THE Mallee can seize the opportunity mining brings
Regional Victoria is more important than ever to Victoria’s future.
With the state in a dire financial situation, Victoria needs new regional industries which hold much promise.
Just as farming puts food on the shelves, we also need mining in regional areas to put electric vehicles on the road, solar panels on roofs and the dozens of minerals in every smart phone.
Victoria can be part of the critical minerals stories globally if we choose to be.
It would bring jobs and opportunities for young locals to stay in town, buy from local businesses and pay taxes to support more local services.
Sitting in the heart of the Murray Basin mineral sands mines across both sides of the border, Swan Hill and Gannawarra have the opportunity to be a hub for mineral sands mining.
The Murray Basin has the world’s largest known deposits of mineral sands.
Even better, they are rare-earths rich, which is a critical mineral required for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other technology.
Australia’s chief scientist Cathy Foley has acknowledged that global demand for critical minerals creates an opportunity for new jobs and skills in regional Australia, but Victoria is missing out on the opportunity despite being in the same minerals-rich Murray Basin.
NSW mines are already employing locals in Mildura and Broken Hill, and a new mine at Balranald in 2025 will spread the benefits further.
Unlike our neighbours in the Murray Basin, Victoria has no mineral sands mining, despite mining in the recent past near Robinvale, Ouyen and Horsham.
VHM’s proposed mine near Lalbert is part of the bigger mineral sands and rare earths story.
A mine in a region has huge economic benefits.
Few other industries can provide the economic stimulus a mine does in a regional area because mines pay high wages and have strong ongoing costs to support the operation with ‘buy local’ policies to support local suppliers.
The more industries in town, the more opportunities for young people to get jobs and stay, and the more resilient our regional economies will be in hard times.
The benefits can be seen in places like Bendigo, where Victoria’s largest gold mine is located.
Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine in the fourth-biggest employer in town, and Mandalay Resources’ gold and antinomy mine is the only critical mineral antinomy mine in Australia.
Victorian mines spend $50 million on goods and services from 520 local businesses in Central Victoria, and almost $90 million in wages.
It is a similar story in western Victoria, with mines in Stawell and Ballarat.
In Gannawarra, mining spent $11 million according to a Minerals Council of Australia survey of mines in Victoria, and this will increase drastically if the new mine is approved.
New mines bring more skilled people into a region and more government infrastructure to cater for this growth.
We know regional Victoria faces skills shortages.
That’s why the minerals industry is working with SuniTAFE on new courses for locals to enter mining and add to the supply of skilled labour.
MCA Victoria career awareness programs have taken more than 600 students from over 30 regional schools to Victorian mines in Bendigo, Stawell and Ballarat to learn about the jobs and pathways to mining.
More jobs and industries will draw more skilled people to the region.
Victoria’s mining industry supports more state royalties generated by mining staying local and supporting our communities – not disappearing into Melbourne infrastructure cost blowouts.
If mining projects that are currently on the drawing board all come to fruition, the number of mines in Victoria will double within the next few years.
Many of these are in more rural areas that need new job opportunities or risk being left behind.
Standing up for regional industries that make the most of our resources, whether agricultural or minerals, is good for all Victorians.
They create good jobs to support more diverse regional economies.
It’s time for regional Victoria to enjoy the benefits of the minerals beneath our feet just like other Australian states do.
James Sorahan
