Townsville North Queensland Region Critical Minerals Investment Prospectus

Townsville North Queensland Region

Critical Minerals

Investment Prospectus

Townsville North Queensland has a diverse economy, with a highly skilled workforce, world-class institutions, and excellent connectivity to global markets.

Townsville, the largest city in Northern Australia, is the commercial and minerals processing hub for the region. Its residents enjoy an enviable lifestyle in a stunning tropical environment.

Home to established processing facilities such as Glencore’s Copper Refinery, Sun Metals Zinc Refinery as well as proposed new processing centres for nickel, cobalt, vanadium and other metals, Townsville North Queensland is an ideal investment location for all suppliers, services and advanced manufacturing.

The North West Minerals Province contains the majority of Queensland’s mineral

North and North West Queensland

resources operating as one of the world’s largest mining regions. Today, the Province holds about 75% of Queensland’s base metal mineral endowment including copper, lead, zinc, silver, phosphate as well as critical mineral and rare earth deposits. The region is known to hold untapped deposits worth an estimated $740 billion.

Now the regions focus is on the new and emerging opportunities in critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, vanadium as well as rare earths. This places the region in the globally unique and enviable position of being both a source of these critical minerals and also a location for their processing and refining.

Townsville North Queensland offers a unique global investment proposition. For generations it’s been the logistics and processing hub for metals and critical minerals mined in the North West Minerals Province.

Critical Minerals in the North Queensland and North West Region

The North Queensland and North West Regions contain rich source of minerals including copper, lead, nickel and zinc as well as major silver, gold and phosphate deposits. It has also been identified as a key region for rare earth materials. Critical minerals have always been found within traditionally mined resources but now, with increased global demand, these already identified sources can be quickly and efficiently extracted and processed ready for both domestic and global use.

This includes traditional minerals including:

Copper

Zinc

Lead

Nickel

Silver

Gold

Uranium

Critical Minerals:

Magnetite

Cobalt

Vanadium

Graphite

Lithium

Uses of Critical Minerals

And Rare Earths including:

Rhenium

Scandium

Yttrium

Niobium

Tantalum

Tungsten

Molybdenum

Critical minerals are integral for the development of emerging technologies such as electric vehicles, renewable energy products, low-emission power sources, consumer devices and products for the medical, defence and scientific research sectors.

Investment-Ready Projects

Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH Project)

Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) TECH Project will be a modern and sustainable materials refinery, processing imported, high-grade laterite ore from New Caledonia to produce nickel and cobalt sulfate as well as other coproducts. QPM has already secured offtake agreements for 100% of Nickel and Cobalt sales for the life of the project. This project has also been declared a “prescribed project”, which recognises the economic and social importance of the TECH project to the region and ensures timely decision making.

Debella Project

The project proponents include Vecco Group with plans to produce vanadium and high purity alumina (HPA) located near Julia Creek. The project is targeting initial production in 2024, and is focused on producing a vanadium pentoxide product, vanadium electrolyte and high purity alumina for battery markets. In 2023, Vecco group also announced that they will build Australia’s first commercialscale vanadium flow battery electrolyte manufacturing facility in Townsville. Vecco intends for the vanadium and HPA produced at the Debella project to be integrated into the new manufacturing facility.

Julia Creek Vanadium and Oil Shale Project

QEM’s flagship Julia Creek vanadium and oil shale project is poised to deliver innovative energy solutions, through the

production of energy fuels and vanadium pentoxide. The tenements form part of the Toolebuc Formation, which is recognised as one of the largest deposits of vanadium and oil shale in the world. The project aims to capitalise on these deposits by establishing an operating mine, processing facilities and supporting infrastructure with production potential up to 10,000 tonnes per annum of vanadium. The demonstration plant is expected to be operational by mid-2025.

Saint Elmo Vanadium Project

Multicom Resources is seeking to develop the Saint Elmo Vanadium Project to mine and process vanadium pentoxide and alternative vanadium-based products. The project is focused on producing vanadium for batteries in the residential energy storage market. First production forecast is for late 2023. The Saint Elmo Project has been declared a “prescribed project” by the Queensland Government allowing for streamlined approvals and a fast-tracked delivery of the project.

Sconi Project

Located in Greenvale, the project is being led by Australian Mines Ltd. Sconi is expected to come online in 2024 and has signed an offtake agreement with LG Energy solution. The six-year supply deal would provide the raw materials for the batteries that power high-performance vehicles. The project has strong ESG credentials and is expected to produce the world’s most sustainable nickel and cobalt.

Research & Development Northern Australia Critical Minerals and Metals Institute

James Cook University (JCU) has committed funding towards the development of the Northern Australia Critical Minerals and Metals Institute. Using existing facilities, the centre will be an industry led, JCU housed teaching and research facility. It will directly support the exploration, mining, production and delivery of key base inputs into technology, advanced manufacturing and clean energy.

Renewable Energy Hub

The North West to Townsville Corridor is also home to Australia’s highest quality wind and solar resources. It is estimated the region holds up to 33GW of combined wind and solar output. Upgrades to transmission infrastructure as part of Powerlink/ CopperString 2032 will unlock the region’s renewable energy potential. The regions green energy potential also provides a competitive advantage by allowing manufacturing and processing as well as new and exsiting mining projects to power their operations through renewable energy. Moving into the future it will ensure the region can produce world leading green certified supply chains and products.

Upcoming renewable energy projects:

Fortescue Future Industries 10 GW ‘SuperHub’ Project Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) is collaborating with Windlab to develop the North Queensland Super Hub, aiming to unlock more than 10 GW of wind and solar energy within the next 10 years.

The first projects announced include the 800 MW Prairie Wind Farm and the 1GW Wongalee Wind Project. Subject to approvals, construction on the first stages of the project is expected to commence in 2025 and is expected to begin producing power by 2027.

Iberdrola 1GW Wind Farm

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola have acquired the rights to the 1GW Mount James Wind Farm, located 80km North of Hughenden.

Upper Burdekin Wind Farm

Windlab are also advancing the Upper Burdekin Wind Farm, which is expected to generate up to 400 MW of power from 100 turbines and will be located 65km southwest of Ingham. Apple has entered into a power purchase agreement with the project once it becomes operational.

TAFE Queensland Advanced Manufacturing Skills Lab

The new Advanced Manufacturing Skills Lab will be located on the Townsville Bohle Campus and will support high-end manufacturing of technology like augmented reality, automation and robotics. This facility is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023. Townsville’s Bohle Campus will be the first in Queensland to have these world class facilities that are essential for training the future workforce.

Powerlink/ CopperString 2032

The CopperString project will see a 1,100km transmission line constructed from Townsville to Mount Isa that will connect the North West Minerals Province to the National Electricity Grid for the first time in Australia’s history.

CopperString will connect vast renewable wind and solar resources with critical minerals mining and processing that can be used to make batteries and renewable in North Queensland.

The $5 billion expanded project will provide higher capacity transmission lines to connect the largest renewable energy zone in the nation and over $740 billion of critical minerals.

This project will provide energy certainty to the regions critical mineral sector, delivering reliable affordable and renewable power to the people, businesses and communities. It will also enable new renewable generation resources to be developed and for the power generated to be sold into the National Electricity Market (NEM). This project will ensure that North Queensland will be the hub for renewable manufacturing, minerals processing and hydrogen during the clean energy industrial revolution.

Enabling Infrastructure

Port of Townsville

Port of Townsville is Northern Australia’s largest container and automotive port. It provides a vital link for the mining, agriculture, construction, energy, general cargo, retail, defence and tourism industries. The Port is currently undertaking $232 million channel expansion project that will see shipping channel widened to 180M to accommodate vessels up to 300m in length. The Port of Townsville services 80% of Northern Australia’s population with general cargo.

Rail

The Mount Isa Line System represents over 1,000km of track which extends from Townsville to Mount Isa. The line is a critical link connecting the North West Minerals Province to the Port of Townsville where the majority of bulk products are exported. Minerals concentrate, fertiliser, acid, mining inputs, refined metals and cattle are all moved on the Mount Isa Line. The Mount Isa Line is of national interest as it runs along some of the world’s largest deposits of copper, lead, zinc, silver and phosphate rock.

Road

The Flinders Highway is a highly productive network which links the North West Minerals Province to Townsville’s processing and export facilities. An ongoing improvement program has support from all levels of government, which seek to reduce travel time and improve network efficiency.

Queensland Premier

“CopperString is the most significant investment in economic infrastructure in North Queensland in generation. Unlock affordable renewable energy and our critical minerals will benefit Townsville, Mount Isa and every town in betweenunlocking thousands of jobs and billions in investment.”

Annastacia Palazsczuk

Workforce Development

In the 2023 Federal Budget, the Australian Government committed to fund 300,000 TAFE and vocational education training places to become feefree in critical and emerging sectors.

Critical Minerals Demonstration Facility

The $75 million Critical Minerals Demonstration Facility has been committed

by the Queensland Government and will be located at Cleveland Bay Industrial Park, between the Sun Metals Zinc refinery and Glencore Copper Refinery. It will have the capability to process vanadium and other critical minerals like cobalt and rare earth minerals.

Local Capabilities: Processing

Sun Metals

Sun Metals Zinc Refinery is located 15km south of Townsville city and produces a Special high Grade of Zinc metals and sulphuric acid, zinc ferrite and copper as a secondary products. Approximately 450,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates every year through Sun Metals Roasting and Leaching and Purification processes.

Glencore Copper Refinery

Glencore also operated an electrolytic copper refinery based in Townsville North Queensland. Using Glencore’s IsaKIDD process, the refinery produces up to 300,000 tonnes a year of 99.995% pure copper cathode.

Industrial Land Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct

Lansdown will be one of the first eco-industrial precincts for advanced manufacturing, processing, technology and emerging industries. Proponents that have already progressed onsite operations include Queensland Pacific Metals, Edify Energy, Drive It NQ, RTE Energy, Solquartz, Origin Energy, North Queensland Gas Pipeline. The Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct has been declared a “prescribed project”, paving the way for a major green manufacturing hub and a new era of growth for North Queensland.

Townsville State Development Area (TSDA)

The TSDA is 4,915 hectares of defined land dedicated for industrial development.

It is located about six kilometres southeast of the Townsville CBD and two kilometres south of the Port of Townsville. It is situated at the junction of the national road network (Bruce and Flinders Highway) with direct connections to major rail networks and the Port of Townsville.

Cleveland Bay Industrial Park

Strategically located between the Port of Townsville and the intersection of the Bruce and Flinders Highways, Cleveland Bay Industrial Park is fast becoming North Queensland’s premier industrial precinct. This industrial estate offers B-Triple Type 2 road train access and service corridors to the Port and more. Stage 1 is now complete, with several businesses commencing construction and only a few remaining blocks for sale or lease. A further 35 hectares in Stage 2 is expected to be serviced and titled by Q3 2023, delivering industrial scale to Northern Australia’s most prominent and promising location.

Charters Towers Enterprise Precinct

Charters Towers Enterprise Precinct is a new commercial and industrial precinct to secure the future of economic investment and growth in the Charters Towers region, with proximity to Charters Towers CBD, access to electricity, and features that make it versatile and attractive for a variety of commercial and industrial uses. Project proponents Charter Towers Regional Council are seeking funding to support the projects infrastructure requirements.

To learn more about the investment opportunities for the North Queensland region, find more information visit townsvilleenterprise.com.au or email our investment team at investtsv@tel.com.au PRINCIPAL PARTNER