North West Qld to become 'cobalt capital': Lynham
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The North West Minerals Province has the potential to become the"cobalt capital" of Australia, says Queensland's Mines Minister.
Speaking in Mount Isa on Wednesday, Natural Resources MinisterDr Anthony Lynham said the NWMP could become a key global supplier of themineral, critical in the production of mobile phones, wind turbine generatorsand electric cars.
Dr Lynham paida visit to the John Campbell Miles Drill Core Centre when he observed drillsamples from Aeon Metals's Walford Creek copper-cobalt exploration site near Doomadgee
"The Queensland Government's core library at Mount Isasupports industry in providing essential geological information to help explorefor these essential metals," Dr Lynham said.
"It is exciting to see this core library being used inconjunction with the Geological Survey of Queensland's geo-science database,offering physical and digital information to help find more of these valuablecommodities in Queensland."
Dr Lynham saidthe Aeon Metal samples he saw were collected as part of a government $3.6million grant from the Collaborative Exploration Initiativeto help deliver significant economic benefits to Queensland for decades to come.
"Our CEI grants program from the last two round has helped21 companies, such as Aeon Metals, with funding." he said. CEI has beenrun for over a decade to help meet growing global demand for the batteryminerals and rare earths in this highly prospective region.
Aeon Metals Exploration Manager, Dan Johnson said Walford Creek,350km north west of Mount Isa, was their highest priority tenement.
"This project is an advanced world-class copper-cobaltproject and one of the highest-grade significant cobalt deposits inAustralia," Mr Johnson said.
"Exploration is a high-risk, high-cost activity and theQueensland Government's support was a big help, as it alleviated some of therisk for us to try innovative approaches such as seismic surveys in newareas."
Dr Lynham said Aeon was well-placed to become Queensland's nextbig success story.
"Our faith in their innovative approach is payingoff," he said. "Resources is one of our most important export sectorsand we want to encourage the world to invest in Queensland.
