Hidden gems: Lesser-known mining projects in Queensland making big impacts

Queensland’s resource reputation was built from the goldfields of Gympie and Charters Towers, the coal plains near Ipswich and the gasfields at Roma. Now, the Isa Carpentaria Minerals Province, Bowen Basin coal reserves and the ever-expanding gasfields of south-western Queensland are recognised as world leading resources. It’s also far from the end of the line for resources discovery, with smaller projects are coming to maturity based on the need for critical and rare earth minerals to service the push towards a carbon-neutral economy. Many are niche projects driven by politics as the US tries to counter China’s near production monopolies of minerals including tungsten, cobalt, lithium and dysprosium. However, it’s demand for the bell-weather mineral copper which will cause a step-change in the economy. It is forecast that as much copper will be used in electrifying the economy in the next 26 years as has been used to date. Rio Tinto and Anglo American are reputed to have exploration leases of 760,000 square kilometres and one million square kilometres respectively in the Gulf of Carpentaria. They have their eyes set on the next Mount Isa. There are also smaller players in the mix who are ably led by experienced resource managers and geoscientists that are worth keeping an eye on. Copper cousin Among them are Maronan Metals, which has an exploration lease on ground south-west of Cloncurry with adjacent lead-silver and copper-gold resources. The company is quick to point out this has the validation of neighbours (namely Eloise and Ernest Henry Mines) and quotes JORC 2012 compliant Inferred Resources of: 30.8Mt at 6.5 per cent lead with 106 g/t silver (using a 3 per cent lead cut-off grade) 11Mt at 1.6 per cent copper with 0.8 g/t gold (using a 1.0 per cent copper cut-off grade) This is the equivalent of more than 2Mt lead, 105 Moz silver and 300koz gold. Rare earth spin Red Metal’s Sybella project just 20km from Mount Isa is a Maronan Metals spin-off. It’s a rare earth play which metallurgist and Core Resources director Jon Loraine suggests has favourable characteristics including straight forward mining and processing. The company says assay results from step-out drilling have confirmed its impressively large tonnage potential. Mr Loraine’s company Core Resources works for Red Metal. “It’s extraordinary,” Mr Loraine told iQ, “… partly because it’s geologically distinct from most other rare earth deposits in the world. Unlike typical deposits, it is hosted in a weathered or degraded granite. “The deposit is exceptionally large, with the potential to be a multi-billion-tonne resource. It’s amenable to bulk low-cost mining and processing, potentially through heap leaching. The metallurgical characteristics are highly favourable.” Phosphate’s growing stature Five years ago, Incitec Pivot (IPL) was the only phosphate producer in Australia (they continue to operate at Phosphate Hill south of Mount Isa near at Dajarra.) Since then, Adelaide junior Centrex Resources developed the Ardmore lease adjacent to Phosphate Hill and started exporting in record time in a textbook display of mine management. Centrex subsidiary Agriflexhas secured an exploration permit for ground near Incitec Pivot’s Phosphate Hill mining lease and the Korella North project and has entered into a MOU with Cleveland Bay Chemical Company to explore value-added processing opportunities. Other phosphate prospects are coming online quickly. Private company North West Phosphate led by homegrown Queenslander John Cotter is currently building a road to its Paradise South project 130km north-west of Mount Isa. They recently announced a term sheet with New Century Mine owner Sibanye-Stillwater for access to both its infrastructure to produce high-grade concentrate and 300km pipeline to the port of Karumba for shipping. The third new phosphate player is Chatham Rock Phosphate which has the Korella North mine, 160km south-east of Mount Isa. All that glitters, apart from gold Diatreme Resources has proven to be a wily company that is consolidating its place on the Cape York silica sand fields. The resource is highly regarded as a base for photo-voltaic cells. The company has been shoring up its stocks with offtake agreements with Mitsui & Co and China’s Flat Glass Group and a strategic partnership with global materials solutions leader Sibelco. It was the Sibelco relationship which funded the takeover of neighbouring leaseholder Metallica. The Diatreme lease borders an operation owned by Mitsubishi Corporation from where it accounts for the world’s largest production of silica sand. Diatreme has stated it is looking to submit its EIS in 2025 with a view to mining next year.

Hidden gems: Lesser-known mining projects in Queensland making big impacts

Industry Queensland

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