Green light for Queensland phosphate mine
The Queensland Government has given the green light to a major phosphate mine in northwest of the State with the granting of mining leases for North West Phosphate’s Paradise South complex.
Located 130km northwest of Mount Isa and adjacent to Glencore’s Lady Loretta zinc mine, the complex is expected to create 200 jobs during construction and 245 jobs once operational.
Northwest Phosphate executive chairman John Cotter thanks the Queensland Government for their support.
“We have worked very closely with the State Government in bringing this very difficult and complex project to fruition in the North West and we are excited to reach this significant milestone for our Paradise South project,” he said.
“A big thank you to the Queensland Government for the support they have provided us to date and for their ongoing commitment to the North West Region – keeping and growing jobs in the North West is a priority for all of us.
“We know that the Mt Isa community is relying on us to deliver local jobs and local opportunities and we will continue to work with the Queensland Government to get this project off the ground as soon as possible.
“As many in the North West region would know, this project was first talked about decades ago, but it is the cutting edge project design underpinned by world class technology that has been put together by the North West Phosphate project team that will make sure this project becomes a reality.”
Queensland Resources and Critical Minerals Minister Scott Stewart commented on this.
“The grant of the mining leases for this project northwest of Mount Isa is a vote of confidence from not just this government but from companies like North West Phosphate,” he said.
“Paradise South will create 445 good local jobs for the region and confirms the North West Mineral Province will continue to be a key driver in Queensland’s economy.
“Phosphorous is an important product not only in the agriculture sector but is also needed for the technologies the world will adopt as it moves to a net zero economy.
“That is why the [Federal] Government has added phosphorous to its new Strategic Materials list.
“We are backing the development of projects like this and the North West Minerals Province through support like our Collaborative Exploration Initiative program and our $5 billion investment in Copperstring.
“This is all at risk because the LNP don’t back our progressive coal royalties which means projects like Copperstring will be slashed.”
Phosphorous is used in the production of fertiliser for agriculture and also an important ingredient in batteries and other technologies needed for a decarbonised economy.
According to the North West Phosphate website, Paradise South will be an open cut mining operation excavating up to 2mtpa over an initial 20 year mine life.
The mine will include a processing plant onsite to produce the phosphate concentrate product ready for domestic and international markets.
