Critical Mineral Miner Says Health Concerns a Top Priority Amid Pushback on Air Pollution

Gippsland Critical Minerals responds to worried residents that the project will release toxic materials into the air.

A Hyundai KONA Electric charges at a EV charge station in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 19, 2021. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Gippsland Critical Minerals (GCM) says it is doing all it can to ensure community health is the top priority amid concerns about the proposed mineral sands Fingerboards project, which is being developed to produce minerals for advanced technologies.

East Gippsland residents have raised concerns about dust from the re-scoped Fingerboards Project containing monazite and thorium—which are radioactive—as well as silica, which causes lung disease.