North Scottsdale Resources seeks sand mining lease on Tasmania's largest farm amid Aboriginal opposition

North Scottsdale Resources announced it will submit a mining lease application next month to extract roughly 90-100 million tonnes of sand from a 500-hectare area on Rushy Lagoon, Tasmania’s largest farm, over a 30-40-year period. The operation targets sand used in concrete production, which the company says is in short supply in major Australian cities and parts of Southeast Asia. To facilitate export, the firm plans a 700-metre jetty near Petal Point that could also serve other regional industries, though ACEN Australia says its own wind-farm project will need a separate transport solution.

The farm, recently sold to UK investor Gresham House, is also slated for a 210-turbine wind project. Aboriginal groups - the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and the Melaythenner Teeackana Warrana Aboriginal Corporation - have protested, citing threats to cultural sites, burial grounds and coastal dunes, and calling for free, prior and informed consent. North Scottsdale Resources asserts it has completed heritage and ecological assessments, will not disturb the dunes, and is willing to meet with concerned parties. The lease decision, overseen by Dorset Council and Mineral Resources Tasmania, may not be finalized until late 2027.