PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (Amec) has welcomed Australia’s first critical minerals demonstration facility in Townsville, after the Queensland government this week announced that a site had been secured for the demonstration facility.

The A$75-million facility, to be built at Cleveland Bay Industrial Park, will be expanded to enable processing of not only vanadium, but a range of critical minerals like cobalt and rare earth elements, helping to accelerate the growth of the critical minerals industry and creating employment opportunities in the region.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the A$75-million facility – more than seven times the original investment - will be located between the existing Sun Metals zinc refinery and Glencore Copper refinery. 

“Queensland has the sunshine and wind above the ground combined with the critical minerals below the ground to make batteries and renewables with renewable energy,” the Premier said.

“After working with prospective users, universities and research centres the facility will not only be able to process vanadium, a key component of large-scale batteries, but it will be expanded allowing for a range of critical minerals like cobalt and rare earth elements to be processed.

“This facility will prove up the commerciality of critical minerals in Queensland creating jobs not just in mining but in processing and manufacturing. 

“Critical minerals are needed to build the SuperGrid, batteries and the wind and solar farms under the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan. North Queensland provided the copper during the second industrial revolution to transport electricity and now stands at the centre of the clean energy industrial revolution.”

Amec CEO Warren Pearce said the announcement, and additional injection in funding of more than seven times the original investment, recognises the importance of developing critical minerals projects to supply the demand from the rapidly growing renewable energy sector.

“Amec has been a strong advocate for the minerals processing facility in Townsville so we are encouraged to see it coming to fruition and would like to thank the Queensland government for its support for this project, which will help cement Australia’s position as a global critical resources powerhouse,” Pearce said.

“Amec, together with our Julia Creek vanadium members and other critical mineral explorers, is continuing to advocate for further support in the region, which includes infrastructure, legislative and assessment frameworks and incentives that will help channel further investment into Queensland’s exploration sector and its development.”