A proposal to build the country's first commercial fluorite mine in Western Australia's far north is facing strong opposition from some Indigenous communities.

Located in a remote valley in the East Kimberley about 3,000 kilometres north of Perth, the Speewah Fluorite Project is being developed by Darwin-based critical minerals company Tivan , in partnership with Japanese giant Sumitomo.

The project is supported by the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security, a government agency tasked with securing the Asian country's resource supply.

Fluorite, also known as fluorspar, is used in technologies such as electric vehicle batteries and semiconductors, and was added to Australia's Critical Minerals List in late 2023.

The project site sits in Speewah Valley, adjacent to the Dun

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