The Queensland Government has granted Australian Mines a mining lease for the Sconi Project.
The estimated $1.4 billion Sconi Project has a 30-year mine life and will process two million tonnes of ore annually with the planned commissioning in 2028.
The open-cut mine and adjacent processing plant are estimated to produce around 47,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate, 7,000 tonnes of cobalt sulphate, and 89 tonnes of scandium oxide once operational.
According to the State Government, these are critical minerals required to produce batteries for the electric vehicle sector.
Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the Sconi Project is a vote of confidence in Queensland’s resources sector and will result in additional decent jobs for the State’s north.
“The Palaszczuk Government is backing the development of the state’s critical minerals sector through the recently released Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy as well as our $5 billion Copperstring 2032 electricity transmission line,” Minister Stewart stated.
“And planning is well underway on the $75 million Queensland Resources Common User facility, a multi-user, multi-purpose warehouse designed to prove up the commercial viability of critical minerals in Queensland,” Minister Stewart added.
