General News
14 May, 2025
Case for critical minerals centre stacks up, says CEO
Mount Isa City Council believes there would be enough support to go ahead with the project.
There is enough local support for mineral sample testing to make a Mount Isa Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements Research Centre economically viable.
That’s the primary finding from a scoping study completed last week by the Sustainable Minerals Institute, which was tasked by Mount Isa City Council with examining the viability of a local research centre.
Intended for inclusion in The Australian Critical Minerals Industrial Precinct (TACMIP), which is a major council proposal on land near George Fisher, the Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements Research Centre would provide jobs for about 30 people as it looked to develop localised solutions for issues confronting the North West resource sector.
Mount Isa City Council CEO Tim Rose said the scoping study was the first stage in determining the economic viability of the project, with building designs set to be completed within the next month.
“The scoping study has proven that the research centre would be economically viable and self-sustaining,” he said.
“The plan for the research centre is that it will be able to do sample testing which would address the fact that at the moment miners have to send samples to Brisbane or overseas. The scoping study found there is enough of a market to provide a solid income stream for the centre.
“It would also build on the research and innovations that have been developed in Mount Isa, like the Jameson Cell, which have improved mining across the world.”
Mr Rose said the council was still negotiating with Glencore over the release of the land parcel for the precinct, which is understood to have complicated pastoral and mining lease agreements on top of a state government-controlled leasehold area.
Mr Rose said a survey of the land area would be completed in the coming weeks.
“Glencore has identified its willingness to release the land in its recent social impact study and so things are moving ahead positively,” he said.