00:00 This land in Tasmania's north is productive cropping and livestock country.
00:07 But mining companies are increasingly interested in what lies beneath.
00:13 If we're going to take away good agricultural land for a short term gain, the long term
00:19 ramifications could be overarching and could ultimately affect food security moving forward.
00:28 Mining company ABX Group has applied to explore this area for rare earth elements and wants
00:33 to work with farmers.
00:35 Rare earth elements are the specialty metals that are essential for permanent magnets which
00:42 are essential for wind turbines and electric vehicles.
00:47 In the past two and a half years the area covered by exploration licences in Tasmania
00:52 has increased from about 5,000 square kilometres to almost 10,000.
00:58 Another 45 licence applications are being assessed covering an additional 5,000 square
01:03 kilometres.
01:07 The Farmers and Graziers Association has received several complaints about exploration on farmland.
01:14 Landowners can object to a licence but say it's not a simple process.
01:21 It's frustrating and it's costing us a lot of time which obviously we don't get paid
01:24 for.
01:26 There are also concerns about other land types affected by exploration licences.
01:32 When we've got the whole of the north east, the majority of the Tarkine and many places
01:37 in the north now covered in exploration licences, this is a huge potential impact on areas that
01:44 have been independently verified as high biodiversity.
01:50 The Greens want a review of the laws governing exploration and mining.
01:55 Resources Minister Felix Ellis says the government won't be reviewing the laws but will continue
02:00 working with landowners.
02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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