Linked in:Mt Carbine's Andy White pit is giving up her secrets...

Linked in:

Mt Carbine's Andy White pit is giving up her secrets as the dewatering process heads into the final phase. Check out this pic looking west from the pit floor showing just metres left of water that has hidden the beauty of the geology that made this mine one of Australia's leading producers in her heyday. This is some hole ...as you can tell from the digger tidying up loose rock on the north west wall. Look closely, it's there!




Is that a pot of gold underneath the #FNQ rainbow? Not at all, but as Mt Carbine takes delivery of the final piece of the renovation puzzle for our multi-stage treatment plant, EQ Resources is one step closer to being fully prepared to treat primary ore from the Andy White pit. The processing plant at Mt Carbine has been renovated top to bottom, with the final phase adding more shaking tables to the gravity circuit. "That's where the magic happens," according to our CEO Kevin MacNeill. Mt Carbine's highly sought 50+% #tungsten concentrate is bagged, weighed and loaded at the end of the gravity plant, ready for shipment through the port of #Townsville to our global customers. Primary ore carries significantly higher grade than the commissioning ore we have relied upon to design, configure and test the entire processing system...hence the need for more tables, which will be assembled over coming weeks.

And:

This is the Townsville greenfield site that will soon be home to an Australian-first critical minerals demonstration facility.

Delivery of the Queensland Resources Common User Facility in Queensland will leverage the state’s abundant supply of critical minerals to:

➡ accelerate the development of commercial mining projects
➡ promote investment in advanced mineral manufacturing opportunities
➡ support supply chain and industry development, and
➡ create jobs in new energy industries.

This facility will assist to position Queensland as a significant global source of minerals and rare earths, with the potential to become a leading producer and exporter.

https://www.treasury.qld.gov.au/investment/success-stories/qrcuf/

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.

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/97581

Published Tuesday, 18 April, 2023 at 08:50 AM

JOINT STATEMENT

Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment
The Honourable Cameron Dick

Minister for Resources
The Honourable Scott Stewart

• Call out for a Managing Contractor to deliver a common user demonstration plant for critical minerals processing
• State-owned facility to be located at Cleveland Bay Industrial Park in Townsville
• First facility of its kind in Asia-Pacific

Delivery of an Australian-first processing facility for critical minerals like vanadium has reached another important milestone with the opening of Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a managing contractor.

The Queensland Resources Common User Facility (QRCUF) will be a purpose-built testing and demonstration facility located at the Cleveland Bay Industrial Park.

The state-owned mineral processing facility will focus initially on vanadium processing, with capacity to expand over time to encompass processing other critical minerals like cobalt and rare earth elements.

Vanadium is in demand around the world for its many uses, including to create a reliable and safe renewable energy storage solution which can be used in large-scale batteries.

Delivery of the QRCUF in Queensland will accelerate the development of commercial mining projects, promote investment in advanced mineral manufacturing opportunities, and support supply chain and supporting industry development.

There is no comparable pilot or demonstration scale facility in Australia or the Asia Pacific.

The Managing Contractor of the project will be responsible for engaging the consultants, suppliers and trade contractors necessary to develop and construct the QRCUF and may choose to undertake some of the works directly.

The QRCUF is expected to commence operations in 2025.

The EOI opens today and will close on 15 May 2023. Following the EOI, the Queensland Government will select a shortlist of respondents to go to a Request for Proposal later in mid-2023.

Quotes attributable to the Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment:

“Delivery of the Queensland Resources Common User Facility reinforces our Government’s ongoing commitment to the critical minerals industry in North Queensland.

“Once operational the facility will enable North Queensland to leverage their abundant critical minerals and rare earth elements to secure local supply and meet the growing global demand.

“There is already interest from companies in using the facility, and opportunities for jobs, new manufacturing and processing supply chains and investment to North Queensland is expected follow.

“Vanadium is used in redox flow batteries, which have a much greater capacity to be scaled up than other battery technology.

“That means this Common User Facility has the potential to play a major role in the delivery of the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan."

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Resources Scott Stewart:

“Queensland and in particular the North West Minerals Province has an abundance of critical minerals like vanadium that the world is demanding as it decarbonsies.

“The Queensland Resources Common User Facility as well as the Palaszczuk Government’s investment in Copperstring 2032 will help unlock these deposits and the next resources boom for the state.

“This facility will help resources companies prove up their product and develop new opportunities for vanadium mining in Queensland which will support good jobs in regional Queensland."

Further information:

The facility is part of 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.

It is also 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.