Arabic version: مقترح منجم رمال يثير مخاوف السكان الأصليين في تسمانيا

According to ABC News, North Scottsdale Resources plans to apply next month for a mining lease covering part of Rushy Lagoon, Tasmania’s largest farm, in the state’s north-east. The company wants to dredge and treat about 90 million to 100 million tonnes of sand from a 500-hectare site over 30 to 40 years for export.

Director Tony Ellis said the company was targeting sand used to make concrete, which he said was in short supply in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and cities in South-East Asia. The proposed mining area would be wholly enclosed on the Rushy Lagoon property and about 150 metres inland from the coastal dunes, Mr Ellis said. He said the dunes would not be touched and that mining would occur on old degraded agricultural grazing land.

The proposal includes a 700-metre jetty south of Petal Point. Mr Ellis said it would load sand onto a transfer vessel for transport over shallow water to larger ships bound for mainland ports, possibly Hobart and South-East Asia. He said the jetty could also serve other users, including container freight or bulky wind-turbine components. An ACEN Australia spokesperson said the jetty was not critical to its North East Wind project, which would need its own transport solution.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and Melaythenner Teeackana Warrana Aboriginal Corporation have raised environmental and cultural concerns. TAC country and culture manager Andry Sculthorpe said the sandy north-east coastlines held layers of history, including places where ancestors lived and buried their dead. MTWAC co-chair Mark Harriss cited the project’s scale, potential effects from the jetty and vessels, risks to the Boobyalla sand dunes, and plans to turn mined land into a lake.

Mr Ellis said the company had completed Aboriginal heritage studies, flora and fauna assessments, and drilling. He said it was investigating aquaculture or solar panels for the proposed lake and would use waste sand to create wetlands. Mr Harriss said Aboriginal people needed meaningful consultation at every stage. A state government spokesperson said Mineral Resources Tasmania was engaging directly with local Aboriginal community members. Mr Ellis said he was open to further consultation and estimated the earliest mining approval could come in late 2027.