A site between the Sun Metals zinc refinery and Glencore’s copper refinery at Townsville will host a new $75 million critical minerals demonstration facility.

The project expands on previously announced plans for a $10 million common user vanadium processing facility – boosting investment and the potential range of commodities involved.

“After working with prospective users, universities, and research centres the facility will not only be able to process vanadium, a key component of large-scale batteries, but it will be expanded allowing for a range of critical minerals like cobalt and rare earth elements to be processed,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

“This facility will prove up the commerciality of critical minerals in Queensland creating jobs not just in mining but in processing and manufacturing.”

The plant, to be based in Cleveland Bay Industrial Park, is expected to commence operations by the first half of 2025.

Resources Minister Scott Stewart said there was enormous potential for vanadium mining and production in North Queensland.

Vanadium had come a long way from first being used in the Ford Model T Car over a century ago to now being used in batteries with twice the life span of lithium-ion batteries, he said.

“Global demand for vanadium in batteries and high-quality steel is expected to outpace supply before the end of the decade,” he said.

“Queensland has world-class, highly economic deposits of vanadium located in accessible marine shale.

“Because they hold their charge in a liquid form, vanadium redox batteries can be built to a much bigger scale, powering larger communities for longer.

“Vanadium has the potential to be the Eureka moment for North Queensland.

“This facility will also support further extraction of high purity alumina, cobalt and rare earths.”

Mr Stewart said there was already interest from companies in using the facility and the work there would boost confidence to invest in commercial-scale facilities and downstream manufacturing infrastructure.

The facility is part of a $150 million commitment announced in the 2022-23 State Budget Update in December for common user infrastructure to support the development, extraction and production of critical minerals.