Minerals exploration in regional Victoria - video transcript
[Title: Minerals exploration in regional Victoria]
[Vision: Aerial view of property]
Fiona Clarke - Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions - Resources
Exploration for minerals such as gold and metals is a common occurrence across Victoria.
[Vision: View of vehicle showing exploration in process - rural shopping centre - café with customers sitting at tables]
When exploration programs are underway money is spent in rural communities on a range of services, and these can be an economic boost to local towns.
[Vision: Staff at exploration site checking soil samples]
However, some communities have a negative perception of minerals exploration.
Farmers can sometimes see it as a threat to their livelihood.
And the broader community can see it as conflicting with local values.
Prue Milgate - Serpentine Landowner
I’m a fifth generation farmer and I believe that we want to leave this land for the next generation.
Chris Cairns - Managing Director Stavely Minerals
[Vision: Aerial view of property]
The first step of course is biosecurity and making sure that we’re not bringing any weeds and seeds onto the property because certainly we want to leave a property in better condition than when we came on that property.
[Vision: Chris Cairns speaking]
We want to tell people exactly what it is that we’re doing, why we’re doing it, when we’re doing it, and that builds up the trust between ourselves and the community.
Alex Dorsch - Chalice Gold, Managing Director
We rely on that trust of the community to be out here operating in the first place.
[Vision: Fiona Clarke speaking - Alex Dorsch and Prue Milgate talking]
It’s really important that support is available for landholders in discussions with explorers who are seeking to access their land.
[Vision: Fiona Clarke speaking - commercial Consent Agreement for Access to Private Land in Victoria brochures]
This is why the Victorian Government is trialling new land access tools to support landholders in these discussions.
[Vision: Chris Cairns speaking - sheep grazing - aerial view of property - Chris Cairns speaking with Susie Sewell]
We can deal with a farmer’s needs in terms of whether he’s lambing or shearing, or whether he’s sowing crops and that sort of thing, so we’re quite flexible, and we’ll work around what their needs are.
[Vision: Staff at exploration site checking soil samples]
Most of the exploration that we do is very low impact soil sampling.
[Vision: Prue Milgate speaking]
You wouldn’t know where they had been unless you actually watched them.
[Vision: Aerial view of property]
They’ve left the sites pretty much undisturbed.
Susie Sewell - Cathcart Landowner
It’s really low impact to the environment.
It’s, yeah, they just come and have a look and if it’s there it’s there, if it’s not it’s not.
[Vision: Fiona Clarke speaking]
People often confuse minerals exploration and mining.
They’re very different activities, but both are closely regulated in Victoria.
[Vision: Susie Sewell speaking]
Mineral exploration that’s what Victoria was made on really, and it’s here, it’s just got to be found.
[Vision: Prue Milgate speaking - Alex Dorsch and Prue Milgate walking and talking - Prue Milgate speaking]
If we work hand-in-hand and we can ensure that our environment is full of the exploration process as least disruptive as we possibly can.
[Vision: Aerial view of property - New land access tools available at earthresources.vic.gov.au/landaccess]
[Victoria State Government - Speaker: Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne]