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Good morning and it is great to be here in Cloncurry for this, the 3rd Meeting of the Mines Conference.

Thank you Tim [Tim Cox – master of ceremonies] for the welcome.

I acknowledge the Mitakoodi, Kalkadoon, Yullana, Waluwarra, and Pitta Pitta peoples and all First Nations people present today – and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community.

Australia’s First Nations people were the first miners and mappers of this vast continent.

Thanks to Greg Campbell, Mayor of Cloncurry Shire for the warm invitation and tour of town this morning.

Mayor Campbell is a fierce advocate for his Shire and is passionate the opportunities for his region.

And I’d like to acknowledge Mayor of Mt Isa Peta MacRae, and all councillors and workers for your councils.

I acknowledge Senator Susan McDonald, the Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia and Senator for Queensland.

I also acknowledge my colleague, the Hon Dale Last, Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Mines; Manufacturing; Regional & Rural Development who will speak later in this session.

Dale and I have seen a lot of each other recently:

• we met last week,
• we were at the Women in Resources National Awards dinner on Monday night in Brisbane, as was Senator McDonald.
• We met with State and Territory Resources Ministers on Tuesday; and
• today we are in Cloncurry.

We have a lot of good work to do together and we share our high ambition for the Queensland resources sector and the communities of north-west Queensland.

Thanks to Dale and his team for the enormous efforts they are making along with Minister Tim Ayres in relation to the Mt Isa copper smelter.

It indeed is my pleasure to be here today in admittedly challenging times.

My colleague the Assistant Minister for Resources, and Senator for the great state of Queensland, Anthony Chisholm is here later today too.

He is a regular in this part of Queensland, and has long been a passionate advocate for the resources sector, and I am delighted he is part of the federal ministerial resources team.

This is my first visit to Cloncurry and it is great to be here.

Cloncurry has a remarkable history and has played a big part in building this nation.

And Cloncurry and Mt Isa will have a big part in building the future of this country too.

It is invigorating to be here among people who understand the vital role mining plays in Australia’s economic development.

As many of you know, I’m from Western Australia.

And I like to think that when Western Australians and Queenslanders come together great things are possible.

Some of you may have heard that WA is getting a rugby league team - the Perth Bears.

The Bears will be coached by the mighty Mal Meninga, a Queenslander who looms large in the sporting fabric of this country.

I met big Mal for the first time a few weeks ago and sat next to him at a dinner celebrating the launch of the Perth Bears.

What a top bloke. Mal is a true gem and a wonderful Queensland expat.

And as I always say, Go Maroons!

The truth is Queenslanders and Western Australians know what powers our economy – sport and mining.

And keeping that engine room running requires constant work, commitment and fine tuning.

And investment.

Just like the investment of PRL (Phosphate Resources Ltd) in the Ardmore phosphate mine near Dajarra.

A great community-focussed resources company from Christmas Island, investing here in Dajarra, and bringing that all important community focus with them.

This opportunity this investment brings for Dajarra – and the road transport connection between Mt Isa, Dajarra and Cloncurry – is clear.

I look forward to further discission on this. And thanks Greg Campbell for raising these issues.

Before I talk about some of the challenges the region faces with the uncertain future at the mine and smelter in Mt Isa, I'd like to spend a bit of time looking at the pipeline of future opportunities.

This Government knows that starting a new mining project is complex.

Riding the volatility of global markets is even harder.

Pioneers like Ernest Henry, who returned from the Crimean War to discover copper with the help of Kalkadoon men east of here in 1867, laid the foundations for what is now one of Australia’s most lucrative and promising mining provinces.

The North-West Minerals Province (NWMP) boasts substantial high-grade deposits of copper, lead, zinc, silver and cobalt – and there is strong rare earths potential.

Vanadium is also abundant.

And vanadium is critical for redox flow batteries that support mainline grid capacity.

And significantly, this Vanadium battery technology has been developed right here in Australia.

High-grade deposits alone aren’t enough.

Success depends on a strong future program of new projects.

The list of projects is growing.

Vecco’s proposed open-cut vanadium mine north of Julia Creek gained coordinated project status from the Queensland government last year.

Through my Resources portfolio, Vecco was also awarded a $3.8 million grant from the International Critical Minerals Program for a feasibility study for the mine, and the commissioning and operation of a high-purity vanadium pilot plant in Townsville.

Graphinex’s greenfield graphite mine at Croydon to our north is also on the horizon.

The Commonwealth has supported the project with a $3 million grant to support a proposed graphite refinery Battery Anode Hub in Townsville, linked to its Esmeralda deposit at Croydon.

Existing mines are also being expanded, driven by high gold prices and continuing strong demand for zinc and other strategic materials.

Evolution Mining is investing $1 billion to extend the life of its Ernest Henry mine to 2040, backed by a pre-feasibility study showing gold reserves of 2.4 million ounces.

With gold prices at an all time high, this appears a very prudent investment.

The Australian Government has also backed this project with a $2.2 million grant to support Evolution’s plans to retrieve cobalt from old tailings waste from the Ernest Henry mine.

Their ore extraction methods have made it one of Australia’s most productive gold mines.

These achievements are built on technological expertise. These are strong foundations on which to build an even more capable, competitive resources sector.

Friends, the Australian Government is backing Australia’s resources sector.

These are key goals of our Future Made in Australia agenda.

This is why the Australian Government is investing in vital regions like Cloncurry and Mt Isa and the North West Minerals Province.

My message to you today is this:

We are working hard to make sure that mining communities like yours can seize global energy transition opportunities.  

We want regions like Cloncurry and Mt Isa to thrive.

We want places like Cloncurry and Mt Isa to supply Australia and our trading partners with the resources they need for their future economic development plans.

In a time of global uncertainty, Australia will be stronger and safer by developing our critical national assets to create economic opportunity and resilience.

Adding value to them will help us develop and sustain advanced industries here at home.

Our $17.6 billion Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive will provide a refundable tax offset of 10 per cent for eligible Australian processing and refining costs for all 31 critical minerals listed on the Critical Minerals List.

Those vanadium and graphite projects I mentioned earlier may enjoy the support of this production tax credit.

And we are establishing a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve.

A Strategic Reserve will mean Government has the power to purchase, own and sell critical minerals found here in Australia.  

It will allow us to deal with trade and market disruptions from a position of strength.  

We know these minerals are subject to price manipulation and that western producers are all too often priced out of the market, or that rare earths and critical minerals are subject to arbitrary export bans or controls.

Positioning our resources industry for a brighter, more sustainable future also depends on discovering new deposits.

We remain committed to exploration – including through long-term investment in pre-competitive geoscience.

Our latest, most significant commitment to exploration is the $3.4 billion Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity program.

Led by Geoscience Australia, this program will give us a clearer picture of our mineral, energy, and groundwater resource potential.

It will quite literally show us what we are made of.

Under the program, Geoscience Australia is currently working with the Geological Survey of Queensland on a deep seismic study in this part of north-west Queensland that will help find potential new deposits.

And last month, we announced the Georgetown-Julia Creek region has been identified as the third region for a deep dive under the Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative.

The Australian Government recognises the strong headwinds facing the industry and the associated risks with thin markets and concentrated supply chains.

The consequences of massive oversupply and distorting global markets are real, and are being felt here in Australia.

And our smelters and refineries are feeling the pressure.

The Albanese Government is responding.

We’re forging partnerships with the United States, Japan and Korea to support strategic projects and strengthen supply chains.

From our partnership with the US, we can expect more deals like the one General Motors struck with Queensland Pacific Metals for cost-competitive nickel and cobalt supplies for GM lithium-ion batteries.

Yesterday I went to Mt Isa because a visit to this part of Queensland is incomplete without a trip to the heart of Australia’s industrial capability.

I met with the council and had a good discussion with Mayor Peta MacRae and CEO Tim Rose.

The depth of concern and worry for the future I know is very real.

Australia’s smelting and metals manufacturing facilities are being buffeted by a mix of global conditions and commercial decisions.

I know, and the whole Albanese Government knows, that the future of the copper mine and refinery in Mt Isa is a matter of deep concern for Australia, particularly in this part of Queensland.

As a Western Australian, I can deeply empathise with the anxiety and uncertainty around the future of the smelter and how that will impact on local communities.

Since entering Parliament, I’ve witnessed three different refineries shut down including the BP refinery in Kwinana in my electorate where my father was one of the first workers, starting there in 1956.

The government fully understands the impact and disruption such closures can have on a community.

That’s why the Minister for Industry Tim Ayres has been working so hard with the community, with the Queensland state government, with the unions and with the company to try and find a positive outcome.

I also acknowledge the tireless work of the Queensland State Government, your local Member for Kennedy Bob Katter, and Robbie Katter, who led a united delegation to Canberra in July to raise awareness and push for a solution.

Any erosion of our smelting capabilities would have serious consequences for our country, and for north Queensland.

Steel, aluminium, copper, and zinc are fundamental to economic progress.

Minerals and metals are the ingredients to renewable technologies and our future economy.

These facilities are anchors to regional economies and we’re working with states and territories to ensure regional economies are supported.

But government intervention alone is not enough – businesses must lead the way in overcoming present challenges.

The Australian Government takes this issue seriously.

We are engaging with business and state governments every day to find a sensible pathway to a sustainable local industrial capacity to keep Mt Isa on its feet.

Conclusion

The North West Mineral Province’s deposits of minerals and rare earths are world-class.

These aren’t just commodities – they’re valuable assets that can advance Australia’s economic interests and regional prosperity.

We can secure this future by building strong partnerships across industry, government, communities, and research institutions.

The Australian Government stands with you – and with the entire critical and strategic minerals sector.

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you this morning – and best wishes for the rest of the conference.