‘Roll out the welcome mat’: Crisafulli’s announcement spree to prove royalties critics wrong

It was the third such announcement made this week in the lead-up to Crisafulli’s speech at an event held by industry lobby Queensland Resources Council (QRC) on Wednesday.

On Monday, Treasurer David Janetzki announced a $662 million dollar investment in an extension of Peabody’s Centurion Mine, north of Moranbah, which the coal company said would bring about 525 jobs.

The next day it was a $2.3 billion investment in a new copper mine in north-west Queensland by South African miners Harmony Gold, which would deliver 1450 jobs at the Eva Copper Mine north of Cloncurry.

“Today’s announcement is a show of confidence in Queensland’s critical minerals sector and our construction of CopperString from Townsville to Mount Isa, which has also been supported by the $200m North West Energy Fund recently announced in our Energy Roadmap,” Janetzki said of that deal.

Janetzki said the deals were a vote in confidence for the government’s approach from the industry.