Queensland’s resource and supply chain sector gathered in force at last week’s Connecting Industry Luncheon, featuring a project update from QMines Limited and its leadership team.
Held in Gladstone, the luncheon brought together contractors, suppliers, consultants, local government representatives and industry stakeholders to hear directly from QMines Founder and Executive Chairman Andrew Sparke, alongside Non-Executive Director Peter Caristo and Development Manager Richard Wittig, as the company progresses its Mt Chalmers copper and gold project towards development.
Presenting to a strong cross-section of Queensland’s resource and construction sector, QMines Founder and Executive Chairman Andrew Sparke detailed how the company has refined its approach to development prioritising capital efficiency, staged production and technical optimisation to strengthen project economics while progressing approvals and engineering studies.
Connecting Industry Director Kieran Moran said QMines outlined progress across environmental and regulatory pathways, while continuing to assess infrastructure requirements and processing strategies aligned to a practical, staged restart of operations.
“This wasn’t a conceptual overview. It was a clear articulation of how Mt Chalmers moves from strategy to development,” Mr Moran said.
“Importantly for the region, the presentation reinforced Mt Chalmers’ positioning as a copper-focused development at a time when global demand for copper is increasing due to electrification, renewable energy infrastructure and broader decarbonisation trends.
“When a proponent outlines its capital approach, staging methodology and approvals progress, it gives contractors and service providers genuine insight into how and when to position themselves.”
He added that projects such as Mt Chalmers represent more than a mining restart.
“Copper is central to the energy transition. When you have a region like ours with an emerging copper project moving toward development, it presents both an economic opportunity and a supply chain opportunity. Our role is to ensure those conversations happen early well before procurement formally begins.”
The luncheon attracted strong attendance from across the resource, construction and energy sectors, reinforcing industry appetite for direct engagement with proponents progressing toward development in Queensland.
