Vecco Vanadium and Critical Minerals Site Gets “Coordinated Project” Status

Queensland Coordinator-General Gerard Coggan has declared the AU$798 million Vecco critical minerals asset a “coordinated project,” paving the way for the environmental approval process.

Coggan made the announcement in a July 11 release, saying that Vecco Industrial, the owner of the property, will be required to produce an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project.

Vecco is a greenfield site that Vecco Industrial plans to develop into a mine that will produce vanadium pentoxide, high-purity alumina and molybdenum trioxide. Located in Queensland’s Critical Minerals Zone, the project spans 3,534 hectares and is approximately 70 kilometres north of Julia Creek and 515 kilometres west of Townsville.

According to an initial advice statement submitted by Vecco Industrial in May, the project aligns with various state and federal critical minerals initiatives. All three metals to be produced are on Australia's critical minerals list.

Once in production, Vecco's processing plant will produce up to 8,000 tonnes of vanadium annually, along with 4,000 tonnes of high-purity alumina and 600 tonnes of molybdenum. Its mine life is set at 17 years.

A project overview shared by the Queensland government also specifies that Vecco is projected to open a total of 574 job opportunities, divided between the construction (300) and operational (274) phases.

Once processed, the mineral products will be packed as dry reagents and sent to Townsville. After that, downstream processing into battery electrolyte will take place, or the material will be sold to domestic or international markets.

The maximum disturbance area of the project, including contingency and buffers, is approximately 1,726 hectares.

“Infrastructure will be developed on an as-needed basis to avoid unnecessary clearing where possible,” states an overview of Vecco on the EPBC Act's public portal. Remnant vegetation is expected to be impacted.

“None of the potentially affected vegetation communities are listed as threatened under the EPBC Act,” it adds.

The project’s potential direct and indirect impacts will be fully assessed during the EIS process. The draft terms of reference are being prepared as of writing, with submission expected by Vecco Industrial in late 2024.

Should the Vecco project obtain the necessary approvals, construction and operation of the asset will begin in 2025 and 2026, respectively. The proposed mine life is about 27 years, including construction, operation and rehabilitation.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.