The Mount Isa Townsville Economic Zone (MITEZ) has had a good start to the regional resilience series with the announcement of a collaboration to develop a local quartz resource.
The forum is being held in Mount Isa today and includes senior members of the bureaucracy, junior and mid-tier miners, MITEZ members and other stakeholders.
Mount Isa Minerals (M1M) has finalised a funding agreement with Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners through its Critical Resources Strategy (CRS).
M1M describes its Mount Isa project as including eight granted exploration permits covering 350sq km of highly prospective copper mineralisation along the west side of the Mount Isa fault.
The collaboration would drive the commercialisation of Mount Isa Minerals’ quartz ore assets.
There was the potential for downstream processing, chief executive officer Nick Huffels said.
“Underpinning the establishment of this joint venture is the future potential for a confirmed offtake agreement,” he said
“Quinbrook proposes to develop and build a state-of-the-art silicon smelter and polysilicon manufacturing facility at Townsville, Queensland, sourcing high-quality quartz from the North Queensland region.
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“Initial funding will also support detailed metallurgical testing to validate the suitability of the quartz for various applications, including metallurgical-grade silica (MGSi) and potentially higher purity quartz applications such as solar and semi-conductor crucible manufacture.
“This will then be followed up with a scoping study.”
The collaboration would span the full project lifecycle from exploration and resource definition to development, mining lease applications, and market entry, Mr Huffels said.
“The funding will be structured in two tranches to support a phased development approach,” he said.
“The initial tranche will be directed towards accelerated exploration activities to define and confirm a JORC-compliant resource for the identified quartz outcrops.
“Initial rock chip assays have indicated high silica content (99.5 per cent to 99.9 per cent SiO2) with low impurities at prospects named Eureka, May Downs, and Mica Creek.”
The funding created a significant opportunity to strengthen the domestic supply chain security of critical materials for the solar industry, Mr Huffels said.
The outcome would contribute to diversify and strengthen the North-West Queensland mining industry and add rigour to the economy, he said.
“This partnership leverages M1M’s substantial quartz deposits and strategic location in Mount Isa, alongside Quinbrook’s expertise in energy transition infrastructure and their commitment to local sourcing,” Mr Huffels said.
“By establishing a domestic supply of crucial silica materials, this initiative will strengthen Australia’s position in the renewable energy and advanced technology sectors.”
Subsequent funding will be allocated for mining lease applications and supporting activities.
