Mount Isa's push to reinvent its regional economy with a new mineral research hub has secured state and federal backing for a feasibility study, ABC News reported on Friday (13 November). The federal and state governments have agreed to tip in $241,250 each, and on Friday morning Federal Assistant Minister for Resources Anthony Chisholm confirmed funding would be released to consider the proposal.
Mount Isa City Council and the University of Queensland released a business case earlier this month for the $145 million centre, the ABC reported. The facility would allow mining companies to analyse rock samples from local mineral deposits to see what minerals were present and if they would be viable to mine. The proposed hub is expected to create up to 50 permanent jobs and would be located near the Mount Isa Airport.
"We know that there is enormous potential, but it's about proving that and then also ensuring that we can attract the industry investment," Mr Chisholm said.
Local Testing for North West Minerals Province
In July 2025, Mount Isa's underground copper mine closure saw nearly 500 workers lose their jobs in the 19,000-strong community, the ABC reported, while exploration and investment across the wider North West Minerals Province has boomed, with about 85 critical minerals projects underway.
Sustainable Minerals Institute director at the University of Queensland Rick Valenta said the proposed hub would allow industry to scale operations quickly. "The reason you can't just find a deposit and put it into production in a year is because you've got to answer … 'What's the content of the metal that you're after? And … how do we get the metals out of that rock?'" Professor Valenta said. "This centre is aimed at providing a local solution to that sort of thing."
Mount Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said she hoped the research hub would help future-proof the city by giving mining companies a dedicated site to research problems locally. "What we want to do is add the value and do as much processing as we can … to help us secure the future for our communities," she said.
If successful, the hub would operate in conjunction with similar facilities in Mackay and Townsville, with initial testing and analysis at Mount Isa before small-scale piloting in Mackay and large-scale trials in Townsville, according to the ABC.
Feasibility Study Milestones
The signed federation funding agreement schedule under the Critical Minerals National Productivity Initiative says the feasibility study will investigate the establishment of a Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements Research Centre in Mt Isa. It says the aim of the centre is to build national capability in minerals research and processing in a regional context through metallurgical testing, piloting, and treatment of critical minerals and rare earth elements.
The schedule lists an estimated total budget of $482,500, with the Commonwealth providing up to $241,250 and Queensland required to match it. It was signed for the Commonwealth on 9 September 2026 and for Queensland, by Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last, on 6 October 2026. The ABC separately reported an additional $482,500 would come from Mount Isa City Council.
The final report milestone is listed for 30 November 2026. The schedule says the final feasibility study must include recommendations on usage of the facility, common-user access arrangements and governance arrangements, financial modelling and market analysis, potential risks and challenges, the social and economic benefits likely to be generated by the facility, and an estimation of capital and operational costs and time to commissioning.
The Queensland Government earlier committed $285,500 for a business case for the research centre through the Mount Isa Transition Fund, announced in a ministerial media statement on 7 August 2026, which said the centre would offer specialist lab services to surrounding mines.