Queensland’s independent Coordinator-General has declared the $243 million Richmond-Julia Creek vanadium project a coordinated project.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the mine – 35km north-west of Richmond – would bring 200 operational jobs and was expected to be in production for 20 years.

Construction could start in 2023 and the mine could be operational in 2024, he told parliament.

The project is being developed by Richmond Vanadium Technology, which plans to transport concentrate to the Port of Townsville for export.

“There is also the potential for future use in local processing and manufacturing, and the Queensland government is also pursuing those opportunities,” Mr Miles said

“We have announced plans for a demonstration vanadium processing plant to be established in
Townsville. We are also developing a Queensland battery industry strategy.

“The North West Minerals Province is already one of the world’s richest sources of base and precious metals.

“Proposals such as the Richmond-Julia Creek vanadium project show that Queensland is ready to diversify into the next generation of commercial mineral production.”

 The 1.8-billion-tonne project has been forecast to have an NPV of more than $1 billion in an updated pre-feasibility study.

The mineral resource for the advanced Lilyvale deposit within the project area stands at 560Mt grading 0.48 per cent vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) for 2.6Mt vanadium pentoxide at a 0.30 per cent lower cut-off.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said vanadium was one of the top five minerals required to develop renewable energy technologies.

“This development, and other projects like it will be supported by our commitment to build a $10 million critical minerals demonstration plant in Townsville,” she said.

“Of course, in order to proceed this proposal will have to meet stringent environmental proposals, but I am advised that this project is very promising.”

Declaring a project as a coordinated project helps streamline approvals and fast-track development.