Queensland has a significant global source of critical minerals and rare earths with the potential to become a leading producer and exporter of new-economy minerals.
The Queensland Government has allocated $75 million from a $150 million commitment announced in the 2022-2023 State Budget Update in December 2022 for common user infrastructure to support the development, extraction and production of critical minerals.
The Queensland Resources Common User Facility will be located at the Cleveland Bay Industrial Park in Townsville. The facility will be a hub to trial production processes for commercialisation, enabling prospective miners to begin producing mineral samples at scale.
The aim is to accelerate the development of commercial mining projects, promote investment in advanced mineral manufacturing opportunities and enable development of supply chain and supporting industries in Queensland.
The facility will be able to:
- pilot production processes and research intermediate / end products
- train staff on equipment, processes and handling hazardous materials
- produce samples for customers
- assess potential by-products, waste streams and recyclable materials
- demonstrate processes at scale to validate commerciality and technical viability to secure finance, investor interest, off-take agreements and partnerships
The initial focus will be on vanadium. Vanadium has many uses, including to create a reliable and safe renewable energy storage solution which can be used in large-scale batteries around the world. Several mining companies in Queensland are seeking to develop critical minerals projects like the vanadium projects in the Julia Creek and Richmond regions.
The State has been working in collaboration with potential future users of the facility to identify the base equipment required, develop a base design, and determine how the facility will be owned and operated.
The Queensland Resources Common User Facility is a key action under the Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan, and supports the delivery of the $62 billion Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan and the transformation of Queensland’s energy system to deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy to provide power for generations.
We welcome interest from the private sector in the future use of the facility. Please contact QRCUF@treasury.qld.gov.au for further information.
