A group of 15 landholders travelled to the city on Tuesday to protest at the 15th annual Mineral Sands Conference, which was at the Rendezvous Grand Hotel.

Mining company Australian Zircon has proposed the WIM150 Mineral Sands Project at Drung, a 12,850-hectare mine that will target heavy minerals, including zircon.

St Helens Plains farmer Keith Fischer said the group stood out the front of the hotel with signs.

‘‘We had a good relationship with the general manager there and he thanked us for being co-operative,’’ he said.

‘‘We also got to talk to some of the speakers and delegates at the conference.

‘‘We learnt a lot from them and hopefully they got some valuable information from us.’’

Mr Fischer said overall, the group felt it was a successful demonstration.

‘‘I think we sent our message very well,’’ he said. ‘‘The great thing was that we went down as a community.

‘‘We are a tight-knit group, like a close family, and that added a lot of strength to our message.

‘‘We believe it was an extremely effective protest, especially because we were not making an exhibition. We were not noisy – it was a quiet demonstration.’’

The landholders fear the proposed mine would affect Taylors Lake.

‘‘Australian Zircon is planning to mine very close to the lake,’’ Mr Fischer said.

‘‘The bottom of the lake is part of the sand deposit and I fear the contamination that could happen from mining and disturbing the soil.’’

Mr Fischer said other concerns included the effect on the land and the history of the area.

‘‘My farm is on my grandfather’s First World War soldier settlement property and that needs to be respected,’’ he said.

‘‘Our concerns are that our farms will not be returned to how they started.

‘‘They are the main issues. Each landholder has their own issues as well.’’

Mr Fischer said the group now hoped the mine would not go ahead.

‘‘Hopefully there will be an announcement very soon saying it won’t go ahead,’’ he said.

Australian Zircon WIM150 project manager Andrew Reeves said community and stakeholder engagement was ongoing.

‘‘Australian Zircon continues to consult with stakeholders including landowners, communities, businesses, government departments and authorities,’’ he said.

Mr Reeves said the company was working on its environment effect etatement, which was required by the state and federal governments, to ensure all potential effects were considered.

‘‘Australian Zircon encourages members of the community to inspect the statement when it is put on public display in the middle of the year,’’ he said.

Mr Reeves said Australian Zircon’s community liaison officer was available to discuss any aspect of the project at 4 Sloss Street, Horsham, or on 1800 732 561. He said people could also go to auzircon.com.au for more information.