THE proposed Goschen minerals sands and rare earths project has received a very negative response from the Kerang farming community who have grave and legitimate concerns about the impacts such a massive project might have on their crops and on the immediate environment.
As a Kerang businesswoman, I have been following the project’s progress with great interest.
I subscribe to the Goschen newsletter and have been impressed by the company’s efforts to fulfil all of the rigorous government planning requirements.
Looking at the data, it seems to me the company is making every effort to address and mitigate any negative environmental impacts, including noise, dust pollution and environmental degradation.
The broader community needs to understand the magnitude of benefits that such a project will bring to the area.
Hundreds of workers will be bought in to work the mine and they will need to be housed.
Such a major influx of people can only have a positive impact on boosting the local economy.
The proposed mine will also create hundreds of jobs and upgrade road networks to carry the huge number of trucks required for the transport of materials.
The current economic downturn and rising interest rates haven’t just had a major impact on families struggling to pay rent or rising mortgages.
Small businesses are also struggling to keep their doors open and are hoping for a miracle to continue to trade.
If the mining project goes ahead it will provide hundreds of jobs for the locals.
This can only be of benefit to all of us and would far outweigh any potential negative impacts.
The need for rare earths and minerals will only become more urgent as technology continues to expand and develop.
At the moment, China is the biggest producer of the minerals because it understands how important critical minerals are to the green energy transition and other modern technology applications.
The Goschen mine will potentially put Australia on the global economic map and challenge China’s stranglehold of this important and necessary industry.
Helen Zervopoulos,
Kerang
