Business
11 December, 2024
Sulphuric acid deal could be a coup for Mount Isa: mayor
It's the third Memorandum of Understanding penned by the council in 2024.
Mount Isa City Council will work with green energy company Cobalt Blue to study the feasibility of a local pyrite tailings re-processing plant that can tackle the looming sulphuric acid shortage that risks thousands of jobs across the North West.
As reported by North West Weekly, the resource sector is bracing for a critical shortage of sulphuric acid if the Glencore Mount Isa copper smelter closes in 2030, as indicated by the mining giant.
It is estimated there are at least 3500 resource jobs – and a number of burgeoning mining projects in the North West – that are reliant on a reliable supply of sulphuric acid to underpin operations.
Almost half of the statewide demand for sulphuric acid is also currently being met through the Mount Isa Mines copper smelter, which produces the acid as a by-product of its operations, meaning that any projected supply shortfall poses a significant sovereign risk to Queensland industry.
In an effort to develop alternative local supplies, Mount Isa mayor Peta MacRae signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cobalt Blue chief executive officer Joe Kaderavek at the council chambers on Monday, with the pair committing to study the feasibility of re-processing pyrite tailings in Mount Isa to produce new sources of sulphuric acid.
The ASX-listed Colbalt Blue has developed a technology called ReMine+, which can re-process mine site tailings to recover valuable metals, such as gold, cobalt and copper, whilst also generating a steady stream of sulphuric acid that could be supplied to the region.
Mr Kaderavek said Cobalt Blue would next assess the commercial and operational viability of re-processing local tailing sources, with Mount Isa council committing to assisting to secure local tailing samples, including possibly from Mount Isa Mines, and providing a space for a pilot-scale processing plant in its planned The Australian Critical Minerals Industrial Precinct (TACMIP).
It is the third MoU the council has signed with businesses in the past three months as councillors look to house new and emerging technologies in its planned $50 million industrial precinct, which is a central component of its strategy to diversify the city’s economy following the announced closure of underground copper operations at Mount Isa Mines next year.
TACMIP is a signature policy goal of Cr MacRae, who has continued to lobby state and federal government in recent weeks for financial assistance to construct the precinct, which is intended to be located on Glencore land on the Barkly Highway.
“It (MoU) signals our intent to support new technology that diversifies our economy and brings employment,” Cr MacRae told the gathering on Monday.
“The Flying Whales, Green Gravity and Cobalt Blue will all bring first-of-its-kind technology to our wonderful city of Mount Isa.
“All those projects need the support of Glencore, the state and federal governments to come to fruition – which is why we have been working so hard on our investment attraction efforts.”
Cr MacRae said the council’s Future Economy Roadmap would be launched in February, which would outline its steps to attract more local investment, especially around Australian-made industry partnerships with pre-existing government funding streams.