In a boost to the north west Altona’s Chinese joint venture copper mine north-west of Cloncurry has moved closer to reality with another approval on Thursday.
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Altona Mining Limited said all Chinese Government approvals had been received for the involvement of the the Sichuan Railway Investment Group (SRIG) to develop the Cloncurry Copper Mine project at Mt Roseby, 65km out of Cloncurry and 90km from Mount Isa.
The Sichuan Provincial Government approval means that the sign off of the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board is the only regulatory hurdle left to overcome to make it a reality.
The planned mine would be owned by a JV company with Altona holding one third and SRIG the other two thirds.
The joint venturers plan a 7 million-tonne-a-year open pit copper-gold mine and concentrator with an initial mine life of 13 years.
The first development envisaged is the seven million tonnes a year Little Eva open pit copper-gold mine and concentrator.
The Queensland Government welcomed the latest milestone in plans for the development of the Altona copper-gold project.
Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Curtis Pitt, said if the plans came to fruition the project would generate 300 construction jobs and 280 direct ongoing production jobs.
“This is a project that would inject new job opportunities and new economic activity into the north-west at a time unemployment rates in the region are well above the state average,” Mr Pitt said.
Mr Pitt said it was positive news for the Queensland resources sector as a whole and the communities of north-west in particular.
“The Altona project offers good jobs as well as spin-offs for local businesses,” he said.
Mr Pitt said the project had native title agreements and mining leases in place.
“It shows the ongoing strength of the resources sector and the important role it plays in our diverse state economy,” he said.
“It also underlines the strength of investor confidence in Queensland.”