In July 2020, the Mt Carbine historic mine waste transformation project secured $220,000 in funding from the Queensland METS Collaborative Project Fund to undertake a program to optimise scale-up application of ore sorting technology. The aim was to prove the economic viability of mine waste re-treatment by recovering industry-critical tungsten minerals; and the project was deemed highly successful.
The Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine was acquired by EQ Resources in 2019 and the company entered a joint venture with CRONIMET, to refurbish, commission and ramp up the processing plant.
Two years on and ahead of the release of its feasibility study, EQ Resources is set to raise $6 million to fund the expansion of the mine in North Queensland.
CRONIMET, Manager Business Development, Damien Lefevre, said the significant funding allowed the project to recruit project partners with different expertise.
“This project overall is nothing new as independently, all project partners are well known. The success of this project lies in bringing together experts from different fields allowing us to gain a high-level view of the project and its economic and environmental benefits, which would have otherwise been overlooked.”
According to EQ Resources, the money will go towards early works for the expansion which the company said is the next logical step to the 12-month trial mining and test work program; performed under the recently completed Queensland METS Collaborative Project Fund.
The expansion operation is expected to create more than 20 jobs and upscale production capacity through the addition of larger, higher throughput sorters for large scale production of a tungsten concentrate.
CRONIMET, a global commodities traders and metal recycling group, successfully secured the funding via the Queensland METS Collaborative Projects Fund, which is delivered by METS Ignited with funding provided by the Queensland Government as part of its Queensland Mining Equipment, Technology and Services 10 Year Roadmap and Action Plan.
“Having alumni from our Queensland METS Collaborative Project Fund continue to succeed in bringing their concept to commercialisation, while driving the employment of new jobs of the future, is encouraging to see,” said Adrian Beer, CEO, METS Ignited.
“The goal of the Fund has been realised with this Mt Carbine historic mine waste transformation project, by bringing together some of the country’s leading resource organisations to collaborate on technology concepts for the future. The project is a true reflection of innovation being supported by various organisations to achieve a sustainable solution to support critical minerals.”
Project partners are comprised of EQ Resources, CRONIMET, the University of Queensland, TOMRA Sorting Pty Ltd and DAS Mining Solutions. Find out more about the Mt Carbine historic mine waste transformation project here.
