• QEM’s Julia Creek project declared ‘controlled action’ by Commonwealth Government
  • Green fields project would produce vanadium and oil
  • Company developing terms of reference for an environmental impact statement

 

Special Report: QEM has welcomed the decision from the Commonwealth Government declaring its Julia Creek vanadium and energy project a ‘controlled action’ – a move that solidifies the approval pathway for the critical minerals project.

A controlled action is a project that is likely to have a significant impact on one or more of the nine matters of national environmental significance – which includes national heritage places, water resources, threatened species, the Great Barrier Reef and more.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEW) also determined that the project’s environmental approvals pathway will be assessed under the bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and Queensland governments.

This bilateral agreement streamlines environmental assessment processes for projects that require both Commonwealth and State approvals, reducing duplication and improving efficiency, and streamlines the process of issuing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The Julia Creek project would see a greenfield vanadium and oil shale mine along with processing facilities, with a recent scoping study detailing a 30-year mine schedule with a production target of approximately 10,571 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide (99.95% pure) and 313 million litres of transport fuel per annum over the life of mine.

 

Streamlined environmental approvals pathway

Notably, this declaration follows the recent designation of Julia Creek as a coordinated project, which details a project of strategic significance to the locality, region or state, including for the infrastructure, economic and social benefits, capital investment or employment opportunities it may provide.

The project is predicted to create up to 600 jobs over the two-year construction period and approximately 588 permanent jobs during its operational phase, with at least 35% of the operational jobs will be residential, based in Julia Creek or nearby towns.

“We welcome this decision by the Commonwealth government,” QEM (ASX:QEM) managing director Gavin Loyden said.

“The company looks forward to the finalisation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) terms of reference while conducting the next stage of environmental technical studies required to submit the EIS.”

“The dual commodity nature of our project in Queensland’s North West Minerals Province aims to address two urgent needs: long-duration energy storage and domestic fuel security”.

The next step of the EPBC Act approval process is for the Queensland government and QEM to reach agreement on the terms of reference which will be used to develop an EIS.

“We are committed to develop the JCVEP and unlock the value of this world-class critical minerals project and to position it as a long-term supplier of vanadium electrolyte for the manufacture of vanadium flow batteries for many decades to come,” 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”.

Pending approvals, construction of the project will begin in early 2028, with a commissioning and operational phase to begin in late 2029.

 

 

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.

 

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