00:00 The Bennett family has been farming this land in northern Victoria for 130 years.
00:09 But they may not be able to continue if a mineral sand mine is approved just 500 metres
00:14 from their home.
00:15 It's been very stressful.
00:18 It's on your mind, day and night.
00:21 The application has been made by mining company VHM.
00:24 The minerals VHM wants to harvest are used in many new technologies, but they also contain
00:29 the radioactive elements uranium and thorium.
00:32 And that's a concern for the Bennett's, who harvest rainwater from their rooftops.
00:36 We have rainwater tanks as our water supply for everything, for drinking, eating, cooking,
00:44 washing.
00:45 All of our rainwater is harvested from the roofs that are going to be covered in radioactive
00:50 dust.
00:52 The project is just one of the mineral sand mines slated for Victoria in coming years.
00:57 Six other mineral sand mines are in planning and exploration stages.
01:00 And a mine at Donald has already been approved.
01:03 To be able to make use of the materials that we already have and to value add in terms
01:08 of getting greater gain for the Australian economy is kind of a natural no-brainer.
01:13 Australia's mineral sand deposits are among the richest and most useful in the world.
01:17 The Minerals Council says Australia is home to 32% of the world's ilmenite and 62% of
01:23 its rutile.
01:25 Uranium elements used in the production of paint and medical implants and 68% of global
01:29 zircon deposits used in ceramics and electronic products.
01:33 The sands also contain rare earth elements, crucial in building green technologies like
01:38 wind turbines and rechargeable batteries.
01:41 The federal government is keen to capitalise, expanding the funding available to the critical
01:45 minerals sector to $6 billion to help mining companies harvest and process deposits.
01:51 You can provide government support to help spark investment in manufacturing and processing
01:58 of critical minerals.
02:02 Peter and Leanne Pohler live next door to the Bennetts and fear the mines could put
02:05 at risk some of Victoria's most productive cropping land.
02:08 If it was just the money we'd probably find something else to do.
02:14 We feel we're doing something that's important, growing food.
02:18 We really do feel that.
02:20 But not everyone is against the proposal.
02:23 For some businesses in the small town of Kerrang, the prospect of hundreds of new jobs coming
02:28 into the region is a rare and exciting one.
02:31 And they're keen to cash in.
02:34 Rob Sutterby runs a local hotel and says anything that boosts the local population should be
02:39 welcomed.
02:40 500 jobs the first couple of years and 300 for the next 30 to 40 years just for that
02:44 one project.
02:45 Just bringing that many people in well employed, affluent sort of jobs, technical jobs, into
02:52 the country is a huge bonus for the region.
02:55 The state government has set up an advisory committee to look at the proposal.
02:59 Its report is due in June.
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