The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has declared QEM’s (ASX:QEM) Julia Creek Vanadium and Energy Project a ‘controlled action’.
In October 2024, the critical minerals explorer and developer submitted a referral under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 for the project.
The Commonwealth’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has assessed the referral and determined that the project is a controlled action under section 75 of the EPBC requiring assessment and approval under the EPBC Act.
The next step of the approval process is for the Queensland Government and QEM to reach agreement on the terms of reference, which will be used to develop an environmental impact statement (EIS).
A controlled action is a project that is likely to have a significant impact on one or more of the nine matters of national environmental significance.
Controlled actions must be approved by the Australian Government before they can be undertaken.
The DCCEW also decided that Julia Creek will be assessed under Queensland’s Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971. The project will benefit from the bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and Queensland Government. The bilateral agreement streamlines environmental assessment processes for projects that require both Commonwealth and state approvals, reducing duplication and improving efficiency.
QEM Managing Director Gavin Loyden says the company looks forward to the finalisation of the EIS terms of reference while conducting the next stage of environmental technical studies required to submit the EIS.
“The dual commodity nature of our project in Queensland’s North West Minerals Province aims to address two urgent needs: long-duration energy storage and domestic fuel security,” Loyden says.
“We are committed to develop the JCVEP and unlock the value of this world-class critical minerals project and to position it as a long-term supplier of vanadium electrolyte for the manufacture of vanadium flow batteries for many decades to come.”
Loyden notes the adoption of vanadium flow batteries is accelerating around the world and Queensland is uniquely positioned to establish a “pit to battery” manufacturing industry.
QEM will expand its participation in the value chain by processing its vanadium pentoxide into vanadium electrolyte for flow batteries, he adds.
Chair Tim Wall says the recent declaration from the Queensland Government designating Julia Creek as a coordinated project along with this controlled action decision provides certainty on the approval pathway for the project and confirms both Commonwealth and Queensland Government support for critical minerals projects.
The coordinated project declaration follows the completion of a positive Scoping Study for a 30-year mine schedule with a production target of about 10,571 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide (99.95% pure) and 313 million litres of transport fuel per annum over the life of mine.
QEM’s Julia Creek Vanadium and Energy Project would see a greenfield vanadium and oil shale mine along with processing facilities approximately 16km southeast of Julia Creek, in the McKinlay Shire and within the Julia Creek/Richmond Critical Minerals Zone.
The project is predicted to create up to 600 jobs over the two-year construction period and approximately 588 permanent jobs during its operational phase. The company expects that at least 35% of the operational jobs will be residential, based in Julia Creek or nearby towns.
Pending approvals, construction of the project will begin in early 2028, with a commissioning and operational phase to begin in late 2029.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: QEM
