The approval of the Avonbank Project in Western Victoria marks a step forward in the state’s critical minerals ambitions, but it has also reignited a broader debate about how mining, agriculture, and regional communities can coexist.
Resources Victoria has granted WIM Resource a mining licence for Avonbank, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the project. The decision has been welcomed by the resources sector as another potential source of heavy mineral sands, including zircon, titanium, and rare earths.
Despite this, opponents have questioned whether the planning system has adequately considered the cumulative impact of multiple critical minerals projects across northwestern Victoria.
Friends of the Earth campaign co-ordinator Cam Walker says the approval in a “significant cropping area demonstrates that the planning system is failing farmers”.
According to the campaign co-ordinator, a series of large critical minerals developments threaten farming, landscapes, local economies, as well as ground and water supplies.
“More than 42,000 hectares of farmland are currently under retention licences,” Walker says.
“There are legacy issues from older mines, which have not been properly rehabilitated.”
Friends of the Earth believes that while projects are subject to an assessment and approvals process, “there has been no attempt by the regulator of the state government to understand the cumulative impacts of these projects combined across an important food production area”.
Avonbank moves another step closer
Avonbank is no small-scale development. WIM Resource is proposing a mineral sands operation with a projected 36-year mine life and a 311.8 million tonne proven and probable reserve.
The project is currently at an advanced stage of development. WIM has already completed a Definitive Feasibility Study, trial mining via a test pit, rehabilitation trials, and produced several products.
In November 2024, an Environment Effects Statement was positively assessed by the Victorian Minister for Planning.
However, the mining licence approval does not represent the end of approvals processes for Avonbank. Before mining can begin, WIM must still develop a work plan and rehabilitation plan, as well as provide a rehabilitation bond for the project.
Subject to the remaining approvals and finance, the company expects construction from late 2027 and the mine becoming fully operational in 2029.
WIM has also announced a $40 million Community Benefit Fund, progressively funded over the life of Avonbank, providing investment for communities across the Wimmera Southern Mallee. The company will make annual contributions as the project ramps up into production and over the mine life.
Funding will support projects and initiatives identified as important to the region, focusing on education, leadership, social wellbeing and health, economic participation, as well as resource and environmental sustainability.
Critical minerals opportunity
Avonbank is arriving at a significant moment for Victoria’s resources strategy.
The state’s 2026 Critical Minerals Roadmap focuses on moving beyond identifying mineral potential towards developing projects, attracting investment, and building a globally competitive critical minerals sector.
The strategy centres on four themes: identifying future development opportunities; creating a safe, stable, and predictable jurisdiction; securing Victoria’s place in the global supply chain; and embedding social and environmental best practice.
Mineral sands are an important part of that ambition.
Zircon and titanium minerals have applications beyond the traditional mining narrative, spanning ceramics, pigments, medical applications, and aerospace. Meanwhile, rare earths are increasingly important across advanced technologies and electrification.
For Victoria, the opportunity is not to extract another mineral deposit. It is to establish a domestic source of materials that can feed into strategic global supply chains, while creating jobs, investment, and economic activity in regional communities.
The social licence question
The Avonbank debate highlights a challenge extending beyond one project — regulatory approval and community confidence being intertwined.
For miners, satisfying statutory requirements is one part of the equation. Communities also want confidence around land use, water, rehabilitation, and the economic benefits of development.
Avonbank has cleared a major regulatory milestone, but the project’s next phase will be just as important.
For Victoria’s broader critical minerals ambitions, success will depend not only on bringing projects into production, but on demonstrating that mining, agriculture, and regional economic development can coexist over the long-term.
If that balance can be achieved, Avonbank could offer more than a new source of critical minerals. It could provide a model for how Victoria develops its resources sector, while maintaining confidence in the communities and industries around it.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Main image: WIM Resource
