australia’s higher labour, construction and operational costs and more stringent environmental conditions mean inexperienced companies like WIM Resource simply cannot compete. Furthermore, the Parilla Sands are difficult to mine due to the fine sands. Thousands of tonnes of soil (overburden) must be removed just to recover a very small resource which has little sales value. Also, were environmental reparation costs factored into Capex and Opex as they should be, the mine could never be profitable.

WIM Resource’s claims of making billions of dollars is completely unrealistic due to the low price of rare earths and China’s dominance of the resource and the market.

“The five listed Chinese rare earth mining companies have 74% of the rare earth production quota for the first half of 2016, yet they only have a combined market capitalisation of RMB154 billion (USD23.4 million). Elsewhere, the 10 leading global players ex-China identified by the UNCTAD rare earth report represent only USD409 million.”²² A recent RN program, If You’re Listening, also confirms these numbers.

In the most unlikely scenario that this mine ever becomes operational, it will chew up lots of cash which WIM Resource does not have, leaving behind an environmental catastrophe costing the Victorian government, that is taxpayers, hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up, if that is possible.

The project does not comply with Commonwealth Critical Minerals Strategy

WIM Resource claims to have an offtake agreement with Shenghe, China. “Shenghe is China’s biggest importer of rare earths concentrates and has snapped up ownership stakes and offtake deals across a heavy rare earths precinct emerging in Victoria, on top of its agreement with Yuxiao and China Northern.”²³

Selling Australian ore to China is contrary to the Commonwealth Critical Minerals Strategy and Made in Australia policy. Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, ordered Northern Minerals to sell down its Chinese ownership in order for the company to comply with the Strategy.²⁴ It is possible that WIM Resource will not be permitted to sell its ore to China.

The project does not have any Social Licence

The previous Horsham Rural City Council signed an MOU with WIM Resource without full and open community consultation. The new Council has repealed the MOU.

During the Second Reading of the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Amendment Bill 2023, Lily D’Ambrosio, Minister for Energy and Resources Resources, declared:

“Social licence for the resources sector is critical.”²⁵

Subsequently, Minister D’Ambrosio refused an application for a waste incinerator at Wollert, which was highly publicised, because she said it had no social licence. In a press release she said:

“Over the past few months, we’ve been working with community to understand the way forward on the proposed Waste to Energy incinerator. We’ve listened to the community. It is clear that residents are not supportive of the proposal in Wollert, and we’re with you.”²⁶

When considering the merits of this application, regard must be had for the Minister’s emphasis on social licence, bearing in mind that both Ministers D’Ambrosio and Kilkenny have flatly refused to listen to the Horsham/Wimmera communities. The privileging of one community over another is unfair and smacks of political interference.

There is no social licence for WIM Resource’s mine. So, this community should be treated the same as Wollert.

Impacts on Prime Agricultural Land

The Wimmera/Mallee has some of the most productive agricultural land in Australia. Only 6.55% (498,974 square kms) is considered arable land for growing crops. Agriculture is a significant employer in regional Victoria and an economic mainstay to the state and national economy. In the Wimmera Mallee there are 364,000 acres of land under retention licenses. The Wimmera has some of the best self-mulching, grey clay soils ideal for lentils and cereal grains.

“Victoria is Australia’s largest food and fibre exporter, with exports reaching a record $19.6 billion in 2022-23, accounting for 24% of the national total, and showcasing strong growth in key markets like China and the United States … Grain: The largest export, reaching $5.6 billion in value, with a 26% increase.”²⁷

Global food production is seriously threatened by increasing global warming. Victoria has one of the best climatic and soil conditions for crop growing so protecting land for growing food not only for Australia but the rest of the world is imperative. To supplant fertile land for highly polluting and temporary mining is very bad public policy indeed.

Economic Viability – Agriculture v Mining

Last year, former Treasurer Tim Pallas reported: “Strong communities and businesses in regional Victoria are driving nation-leading jobs growth, with the state entering the new year bolstered by a new high mark for regional employment … More than 826,000 people in regional Victoria have the security of a job, an increase of more than 25 per cent since the Labor Government was elected in November 2014. That represents the country’s highest regional jobs growth in that period … ABS figures show Victoria’s economy has grown by a cumulative 9.1 per cent over the past two years – ahead of NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania.²⁸

The strength of our agriculture industry is based on strong demand both at home and abroad. Around 70% of Australia’s agricultural produce is exported, providing a reliable source of food and fibre to our trading partners. Of the food consumed domestically, over 90% is produced in Australia, ensuring our food security.”²⁹

ABS statistics confirm that the mining sector is the lowest employer of all sectors. This mine will employ fewer than 200 temporary jobs – that is, if it ever gets going – jobs which, due to the region’s zero unemployment and housing shortage, will be FIFO, and can disappear at any time the mine goes into care and maintenance due to economic circumstances or abandonment. Astron’s promise of jobs in 2008 has never materialised. Douglas mine jobs have gone too. Avonbank will inevitably go the same way.

Meanwhile, local farmers will be compelled to live in constant anxiety unable to make investment decisions concerning their businesses due to the chronic uncertainty. To condemn farmers to exist in limbo for decades, is morally reprehensible and cruel and likely to increase mental health issues, even suicide, already at very high rates in the farming population. A mine licence for Avonbank will not only increase adverse health effects but, like the Douglas mine, will compound the inevitable drag on the regional economy.

Let’s be clear: There is no net community benefit from these mineral sands mines which suck the life out of rural communities and towns and destroy lives.

We urge ERR to refuse WIM Resource’s application for a mining licence for Avonbank MIN008642.

¹ 3wm.com.au/articles/ciu-investigate-fraud/
² Horsham Rural City Council Draft Planning Scheme Amendment C84hors. Tabled Document 100 to the Avonbank EES, p2/70
³ TD 100, p4/70
⁴ TD 100, 59, p17/70
⁵ TD 100, 60-69 p18-20/70
⁶ TD 100, 38, p12/70
⁷ TD 100, 43, p13/70
⁸hir.harvard.edu/not-so-green-technology-the-complicated-legacy-of-rare-earth-mining/
⁹EES Report Appendix F – Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, p28/192
¹⁰EES Report Appendix J – Soils and Landform Impact Assessment, p42/1069
¹¹EES Report Appendix J – Soils and Landform Impact Assessment, p96/1069
¹²EES Report Appendix J – Soils and Landform Impact Assessment, p118/1069
¹³EES Report Appendix J – Soils and Landform Impact Assessment, p165/1069
¹⁴Avonbank Summary Brochure, Radiation, p8/15
¹⁵Iluka, Revised announcement – Wimmera Development Progress WIM100 Ore Reserve Estimate and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, February 2023
¹⁶EES Report Appendix J – Soils and Landform Impact Assessment, Table 6 p167/1069
¹⁷VAGO, Rehabilitating Mines, 2020, p14/101
¹⁸Iluka, Revised announcement -Wimmera Development Progress WIM100 Ore Reserve Estimate and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, February 2023.
¹⁹Earth Resources – Mineral Resources Strategy 2018-2023 pdf, p8/36.
²⁰WDA Minor Sector Pln. p23/50
²¹See Appendix A. Current & Historical Company Extract.
²²17. As calculated from Bloomberg on May 23, 2016 based on 1 RMB = 0.145 USD, 1 HKD = 0.128 USD, 1 AUD = 0.723 USD, 1 CAD = 0.762 USD, cited in Rare Earths: Shades of Grey Can China Continue to Fuel Our Global Clean and Smart Future? P10/63
²³Brad Thompson, Andrew Tillett & Elouise Fowler, Chalmers enters into Northern Minerals rare earths row. Nov 27, 2023 – 7.29pm; also www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-03/northern-minerals-jim-chalmers-yuxiao-fund-investors/103927762
²⁴Australian Financial Review, Thursday 18 May 2023, News p3, Peter Ker, Forrest partner shares on critical minerals grants in which Ker reports “the federal government blocked a Chinese investor from doubling its stake in [Northern Minerals]”.
²⁵Legislative Assembly – PROOF Wednesday 21 June 2023, p22
²⁶climateactionmerribek.org/2024/10/08/petition-local-mps-support-no-waste-incinerator-at-wollert-merribek-candidates-support-pledge-for-no-burning-plastic/
²⁷www.agriculture.vic.gov.au
²⁸January 26, 2024 www.timpallas.com.au/media-releases/regional-victorias-record-jobs-growth-leadsnation/
²⁹Delivering Ag2030 www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/farm-food-drought/ag2030