The Donald Project

Name: The Donald Project
Address: 23 Church Street, Minyip, VIC, 3392, AU
Telephone: 03 53857 088

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The Donald Project

Welcome to the Donald Project page. We're developing the Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sands Project, near Minyip, about 300km north-west of Melbourne.

16/04/2026

☕ Changes to our Coffee On Us schedule

We're changing our longstanding Coffee On Us format.

Instead of fortnightly meetups at cafes around the district, we'll now gather in Minyip once a month.

📅 If you'd like to talk about the Donald Project, please drop by Emma's at Coopers Crossing Garage Café, 76 Main Street, second Tuesday every month, 9am to 12pm.

Coffee and Danishes on us!

🔗 See all 2026 dates on the Donald Project website: https://www.thedonaldproject.com.au/events

If you can't join us there:

🏠 Drop into the DMS Minyip office at 23 Church Street, Minyip
📞 Call us on 03 5385 7088
📧 Email: [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you.

13/03/2026

🚧 Works notice 🚧

Next week (week beginning Monday 16 March), we'll have machinery on the Donald Project site off Minyip-Rich Avon Road for a couple of days to prepare a hardstand area.

This is part of our ongoing enabling works for the project.

Any questions, please get in touch:

📍 23 Church Street, Minyip VIC 3392
📞 (03) 5385 7088
✉️ [email protected]

03/03/2026

Interested in a genuine role in overseeing the Donald Project?

Donald Mineral Sands (DMS) is seeking community nominations for the project's new Environmental Review Committee (ERC).

💬 "The community will be the yardstick of our performance," says Grant Huggins, DMS General Manager of Operations.

🙋 We welcome nominations from residents, landholders, business operators, and community groups. The ERC will scrutinise the project's environmental performance against commitments in the Victorian Government-approved work plan.

The committee will operate under an independent chairperson and formal Terms of Reference, with two-year renewable member terms. Membership will also include regulators, government agencies, and other stakeholders.

👉 Nominations close Friday 27 March 2026. www.thedonaldproject.com.au/erc

24/02/2026

📰 The February 2026 Donald Project Digest is out now.

Read the latest on the developing Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sands Project, including infrastructure progress, water supply and management, what the project will mean for the regional economy, and plans for our new Environmental Review Committee:

https://mailchi.mp/thedonaldproject.com.au/donaldprojectdigest-february-2026

18/12/2025

🚰 After four months, 40 workers, and almost 2,000 lengths of pipe, the 14km Donald Project water pipeline is complete.

Running from Minyip Rural Pump Station along Minyip-Banyena Road and Gun Club Road on to our site off Walsh Lane, it's the first major infrastructure for the project.

Pictured onsite at the finished pipeline, DMS managing director Tiger Brown and project construction manager Paul Skellern.

About our water supply:

▪ We hold a 6.975GL annual allocation but expect to use only about a third each year (2.4GL). This water comes entirely from savings GWMWater created by replacing open channels with closed pipe – water that didn't exist under the old system.

▪ We bought our allocation in 2011 for $17.95m. We’ve since paid $8.3m in headworks charges while unconnected. GWMWater says our investment has helped keep water prices lower across the region.

▪ GWMWater confirms our supply won't affect service standards for existing customers.

Resources Victoria's Deputy Chief Inspector West inspected the Donald Project site last month to check all our planning and risk management is on track.

We’re targeting site construction in 2026, subject to Final Investment Decision.

20/10/2025

The Australian Government has granted Major Project Status to the Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sands Project.

The designation recognises the project's national significance for economic growth, jobs, and regional development.

DMS managing director Tiger Brown said:

"The Donald Project will create real, lasting opportunities for our community - hundreds of jobs, support for local suppliers and businesses, and billions of dollars invested in the region over the long life of the mine. This federal recognition is another step towards delivering these benefits."

What this means

✅ Federal recognition of the project's importance
✅ Enhanced support and coordination with government agencies
✅ Streamlined pathway to development

The Donald Project contains a 1.81 billion tonne resource, which DMS will extract in two phases over 58+ years, producing critical minerals for advanced manufacturing and technology.

With all government approvals in place, the next step is a Final Investment Decision later this year. If positive, construction would begin in 2026.

Questions? Please contact us

▪ 03 5385 7088
▪ [email protected]
▪ 23 Church St, Minyip VIC 3392
▪ www.thedonaldproject.com.au

09/10/2025

🚧 PIPELINE UPDATE 7: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

We've begun removing topsoil along the pipeline route ahead of trenching later this week. Parts of Gun Club Road will remain closed except for local traffic.

📋 About the pipeline

Part of early project works. All work is in the public road reserve.

▪ Route: Minyip-Banyena Road and Gun Club Road to Walsh Lane
▪ Timeline: Late August-December 2025
▪ Hours: 7am-6pm, Monday-Sunday (weekends only when necessary)

❓ Questions? Please contact us:

▪ 03 5385 7088
▪ [email protected]
▪ 23 Church St, Minyip VIC 3392
▪ www.thedonaldproject.com.au

01/10/2025

🚧 PIPELINE UPDATE 6: DIGGING THE PROGRESS

Work continues apace on the Donald Project water pipeline installation.

📋 Latest updates

▪ All materials delivered and stockpiled onsite
▪ Plastic welders have joined 450 metres of HDPE pipe - and counting
▪ Boring continues along the route, in the road reserve and under landholder access points and sensitive vegetation
▪ Next week the trenching machines (pictured) will start digging the line, working east from near Minyip Rural Pump Station towards our site.

ℹ️ About the pipeline

Part of early project-enabling works. All work is in the public road reserve.

▪ Route: Along Minyip-Banyena Road and Gun Club Road to Walsh Lane
▪ Timeline: Late August-December 2025
▪ Hours: 7am-6pm, Monday-Sunday (weekends only when necessary)
▪ Access: Maintained for road and landholder access

💬 Questions?

▪ 03 5385 7088
▪ [email protected]
▪ 23 Church St, Minyip VIC 3392
▪ www.thedonaldproject.com.au

22/09/2025

PIPELINE UPDATE 5: Completing our pipe stockpile ahead of first installation work

🚛 The last four truckloads of 20m pipe lengths arrive on the Donald Project site this week. This will bring our total onsite pipe stockpile to around 1,900 pieces of varying lengths. Together these will form the 14km Donald Project water pipeline.

🔧Meanwhile, the team continues boring along parts of Gun Club Road. We’re also plastic welding together the first sections of pipe, some of which we’ll install this week.

🚧 To safely move and unload the pipe in the road reserve, we'll temporarily close sections of Gun Club Road, informing any affected landholders as we go. We'll have CCTV in place to make sure our equipment and supplies are secure.

📋Pipeline works

Route: Along Minyip-Banyena Road and Gun Club Road to Walsh Lane
Timeline: Late August-December 2025
Hours: 7am-6pm, Monday-Sunday (weekends only when necessary)
Access: Maintained for road and landholder access

The pipeline is part of early project-enabling works. All work is in the public road reserve.

💬Questions?

03 5385 7088
[email protected]
23 Church St, Minyip VIC 3392
www.thedonaldproject.com.au

18/09/2025

🚧PIPELINE UPDATE 4: Bringing in the big pipes!

🚛This week we’re bringing in the last and longest pieces of pipe we’ll need to build the 11km Donald Project water pipeline.

Seven truckloads, in total, carrying 170 lengths of 20m high-density polyethylene. Alongside the 1,727 smaller pipe pieces we’ve already stockpiled on the Donald Project site, we’ll have all we need for the installation.

Next week, we’ll start plastic welding the pipe into longer lengths, with trenching to begin in early October.

Pipeline works:

Route: Along Minyip-Banyena Road and Gun Club Road to Walsh Lane
Timeline: Late August-December 2025
Hours: 7am-6pm, Monday-Sunday (weekends only when necessary)
Access: Maintained for road and landholder access

The pipeline is part of early project-enabling works. All work is in the public road reserve.

Questions?

03 5385 7088
[email protected]
www.thedonaldproject.com.au
23 Church St, Minyip VIC 3392

11/09/2025

👋 Thanks to everyone who came to our Donald Project community information sessions in Minyip this week.

🗣️ Jess Reid (GM Sustainability; pictured) and Grant Huggins (GM Operations) talked next steps following Victorian Government work plan approval back in June.

People asked about:

▪ Jobs
▪ Housing
▪ Transport
▪ Water use
▪ Radiation safety
▪ Site rehabilitation

⏰ We're expecting a final investment decision later this year, then we'll start construction.

💬 Want to know more? Get in touch:

📞 03 5385 7088
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.thedonaldproject.com.au
📍 23 Church St, Minyip VIC 3392

Address

23 Church Street
Minyip, VIC
3392

Telephone

03 53857 088

Website

https://www.thedonaldproject.com.au/

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