By Nasik Swami: Proposed mining for rare earths elements in the Limestone Coast is facing opposition from local producers and residents. Many sections of the community are concerned about how mining would impact production in one of the state’s key agricultural regions. It’s a battle between protecting the Limestone Coast’s high-value agricultural resource, finite water assets, and rich cultural heritage and the federal government’s plan to develop critical mineral industries as part of the Future Made in Australia policy announced in this year’s budget. A coalition of regional agricultural and business leaders called The Limestone Coast Sustainable Futures Association (LCSF) has been formed to inform the community about the invasive nature of rare earth strip mining, which it believes would threaten the economic viability of the food and fibre sector and jeopardise biodiverse value, including underground water resources, and has called on the state government to intervene and halt all […]