General News
7 May, 2022
Multi-million dollar grant to boost Mt Carbine mine
MT Carbine’s tungsten mining operation has been boosted with a $6 million government grant to produce more of the mineral through recovering mine waste and reactivating open-pit mining.
MT Carbine’s tungsten mining operation has been boosted with a $6 million government grant to produce more of the mineral through recovering mine waste and reactivating open-pit mining.
The grant was part of $41 million which was handed out to four projects courtesy of the Federal Government’s Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative.
“The accelerator initiative will help strategically significant projects at challenging points in their development and fast-track early- and mid-stage projects to market and drive investment,” Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt said.
“Australia possesses extraordinary reserves of critical minerals crucial to many industries including medical equipment, defence, aerospace, automotive, new batteries and agritech.
“The Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative is all about backing the resources sector to strengthen our national economy and create jobs, especially in regional Australia.
“This initiative will help uncover new sources of supply, moving up the value chain of critical minerals through processing and high technology manufacturing, supporting robust supply chains, and creating high-paying regional jobs for Australians while improving Australia’s export resilience.”
The Mt Carbine project is owned and operated by EQ Resources Limited which has welcomed the funding and outlined how it will be spent.
EQR chief executive officer Kevin MacNeill said the funding would be utilised to accelerate the Mt Carbine Expansion Program which focuses on the transformation of historic mine waste into a sustainable source of tungsten along with the commencement of open-cut mining of the Andrew White Open Pit.
“Specifically, it will be used to fund plant and equipment, drilling and additional studies, as well as expand on innovative technologies to efficiently produce tungsten concentrate from relatively low-grade ore currently stockpiled aboveground and from high-grade resources identified in the accessible Andrew White Open Pit,” he said.
“We are delighted to receive this support from the Federal Government and believe it is a further endorsement of the project’s ability to become a strategically significant Australian producer of critical minerals within the near-term.
“The project will also become a significant employer within the local economy with employee numbers expected to exceed 100 with the commencement of open-cut mining activities.
“We look forward to working with all parties as we continue to bring the historic Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine back into full production.”
