QEM gains government coordination for Queensland vanadium

QEM’s flagship vanadium and oil shale development has been declared a Coordinated Project by the Queensland Government.

QEM has reiterated its commitment to develop a major long-term project. Pic: Getty Images

• QEM’s vanadium and oil shale project gains a major permitting milestone

• Company believes commodities address two urgent needs

• Recognition of strategic value and potential benefits

 

Special Report: QEM’s Julia Creek vanadium and energy project has been declared a Coordinated Project by Queensland’s Office of the Coordinator General.

The status allows regulatory approvals to be facilitated by the office, a major permitting milestone which QEM Limited (ASX:QEM) believes serves as recognition of the project’s complexity, strategic value, and potential social and economic benefits.

The declaration also sets environmental approval processes with an Environmental Impact Statement which could be assessed and decided through a joint Queensland and Commonwealth agreement.

A scoping study earlier in the year demonstrated robust economics for the vanadium and oil shale project, and QEM made a point to reiterate its commitment to developing a major long-term project in the state’s famed North West minerals province.

“The dual commodity nature of our project aims to address two urgent needs: long-duration energy storage and domestic fuel security,” QEM managing director Gavin Loyden said.

“The adoption of vanadium flow batteries is accelerating around the world and Queensland is uniquely positioned to establish a ‘pit to battery’ manufacturing industry.

“QEM will expand its participation in the value chain by processing its vanadium pentoxide into vanadium electrolyte for flow batteries.”

The company has been busy prepping the baselines required for an environmental statement over the past two years and will now draft the terms of reference for release and public comment.

Vital vanadium

Although most of the world’s vanadium is marked for steel, the critical mineral is seeing increasing use for flow batteries showing large potential as an energy grid backup.

QEM’s Julia Creek resource currently stands at 2.87Bt of ore at 0.31% vanadium pentoxide in inferred resources, along with an indicated 461Mt at 0.28% V2O5 to place it as one of the bigger deposits on the ASX.

Given that Australia is almost completely dependent on transport fuel imports, capability of producing from its current 6.3MMbbl of 1C oil resource also carries a unique added value.

It will take more than $1bn in pre-production capital expenditure develop Julia Creek, and QEM is now looking at multiple funding initiatives with a permitting milestone now in the rear-view mirror.

And its value has been demonstrated with the nearby purchase by Japanese energy trading giant Idemitsu, until recently largely in Australia for its coal assets, of a 51% majority stake in the nearby Vecco Critical Minerals Project after tipping in $75 million in investment.

This article was developed in collaboration with QEM, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as QEM gains government coordination for Queensland vanadium