Queensland's North West Minerals Province attracts global attention

Queensland’s North West Minerals Province is attracting global attention thanks to a series of international engagement sessions.

Resources Minister Scott Stewart said experts from his department hosted a special engagement session with the Movement of the Enterprises of France, which has more than 750,000 member companies.

“30 firms attended with direct interest in the minerals supply chain, from upstream extraction to downstream processing and manufacturing,” Mr Stewart said.

“This is just the first step in a much broader program of engagement, with similar events planned for Germany, Belgium, Holland and the United Kingdom.

“The Palaszczuk Government knows there is huge potential in the North West Minerals Province and now so does the rest of the world.”

Mr Stewart said there is a new market for growing the Queensland minerals sector in Europe.

“The demand for resources like copper, rare earth elements, cobalt, nickel and more that Queensland has in abundance, is growing throughout the world,” he said.

“These metals are needed for energy transition, including the electrification of transport and industry.”

Mr Stewart said the Palaszczuk Government was backing the potential of the North West Minerals Province with real investment.

“We’ve developed the $27 million Strategic Resources Exploration Program which has a strong focus on areas in and around Queensland's North West Minerals Province,” he said.

“Last year we also included a boost to the New Economy Minerals Initiative with an additional $10 million Collaborative Exploration grants to help explorers discover new economy minerals and support future jobs in Queensland's resources sector.

“This is also why we’re backing Copperstring 2.0 to help unlock more mines and opportunities in the region.”

Mr Stewart said the North West Minerals Province will create jobs and opportunities throughout Queensland.

“That’s why we’re seeing international interest in Queensland’s resources sector,” he said.

ENDS