Albanese Government turning Australia into world's unsustainable mine
The Albanese Government is funding a predicted mining boom that will have devastating consequences for the environment, writes Sue Arnold.
AUSTRALIA HAS BEEN called the 'the world's unsustainable mine'.
The recent announcement of significant federal government funding for the rare earth elements (REE) mining industry further supports this descriptor.
As leading global ecologist Professor Corey Bradshaw writes on ConservationBytes:
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Undeterred by scientific concerns, the Federal Government has invested a combined total of $11 billion in the expansion of the Critical Minerals Facility, managed by Export Finance Australia and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to further investment in rare earth mining.
Rare earth elements are a group of 17 metals, critical for renewable energy technology, wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, jet engines, missile guidance, defence systems, satellites, GPS equipment and more.
Australia is home to about one-fifth of the world's potential supply with 31 official critical minerals. Geoscience Australia has a $225 million exploration fund to deliver new data on critical minerals which has stimulated 419 new exploration tenements by 49 companies.
The mining industry, academics and politicians in favour of mineral sand mining are predicting a 'new golden age'.
Professor Susan Park, says Australia is in a 'good position to ride the wave of the next mining boom'.
Recently in Energy Magazine, Federal Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said:
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Not everyone is ecstatic about a new mining boom destined to wipe out important agricultural land with increased risks of radiation and toxic chemicals leaching into the environment.
A recent article in the Harvard International Review laid out major issues of concern:
Radioactive residue and toxic waste are huge problems, as the article explains:
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China has been the dominant player in the REE market accounting for 85 per cent of global supply in 2016. However, in December 2023, China announced a ban on rare earth extraction and separation technologies.
The ban is presumed to solidify China's dominance in rare earth magnet production supporting its efforts to protect national security interests.
According to the Institute for Policy Studies, the largest REE extraction and processing site on earth in Bayan Obo (China) has been operating for decades, resulting in the devastating pollution of superficial and underground water, soil and air, severely affecting the health of local ecosystems and communities.
Mining and metal processing can endanger communities' water supply.
Australia's farmland is a primary focus of the industry.
Proposed mineral sand mines for the Murray Basin cover tens of thousands of hectares of farmland, including prime cropping country.
Mining company VHM is proposing to mine 1,500 hectares of agricultural land and build a rare earth processing plant in the small farming town of Lalbert in northern Victoria.
ABC reports that the project is one of several mineral sand mines projected for Victoria in the future. Astron Corporation's Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sands Project has been granted a mining lease that covers 2,500 hectares of Victoria's Wimmera region, with more than 40,000 hectares of primarily agricultural land under exploration.
In March, the Albanese Government provided up to $840 million to help deliver Australia's first combined rare earth mine and refinery in the Northern Territory.
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A media release by Minister Don Farrell states:
Minerals Policy Institute chairperson Lian Sinclair says the industry will not come without costs:
A Critical Minerals Strategy 2023-2030 sets out the Government's vision to grow Australia's critical mineral sector.
With no federal or state legislation specifically dealing with REE, the significant environmental concerns are currently in the "too hard basket".
Questions as to whether REE could jeopardise food security are highly relevant.
Jubilee Australia's published report, Greenlight or Gaslight? The Transition Minerals Dilemma for Australia, finds that the "mine first, ask questions later" approach could lead to stranded assets and inefficient use of vital resources while causing unnecessary harm to Australia's environment, water sources and local communities.
Sue Arnold is an IA columnist and freelance investigative journalist. You can follow Sue on Twitter @koalacrisis.