Queensland Government Awards Oil and Gas, Coal and Critical Minerals Exploration Tenders

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Queensland Government has awarded a series of oil, gas, coal and critical minerals exploration tenders to strengthen the state's resources sector; this land release is designed to open up new opportunities for the broader resources industry and drive the expansion of resources from coal to critical minerals exploration.

In the Taroom Trough, the government awarded oil and gas tenders in four areas considered highly prospective to Denison Gas and OGT Energy, Shell (LSE:SHEL), Omega, Tri-Star Stonecroft and Beach Energy Queensland (ASX:BPT). The government also awarded coal exploration tenders in the Bowen Basin and granted two exploration tenders covering areas in the North West Minerals Province (NWMP) considered to have vanadium production value.

The coal exploration block was awarded to a consortium comprising CAML Resources, Nippon Steel Australia and Foxleigh Coal, which was designated the preferred bidder for a 54-square-kilometre area about 50 kilometres north of Blackwater. The consortium is the joint operator of the Foxleigh coal mine, which is located near the block and employs about 700 people.

Premier David Crisafulli said the tenders are a "catalytic moment that will propel Queensland into a new era of opportunity." He said that for too long governments celebrated cutting access to resources while finding themselves at the end of global supply chains; the best role government can play is to provide a stable regulatory environment so businesses can invest with confidence. He said that with 51 of the world's critical minerals, more than $1 trillion in resource potential, strong environmental protections, thousands of highly skilled workers, and a government that genuinely wants resource projects to get off the ground, Queensland is rapidly emerging as a global competitor.

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said the successful tenders demonstrate a "genuine willingness to invest, explore and develop the next generation of projects." He said that whether it is oil, gas, critical minerals or coal, exploration is the starting point of every new resource project, and opening up new blocks is about building the project pipeline of the future; after a decade of inaction under Labor, the Crisafulli government is opening the doors to business, and these tenders are another vote of confidence in Queensland's resources sector.

The NWMP has long attracted attention, not only because of vanadium. The region covers mining towns such as Mount Isa and Cloncurry, spans nine local government areas, and its mineral resources include copper, zinc, lead, silver and vanadium. Some junior exploration companies with projects in the region face limited modern exploration.

Sunshine Metals (ASX:SHN) holds the Investigator copper project, located 100 kilometres north of Mount Isa, in addition to the recently acquired Mt Moss Operation and the Ravenswood Consolidated project, which contains the Sybil discovery area.

The Investigator project is close to an established mining centre with a long history of copper, lead and zinc production, but the project has yet to undergo modern exploration; Sunshine's most prospective stratigraphic and structural positions have also yet to be drilled by a single hole. The project lies in the same stratigraphy and similar fault structures as 29Metals' (ASX:29M) Capricorn copper mine, located 12 kilometres to the north.

Another junior exploration company with assets in the region, Renegade Exploration (ASX:RNX), holds the Selwyn South, Cloncurry and North Isa projects. The company is reviewing historical data, field work opportunities and geophysical targets to determine future exploration priorities. The Selwyn South project covers a large licence area with copper and gold mineralisation potential.

Modern exploration at Selwyn South has been limited, giving Renegade the opportunity to discover and determine the value of the asset. At the North Isa project, Renegade holds a 75% interest in the asset. The project is located directly north of Mount Isa and includes the historic Lady Agnes copper mine, as well as the Southern Target area and prospective zones such as Horse's Head.

Currently, Renegade is focused on its North American asset portfolio, most of which is located in Nevada, United States. Earlier this month, Renegade expanded its Nevada assets by adding 32 new claims at the Caisson project to increase exposure to "high-grade" gold-silver and copper mineral systems.

Although Sunshine and Revolver are currently focused on different regions, one in north-eastern Queensland and the other on the other side of the world, their presence in the NWMP shows that the government's attention to the region has not been in vain — there are resources to be discovered here.

Basin Energy (ASX:BSN) is advancing the Sybella-Barkly project in the region, which is adjacent to Red Metal's (ASX:RDM) Sybella rare earth oxide discovery. Red Metal's Sybella discovery has been described as "unique" due to its granite-hosted deposit type, and the discovery extends more than 12 kilometres and is 3 kilometres wide. Basin Energy Managing Director Pete Moorhouse said the proximity of the Sybella discovery to its Sybella-Barkly project "significantly de-risks exploration."

Driving critical minerals exploration is not a first for Queensland. The state has consistently introduced measures favourable to the resources sector and promoting critical minerals exploration.

Earlier this week, the government announced it will establish the Critical Metals for Critical Industries Cooperative Research Centre in Brisbane. The centre will be based at the University of Queensland's Brisbane city campus and aims to bring together industry, researchers and government to advance critical metals refining and processing technologies.

To support the local critical minerals supply chain, the government is also providing funding through the Queensland Investment Corporation's Queensland Critical Minerals Fund (QCMF). The QCMF has invested $15 million in QMines (ASX:QML) for a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) at the Mt Chalmers copper-gold project. This investment covers all costs associated with the DFS. Iltani Resources (ASX:ILT) also received an $8 million investment from the QCMF late last year to accelerate workstreams related to the Orient project in Far North Queensland. Earlier this year, in the 2026-27 Queensland budget, the QCMF was expanded to $250 million, enhancing its ability to invest in Queensland critical minerals projects and accelerate development pathways at all stages.