Queensland has some of the best developable mineral assets in the world. The value of mineral reserves depends on a variety of factors, of which price is only one. Access to markets, capital and running costs, and time delays in development are just as important as amount and grade of ore. But more important yet is a stable legal system which provides certainty to explorers and mine owners in developing what can be very long term projects (Mt Isa, was established in 1924, and is still producing).

Changes have been made to Queensland law, specifically the Environmental Protection (Chain of Responsibility) Amendment Act 2016 (Qld) (Amendment Act), the Mineral Resources Act 1989 and the Environmental Protection Act 1994 which have significantly, and unreasonably, increased sovereign and business risk for miners.

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This is an idea whose time appears to have come. Queensland has a once in a lifetime opportunity to reinvigorate its industrial base and exploit its abundance of cheap energy. South Australia is in the process of decimating its industrial base because it has preferred expensive forms of unreliable energy, so-called “renewables”, over reliable baseload power from gas, coal or nuclear. Victoria is following suit. As summer’s load shedding in New South Wales demonstrates, that state also lacks a buffer against extreme demand.

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