The Queensland Government is stepping up its push to capitalise on its critical minerals haul ahead of the October election.
Construction has started on the second workforce site at the $5 billion CopperString Project, which is aimed at unlocking the $500 billion North West Minerals Province and one of the largest Renewable Energy Zones in the country.
At the same time, the state government has opened applications for the ninth round of its Collaborative Exploration Initiative, allocating $5 million to the discovery of new deposits across Queensland.
Powerlink Queensland has broken ground in Richmond on CopperString’s second workforce accommodation site along the 840km transmission line corridor.
This follows the start of construction in Hughenden in July on the first and largest workforce accommodation site.
Like in Hughenden, Powerlink’s construction delivery partner the UGL CPB Contractors Joint Venture together with ATCO Structures will deliver the workforce accommodation which is due for completion in mid to late 2025.
The workforce accommodation in Richmond will house up to 250 construction workers, who will construct the nearby substation and progress the transmission line heading west towards Mount Isa.
The Queensland Government is building six accommodation sites along the corridor.
Minister for Critical Minerals and Resources Scott Stewart says the North West is rich with critical minerals.
In the region, Richmond and Julia Creek are home to one of the largest vanadium deposits in the world, according to the government.
The 1.8-billion-tonne Richmond Vanadium Project, being developed by Richmond Vanadium Technology (ASX:RVT), is the first critical minerals project to be awarded Coordinated Project status by the Queensland Government.
In May, the company announced it was partnering with two Chinese firms to work towards establishing a localised +1-gigawatt grid-scale vanadium redox flow battery manufacturing and assembly facility in Queensland.
Meanwhile, QEM (ASX:QEM) is advancing its Julia Creek Vanadium and Oil Shale Project in the region.
The project hosts a 2.9 billion tonne vanadium resource with an average vanadium pentoxide content of 0.31%. QEM says the resource makes it one of the single largest vanadium deposits in the world.
Meanwhile, the government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative allows explorers to apply for funding of up to $250,000 to uncover minerals essential for developing clean energy technologies.
“We are continuing to back the resources sector and our explorers through our Collaborative Exploration Initiative,” Stewart says.
“The mineral exploration projects of today have the potential to become the major mining projects of the future, which is why these funding initiatives are crucial.
“Overall mineral exploration expenditure in Queensland reached $919.7 million in the 12 months to June, a significant increase of $148.3 million compared to the previous year.
“By investing in exploration now, we’re positioning Queensland as a global leader in supplying the essential resources needed for the renewable energy revolution.”
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Queensland Government, QEM
