PROJECTS TO CHARGE OUR ECONOMY
MANY people say that when the North’s hinterland is firing, so is Townsville. If that is so, there is reason to believe our economy is about to go gangbusters. Here are the first 10 of 20 developments which could turbocharge the North Queensland economy.
1. COPPERSTRING
The $1.7bn Copperstring 2.0 project is a proposed 1100km transmission network that will connect the North West Minerals Province at Mount Isa with the national electricity grid near Townsville.
An ACIL Allen report finds its key benefits are cutting the cost of electricity in the North West, boosting mining, supporting renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions and boosting wealth.
Its forecasts to 2050 were that Copperstring would increase aggregate gross state product to $139.4bn, increase real income by $54.3bn and support 3560 jobs.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the government’s support for the project, including unspecified financial support, during last month’s state election.
2. TOWNSVILLE PORT EXPANSION
The $193m Port of Townsville Channel Upgrade Project involves the building of a new sea wall to reclaim an additional 62ha of land.
The port’s channel will be widened to allow larger, wider ships up to 300m long to enter the port. Spoil from the dredging will be used to reclaim the land which will be used for future berths.
The channel upgrade is the first stage of a larger, staged 30-year $1.6bn expansion that would ultimately double the tonnage capacity of the port and add six new outer berths.
3. EVA COPPER PROJECT
This big copper and gold project, which could support 300 jobs, is proposed 200km north of Mount Isa.
The proponents of the Eva Copper Project, Canada’s Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, announced the “high-quality nature” of the resources earlier this year but added it would only move forward in the “right copper price environment”.
The Eva Copper Project has a total capital cost of $382m and is expected to produce 100 million pounds (45,000 tonnes) of copper and 13,650 ounces of gold annually for 15 years.
The project could provide more feedstock to Glencore’s Mount Isa smelter and, in turn, the copper refinery in Townsville.
4. COPPER SMELTER REBRICK
Glencore will extend the operation of its copper smelter in Mount Isa and refinery in Townsville beyond 2022 after reaching agreement with the
state government in September for a “one-off incentive” to support a fouryearly rebrick of the smelter.
The agreement secured ongoing employment for about 570 direct smelter and refinery workers and a further 1000 indirect jobs.
5. SUN METALS EXPANSION
Earlier this year zinc refinery Sun Metals announced it would build North Queensland’s first renewable hydrogen plant as part of long-term plans for an integrated operation at its Stuart plant.
The initiative was supported with a
$5m grant from the state government.
The refinery said it was the first stage of developing the clean renewable fuel for use in its equipment and plant, particularly in heavy vehicles, but which could become a major export product.
The refinery is part-way through a $400m expansion to improve zinc recoveries and produce other base metals at its Stuart plant after developing a $200m solar farm in 2018.
6. KIDSTON CLEAN ENERGY HUB
Genex Power is aiming to create a
$1bn clean energy hub at the site of the former Kidston goldmine about 270km northwest of Townsville.
The hub includes a 50MW solar farm, which is already operating, a 250MW pumped storage hydro-electricity project based on two old mining pits, another solar farm of up to 270MW and a potential 150MW wind farm.
A 200km transmission line also needs to be built to connect the hub, as well as other potential wind farms in the area, to an existing transmission line at Mount Fox west of Ingham.
The developments, if they proceed, will create more than 1000 jobs over about four years.
7. RAVENSWOOD EXPANSION
A big expansion of the gold operations at Ravenswood about 100km south of Townsville is under way to transform the project into Queensland’s biggest gold mine.
The expansion has been planned since 2016 but the sale of the operations earlier this year to a consortium involving Melbourne-based private equity manager EMR Capital and Singapore-listed Golden Energy and Resources has provided the funding to allow it to go ahead.
More than $200m is to be spent over the next 18 months to start opencut mining, expand an existing processing plant and develop an existing tailings dam.
A further $100m is being invested into new equipment. The 200,000ounces-a-year mine will operate for 15 years and create 400 jobs.
8. BIG ROCKS WEIR
The Big Rocks Weir project on the Burdekin River will provide longterm water security to Charters Towers and up to 5000ha of irrigated agricultural land.
The project has secured commitments for the $60m required to build it from both state and federal governments.
It will provide 10,000 megalitres of water a year, pump at least $35m a year in additional agriculture revenue into the economy and create more than 400 local full-time jobs postconstruction.
9. 15 MILE IRRIGATION PROJECT
A high-value agriculture project growing table grapes at Hughenden was approved by the state government last year.
The irrigation scheme is backed by one of Australia’s biggest table grape growers, Marciano Table Grapes, and has been championed by the Flinders Shire Council.
Cropping will be developed on about 300ha of land just outside the town, drawing on about 2200 megalitres of alluvial and bore water a year from the Flinders River and surrounds. Once fully developed, it is expected to create 165 jobs.
10. HUGHENDEN IRRIGATION PROJECT
The Hughenden Irrigation Project Corporation is a private proponent planning to develop an off-stream water storage of some 190,000 megalitres and irrigation scheme 45km northwest of Hughenden.
The proposed $500m scheme will supply 30,000 megalitres a year of irrigation water at 94 per cent monthly reliability to more than 2000ha of high value horticultural crops.