BIG PLANS FOR MAGGIE LAND
IT’S been a long time between drinks but the wait is almost over for a new bar, retail and motel complex at Nelly Bay Harbour.
This follows the sale of the Magnetic Island site after 20 years of marketing.
Townsville property agency Ray White Commercial has confirmed the sale to cashed up Melbourne connections for a price understood to be less than $1m.
The agency’s principal, Graeme Russell, says the new owners are considering their options which include the vision of the harbour’s developers, Curtain Bros, for a tavern, motel and retail project.
While it might not necessarily be that outcome, whatever is developed needs to be hospitality related, Mr Russell says.
“Located next to the Nelly Bay ferry terminal and surrounded by medium density apartments, it has a captive audience for food and beverage.
The site consists of a 5788 sqm waterfront allotment and a 560 sqm leasehold lot over the water.
It is adjacent to the ferry terminal, IGA supermarket, Bright Point Mercure Resort and Blue on Blue Peppers Resort.
Part of the property has been excavated for a basement car park.
Mr Russell says concept plans stretch back some 25 years when
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Curtain Bros took on what was then an abandoned marina development.
He says finance is one reason this site languished.
“The banks don’t like islands, having torn up money along the east coast in the past. Fortunately, these people have the resources to do it without the banks,” Mr Russell said.
“I can only say that site attracted a lot of interest from people who didn’t have the capacity to develop it.” Mr Russell says the outlook for a successful development has been clear for some time and enhanced by the COVID pandemic.
There has been more activity on the island than the mainland, he says.
“I can see domestic tourism being very strong because people will get cabin fever down south. The island has already had a couple of good years,” Mr Russell said.
MINER Red River Resources has reported a record copper production result for the September 2020 quarter.
Quarterly production from the Thalanga operation, 80km west of Charters Towers, was up 51 per cent on the copper production record set last quarter.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, the company said throughput during the September quarter saw 4703 tonnes of copper concentrate produced, up from 2696 tonnes the previous quarter.
Thalanga also produced 7026 tonnes of high quality zinc concentrate and 1947 tonnes of high quality lead concentrate in the same period.
Red River Resources managing director Mel Palancian said it had been a big effort from everyone on site throughout the business.
“It’s great to see us producing more than double what we’ve done previously, not just the copper, but the zinc and lead production has been fantastic,” Mr Palancian said.
“Copper is really a bread and butter metal, even without the electrification of the auto industry, new technologies are relying on copper.
“I think the whole electrification story is going to make it bigger and better.
“We’re seeing a lot of demand for copper at the moment, as well as the zinc and the lead.”
Mr Palancian said the company was hoping that next year they could advance the Liontown project near Thalanga and start recruiting for the operations.
The announcement comes days after the company revealed it is debt free after repaying its US$6 million working capital facility with cash generated from the Thalanga operations.
On October 1, Mr Palancian announced the company had repaid the working capital facility held with its lead and zinc offtake partner Trafigura.
Red River has been producing copper, lead and zinc concentrate at the mine since September 2017.