Resources Minister Scott Stewart is hailing the recommissioning of Rocklands mine by Copper Resources Australia as an economic boost for the entire North West.

The project is on track for mining to start this week according to Copper Resources Australia, with the revived Cloncurry copper operation supporting 150 jobs.

“Bringing the Rocklands mine back online is great news not only for the jobs it creates but also for the flow-on effects it will bring for businesses in Cloncurry and around the North West,” Mr Stewart said.

“The Palaszczuk Government has shown it is serious about the North West Minerals Province by backing investment and infrastructure for the region and this latest investment by Copper Resources Australia is further proof that investors are recognising the potential too.”

Located 20km west of Cloncurry, the Rocklands mine was put into receivership in 2019 after the collapse of its owner CuDeco Limited.

Copper Resources Australia took over the mine in June and have worked quickly to get the project back into production.

Chief executive officer Stewart Robinson said that, despite the challenges of recommissioning a plant during a global pandemic, the team had achieved numerous milestones in the last six months.

“There have been more than 85 permanent appointments made and up to 30 contractors per day who are assisting with specialised re-commissioning tasks, with employment set to peak at about 150 in coming months,” he said.

“The quality of staff available in Queensland, despite the COVID-19 crisis has been world class and the team have focused on reorganising and streamlining the process plant resulting in copper production that is considerably more cost effective.”

Related: Tailings study to unlock cobalt potential

Last week it was announced a three-way agreement had been signed between the Palaszczuk Government, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and the University of Queensland to examine whether cobalt can be retrieved from tailings dams, with Rocklands the site for the trial.

The collaborative study will see samples from the tailings of Copper Resources Australia’s Rocklands copper mine studied at the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and at JOGMEC’s laboratories in Japan.