Gippsland Critical Minerals (GCM) will commence work on its Mining and Rehabilitation Demonstration Pit (MRDP) in early 2026, with the workplan formally approved by Resources Victoria, marking an important step forward in progressing the redesigned project.
Through its East Gippsland-First procurement policy, GCM is prioritising local suppliers with more than $1 million in procurement contracts to be awarded to local businesses, generating up to 15 local jobs.
Bairnsdale companies Whelans Group Investments (WGI) and Riley Earthmoving are among the first 12 businesses already engaged.
Positioned in the eastern section of the Fingerboards mining boundary to best reflect broader site conditions, the MRDP forms part of GCM’s reporting obligations under its Retention Licence (RL2026), which requires it to undertake large scale rehabilitation trials.
“In completing its early rescoping work, we determined that to reliably test our proposed new approach to rehabilitation, we needed to conduct full-scale trials through an MRDP,” GCM chief executive officer, Michelle Wood said.
“Through the demonstration pit, we will track the rehabilitation of productive soil structure, vegetation establishment and long-term erosion control.
“Monitoring will continue for the long term and results will provide site specific evidence on how mined land can be rehabilitated safely and progressively.
“It is exciting to get the go-ahead to commence this work which will give the community some real insight into our mining methods and how the project has changed.”
The mining and rehabilitation demonstration project is scheduled to run for around seven months, starting with site mobilisation and pit construction.
The demonstration pit will encompass an area measuring roughly 170 metres in length, 55 metres in width and 21.6 metres in depth and will also test excavation techniques, material behaviour, water management, tailings characteristics, landform stability and rehabilitation techniques.
Results will inform environmental impact assessments, validate assumptions and allow for any changes to be made to the project design to further minimise environmental impacts.
As an exploration project, mineral sands ore will be extracted solely for testing purposes and will not be sold.
Mining is not permitted under exploration or retention licences.
WGI chief executive officer Leigh Brennan said the project arrives at a pivotal moment for regional employment in East Gippsland.
“As an employer of around 200 people, we see firsthand the effects of local industry contraction,” Mr Brennan said.
“The Fingerboards Project represents a critical opportunity to diversify and strengthen our region’s economic base through sustainable employment, investment and innovation.
“Provided the project is implemented to the rigorous standards GCM has committed to, the benefits will significantly outweigh the risks.”
Once excavation is complete, GCM will host community open days to give residents a firsthand look at the pit and hear from technical staff about the work underway.
Additional supervised access will be offered during key rehabilitation milestones, enabling the community to observe how the project performs throughout the trial.
Community and stakeholder lead Mick Harrington said it’s exciting to see the project delivering practical economic benefit for East Gippsland.
“As more stages of the demonstration pit and rehabilitation trials roll out, we’ll continue prioritising local contractors, so the economic contribution flows directly to the people and businesses who call this region home,” Mr Harrington said.
“I’m looking forward to people seeing for themselves how the redesigned project works on the ground and showing them around.”
The MRDP will also guide decisions on project materials, including flocculants. All products under consideration are safe and well regulated, with any operational clearance dependent on demonstrated in pit performance under strict on-site controls.
In November 2021, following a rigorous EES process, the Minister for Planning’s assessment concluded that the original Fingerboards project would have unacceptable environmental impacts.
In 2024, Resources Victoria renewed two Retention Licences at the Fingerboards site with strict conditions for Gippsland Critical Minerals to meet as they rescope the project in response to the previous EES outcome.
More details about the Fingerboards Mineral Sands Project is available at the Resources Victoria website.
