CopperString project founder John O’Brien has welcomed Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk’s announcement the Queensland government would develop a supply chain strategy for the Townsville Mount Isa resource and energy corridor.
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The Premier announced the initiative during a speech to resource industry stakeholders hosted by the Queensland Resources Council last month and Mr O’Brien said it was a positive step forward for CopperString and the northern Queensland economy.
“We have been advocating for a cohesive and ambitious strategy for the Townsville to Mount Isa export supply chain corridor for over a decade, the government has wisely moved to create this strategy,” Mr O’Brien said.
We have been advocating for a cohesive and ambitious strategy
- John O'Brien
Mr O’Brien said the stars may finally be aligned for CopperString which has been on the backburner since the decision to build Mount Isa’s Diamantina Power Station.
“We have had very positive engagement with the Prime Minister and the Queensland Government recently and the support from key industrial energy users across northern Queensland remains very strong,” he said.
“CopperString has received written expressions of interest from resources companies equating to over 350MW of load – almost as much as the entire load north of Townsville at present – and we expect to bring over 1,200MW of generation (gas and renewable) to the Townsville region.”
Mr O’Brien said it would lead to a resources and energy boom. “The Queensland government has a valuable opportunity to drive economic development in the Townsville region,” he said.
“This entire strategy should be about maximising export of value-added products over the Port in Townsville and importantly, we want to ensure the government’s strategy development process does not hinder investment in the North West Mineral Province as any slow-down in addressing the key supply chain issues, risks the future of smelting activity in Mount Isa and the entire corridor production, which would be catastrophic for the region.”
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
