Opposition to sand mining along the coast north of Perth has heated up, with locals pointing to a recent emergency fire as a reason for the dunes to stay.
In late March, lightning sparked several fires near the coastal town of Lancelin, about 125 kilometres north of Perth.
One emergency level blaze came close to the town, prompting the evacuation of a caravan park.
Department of Fire and Emergency Sevices incident controller Andrew Duckworth said the surrounding sand dunes "absolutely" prevented the quickly-moving flames from reaching the community.
"Not only is [the dune] unvegetated, but it also has some height to it and that would effectively stop embers travelling across as well," he said.
"In a lot of ways, it's a perfect fire barrier."
Shifting mining from the red to green area triggered community conflict. (Supplied: Aglime of Australia)
But the same sand dunes are currently being mined by Aglime of Australia for limesand, commonly used by the agriculture industry to improve soil quality.
The company mined the southern end of the dunes for decades, and only in recent years began operating further north.
The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety assessed the environmental impacts of sand mining when the mining proposal was submitted in 2020, and approved the project.
The company has an extraction rate of 200,000 – 400,000 tonnes per year and the current mine has an estimated life of 25 years, according to its website.
Locals worry damage already done
Tina Broughton is a representative of Save Lancelin Dunes, a community action group which has been lobbying to stop the mining since March 2023.
"The sand dunes act as a natural fire break that have protected us from multiple catastrophic fires in the past," she said.
"And [they're] also an important part of the coastal processes that protect our shoreline."
Tina Broughton fears time is running out to save the dunes. (Supplied: Tina Broughton)
Ms Broughton said the group was engaging coastal engineers to show how the sand removal was negatively impacting the seaside ecosystem.
"Significant damage has already been done, so every tonne of sand that is leaving now is just adding to that,"
she said.
Ms Broughton said the company should look at other sources of limesand with less community impact — and the Save Lancelin Dunes group would become more vocal for change.
Lancelin is between the ocean and sand dunes, with coastal scrub beyond. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)
"We've sort of gone [for the] 'softly, softly' approach and we are now really coming to a head," she said.
"We will start making it uncomfortable for people … expect to see protests."
Ecosystem health a concern
Sally Thompson from the University of Western Australia's Centre for Water and Spatial Science said fire protection from a sand dune varied based on its vegetation density.
Sally Thompson says sand dunes play an important role in seaside environments. (ABC News: Emma Wynne)
She agreed dunes were significant for communities and ecosystems, and said extensive sand mining could strip away coastal protection.
"Those dunes [are] the buffer in between things like rising sea levels and high levels of storm surge, extreme weather events and those more interior coastal environments," Dr Thompson said.
"We're increasing the risk that if we do have extreme weather events that they're going to have an impact for the inland."
Local shire wants more support
Gingin shire president Linda Balcombe said the mine's location was having a negative impact on the community but also understood the importance of limesand.
Linda Balcome says she is balancing community and mining industry concerns. (Supplied: Shire of Gingin)
She said ultimately the decision was out of her hands as the state government managed the tenements.
"We've got our hands tied a little bit,"
Cr Balcombe said.
"We need the state to take a stand in this and assist us in finding the solution."
The Western Australian government said the sand dunes were iconic and provided significant tourism value, but were also an important limesand resource which was essential to the agriculture sector.
Tourists flock to the dunes for sand boarding and off-road driving. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Sam McManus)
A spokesperson said sand mining had occurred for decades in Lancelin, and was well regulated.
"Aglime is currently operating under an approved proposal that has been subject to an appropriate environmental assessment, including the assessment of potential impacts to water resources and other land users," they said.
An Aglime of Australia spokesperson said it operated under "a rigorous governmental mining regulation framework" to provide an essential resource to WA's agriculture industry.
Aglime says less than 9 per cent of Lancelin's sand dune area has been mined since the 1980s. (Supplied)
