Australia must invest in critical minerals common user facilities to lower costs for early-stage developers, speed up qualification testing with overseas customers, and support industry growth, attendees at this week's AusIMM Critical Minerals Conference in Brisbane heard.
Queensland's vanadium-focused A$115mn ($81mn) Queensland Resources Common User Facility (QRCUF) will be fully operational by November, and will speed up project development significantly over the next 18-24 months, the government-run project's lead, Paul Holden, said on 22 September.
The facility's ore crusher, flotation circuit, concentrate roaster, atmospheric leacher, and thermal purifier were designed with vanadium processing in mind, but parts of the facility are also applicable for rare earths, cobalt, and graphite processing.
The QRCUF helps small mineral developers bridge the gap between pilot-scale processing and commercial-scale production by providing a shared facility for demonstration-scale bulk samples. This will avoid duplicated government investment in multiple privately owned facilities and lower barriers to entry for value-added processing, Holden said.
Australian graphite and anode material developer Graphinex started using the ore crusher and flotation circuit at the QRCUF this month to produce bulk samples of its graphite products for qualification with South Korean and Japanese customers. While Graphinex has its own 300 t/yr active anode material demonstration facility in Townsville, the ore crusher at the QRCUF is ten times the size of the company's own crusher, allowing bulk samples to be prepared within weeks instead of months, the company told Argus.
Australian developer Vecco has also signed on to use the facility to demonstrate production capability for its high purity vanadium pentoxide and vanadium electrolyte products, as the company prepares to make a final investment decision (FID) on its planned 300 MWh/yr Townsville electrolyte plant.
Planned facility in Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is currently undertaking a feasibility study for its own Critical Minerals Advanced Processing (CMAP) common user facility near Perth.
The facility must narrow product streams in its early stages to ensure a high utilisation rate and avoid becoming a white elephant, chief executive of the Minerals Research Institute of WA (MRIWA) Nicole Roocke said. MRIWA has not yet decided on the scope of CMAP, but it will not duplicate the capabilities of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANTSO), the QRCUF, or commercial labs.
MRIWA is planning a pod-based design, allowing users to bring some of their own equipment for processing. The facility could also be used by technology providers to demonstrate the efficacy of their processes at scale, Roocke said.
Rare earths should not be prioritised in the early stages of either CMAP or QRCUF due to the complexity and cost of processing them, mining firm Australian Strategic Materials country manager Wayne Dicinoski said, citing the rising cost of sulphuric acid, a key reagent.
Argus-assessed sulphuric acid fob China was last assessed at $290/t on 17 September, up by 314pc year on year (see graph).
Recovery of valuable metals from WA's abundant mine tailings waste could be one path forward for the facility, critical minerals lead for engineering firm GHD Sam Taylor said.
There are more than 1,000 tailings storage facilities in WA, with more than two thirds of sites at inactive projects, according to the WA government.
24092026062852.jpg)
