QIC backs Velox Energy Materials for Queensland vanadium project
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The news: The Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund (QCMBTF) will commit up to $5 million as a cornerstone investor in Velox Energy Materials to advance the North Queensland Vanadium Project (NQVP) in Julia Creek.
The numbers: State-owned investing company Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), which manages the $170 million QCMBTF, said the investment provides a pathway for construction to start within three years. The project is expected to create more than 50 jobs in early works and 150 jobs extracting the prospective vanadium-rich deposits over a 30-year mine life.
Completion of the investment is conditional upon satisfaction or waiver of a number of conditions by 31 December, including a requirement that Velox raises a further $4 million in additional funding, excluding QCMBTF’s investment.
The context: QIC said the fund's investment will ensure Velox is positioned to become a "significant contributor" to global critical mineral supply chains, supporting the continued deployment of vanadium redox flow batteries, typically used for grid energy storage.
NQVP is serviced by the town of Richmond and located midway between Mount Isa and the Port of Townsville. Historic preliminary metallurgy studies at the site indicated the potential for a "sizeable, low-cost operating mine" that will use conventional mining and refining methods.
What they said: QIC state chief investment officer Allison Hill said: "Up to two million tonnes of vanadium is required for battery storage to decarbonise industries and communities globally under 2050 net zero targets.
"Total global production in 2023 represented approximately five per cent of this figure, so this sizeable deficit demonstrates the significant opportunity that projects like NQVP allow Queensland to harness in the next critical minerals resources boom.
"Some of the world's biggest and best vanadium resources are found in Julia Creek, where multiple drill-ready targets across NQVP’s 1,200 square-kilometre site give Velox distinct advantages in exploration and mineralisation potential."
Velox president and CEO Simon Coyle said: "The North Queensland Vanadium Project is Velox’s flagship project that we are rapidly progressing towards development, having defined a large mineral resource with significant upside.
"Vanadium production in Queensland supports the vanadium redox flow batteries being developed for regional Queensland, using local resources to power Queensland," he said.
The source: QIC media release
