North-west Queensland was coined as central to the Federal Government’s $3.4 billion Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative, with new geological surveys helping to build the foundations for future critical minerals discoveries.
Speaking at the fourth Meeting of the Mines conference in Cloncurry, Assistant Minister for Resources Anthony Chisholm outlined how the Geoscience Australia-led program is supporting exploration in the region.
“This program will provide industry with pre-competitive geological data to unearth Australia’s untapped minerals potential,” Chisholm said.
“The North West region is central to this investment.”
The Federal and Queensland governments are co-funding a coordinated program of geoscientific studies, including the recently completed Boodjamulla–Croydon reflection seismic survey.
Chisholm said the survey had provided valuable insights into subsurface geology across 840km; an airborne gravity gradiometry survey is also underway north of Mount Isa.
Both surveys will inform the broader Georgetown–Julia Creek Deep Dive project, which Chisholm said would provide data to assist the discovery and development of critical and strategic minerals over the next six years.
The exploration work forms part of the government’s ambition to build domestic industrial capability, with new resource discoveries underpinning opportunities to make more products in Australia.
“In the resources sector, we know that this starts with kickstarting new exploration,” Chisholm said.
He pointed to rising demand for copper, silver, vanadium and graphite as an opportunity for Cloncurry and the wider North West Minerals Province.
He said that data centres require substantial amounts of copper, while solar panel production supports demand for silver, and emerging battery technologies are also creating opportunities for minerals such as vanadium and graphite.
“The North West Mineral Province’s deposits of copper, zinc, vanadium, graphite, and rare earths are valuable, world-class assets,” Chisholm said.
Alongside exploration, Chisholm highlighted the potential to expand Australia’s role in minerals processing and manufacturing.
“And while Australia has previously been renowned for our extraction of minerals, the Albanese Government sees enormous potential for new economic opportunity further down the value chain,” he said.
“International partners are looking to Australia to help with solutions to build secure and resilient supply chains.”
Chisholm pointed to the US–Australia Critical Minerals Framework as an example of international partnerships supporting project development, saying the two countries had taken measures to deliver more than $5 billion in financing for critical minerals projects within six months of signing the agreement.
Queensland projects included Graphinex’s Esmeralda graphite mine, EQ Resources’ Mount Carbine tungsten project and RZ Resources’ mineral separation plant.
“These investments all strengthen longer-term supply for defence, manufacturing, and energy supply chains,” Chisholm said.
For north-west Queensland, the combination of geological data, resource development and international investment could support further opportunities across the mining value chain.
Chisholm said partnerships would remain essential to realising that potential.
“We can secure this future by continuing to build strong partnerships across industry, government, communities, and our international partners,” he said.
